'Not about Right or Left but Right and Wrong': The Clintons pen defiant letter on Epstein probe; refuse to testify

Former US President Bill Clinton and former first lady ‘Don’t Know Who Is Nielsen’: Trump Issues Warning To Greenland’s PM After US Control Offer Junked Hillary Clinton on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena through a letter, declining to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and their past associations with the convicted sex trafficker, even as Republican lawmakers move to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against them. In the letter, which was shared on social media, the Clintons criticised the House Oversight Committee’s probe as “legally invalid” and said the committee’s Republican chair, Representative James Comer, was pushing a process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.” “We will forcefully defend ourselves,” the Clintons, who are Democrats, wrote. “Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences,” the Clintons wrote. “For us, now is that time.” Bill Clinton was due to appear before the committee on Tuesday, while Hillary Clinton was scheduled for questioning on Wednesday. The eight-page letter, released publicly, sharply criticised the committee’s conduct and priorities. It accused the government of engaging in “unprecedented acts” over the past year and warned that the committee was pursuing a process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment”. The Clintons said: “This is not the way out of America’s ills, and we will forcefully defend ourselves.” They rejected the premise of the subpoenas and said Comer’s handling of the Epstein investigation had “prevented progress in discovering the facts about the government’s role”. The letter claimed that while the committee had subpoenaed eight people in addition to the Clintons, seven were dismissed “without any of them saying a single word to you”, and that only two people had been interviewed since the investigation began last year. Citing a legal analysis prepared by two law firms, the Clintons said the subpoenas were invalid and urged Comer to release that analysis publicly. They also criticised the committee for not using its oversight powers to compel the Department of Justice to release all Epstein-related files, including any material concerning them, which they said they had publicly called for. The Clintons said they had already provided sworn statements and limited information to the committee and law enforcement authorities. “We’ve done so because Mr Epstein’s crimes were horrific,” the letter said. “If the Government didn’t do all it could to investigate and prosecute these crimes, for whatever reason, that should be the focus of your work.” Comer told reporters on Tuesday that the committee intends to begin contempt of Congress proceedings against the Clintons next week. He denied accusations of wrongdoing, saying, “No one’s accusing the Clintons of any wrongdoing. We just have questions,” and added that “most Americans” want Bill Clinton to answer questions about his ties to Epstein, reported Dw. Epstein, a financier, was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and died by suicide in a New York jail cell...

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