Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent a lot of Thursday in a closed-door listening to about accused intercourse trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. All of it amounted to a laughable circus led by famous moron James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the Home Oversight Committee.
After Comer threatened Hillary and former President Invoice Clinton with jail time in the event that they didn’t testify, the couple agreed to seem earlier than the committee. In fact, the GOP insisted on doing this behind closed doorways as a result of that’s the easiest way for the partisan lawmakers to manage the narrative.
Forward of the listening to, Hillary Clinton shared her opening assertion, the place she rightly known as the committee out for therefore, so many issues.
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The Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation is a sham. Whereas the Clintons had been subpoenaed and are required to take a seat for lengthy closed-door periods, lots of the Division of Justice and FBI officers concerned within the Epstein investigations and prosecution had been allowed to easily submit written statements.
In her assertion, Clinton excoriated the committee for refusing to carry public hearings or permit the media to attend, and for refusing to name individuals who determine prominently within the information, equivalent to one Donald J. Trump.
Lastly, she identified that if the Trump administration was earnestly dedicated to its supposed objective of stopping intercourse trafficking and addressing Epstein’s myriad crimes, it will resolve why the Division of Justice and FBI are withholding materials that implicates Trump.
Oh, after which there’s the entire thing the place she mentioned she by no means met Epstein, by no means flew on his aircraft, and, presumably, by no means drew him a enjoyable little naked-lady sketch as a birthday tribute, in contrast to how one Donald J. Trump appears to have achieved.
As soon as the listening to began, issues virtually instantly obtained very silly. Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado snapped a photograph of Hillary Clinton and despatched it to right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson, who posted it on-line, saying, “That is the primary time Hillary has needed to reply actual questions on Epstein. Clinton doesn’t look completely happy.”
Properly, would you be completely happy being pressured to testify about an individual you say you’ve by no means met—all whereas Trump, a former shut good friend of Epstein, doesn’t must reply for a factor?
Certain, the committee guidelines explicitly forbid taking footage, and positive, Boebert was sometimes smug and sarcastic about it, as a result of guidelines don’t apply to Republicans, but it surely was fairly the transfer for a committee that refused to let Clinton testify in public.
Closed-door means closed-door, not forcing Hillary Clinton to testify in non-public when you dribble out shit to your favourite right-wing influencer.
Boebert’s antics led to the listening to being halted for a bit. It additionally led to Johnson whining that it’s completely cool that he posted the picture as a result of Clinton was “attempting to get out of answering questions on Epstein.”
And the way precisely might Johnson inform that from only a picture? It positive feels like Boebert or one other GOP goblin leaked greater than only a image.
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In a mid-afternoon assertion, Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California demanded {that a} full, unedited transcript be launched inside 24 hours—which is unlikely. For one, it’s a heavy elevate for such an extended testimony, and for an additional, Republicans on the committee will need as a lot time as attainable to mischaracterize or simply straight-up lie about Hillary’s testimony.
Garcia additionally instructed the press that Clinton had not invoked the Fifth Modification, setting her other than, say, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator. And naturally, for the reason that GOP won’t ever name Trump to testify, he doesn’t even have to hassle with deciding whether or not he would take the Fifth.
When issues lastly wrapped up nicely after 5 PM ET, Clinton spoke to the press, and it was clear that the listening to obtained each silly and peculiar.
“It then obtained on the finish fairly uncommon as a result of I began being requested about UFOs and a collection of questions on Pizzagate,” she mentioned. “Some of the vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the web.”
Certain, why not.
GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, by no means one to overlook a possibility to be creepy and inappropriate, demanded that Clinton reply a query about whether or not she had any emotions about images displaying Invoice Clinton getting a again rub from a younger lady or every other of his associations with Epstein. Hillary instructed Mace she wasn’t there to speak about her emotions.
Mace did, nevertheless, inform the press afterward that Clinton “took each query from each single member.”
In fact she did. Clinton sat for 11 hours of testimony over the farce that was the Benghazi Committee in 2015. She might do 6.5 hours of questioning on Epstein whereas standing on her head.
However who apparently didn’t appear to have any questions on Epstein? James Comer. Clinton confronted him through the listening to and identified that he hadn’t requested her a direct query about Epstein all day. Form of a wuss transfer from the committee chair who threatened jail time if the Clintons wouldn’t seem.
Hillary is finished, however Invoice Clinton testifies on Friday, and let’s be sincere: You may anticipate his questioning to be even stupider, weirder, and longer. Republicans are going to proceed to guard Trump and different favored right-wingers, and so they’re going to proceed to attempt to make the Clintons the true villains. However of their darkish little cramped hearts, Trump’s toadies all know that they’ve obtained nothing.
