US House panel subpoenas Clintons in Epstein probe
The subpoenas, issued by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, are part of a broader investigation into how the Justice Department handled Epstein's case before and after his 2019 death in a New York jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. His death was ruled a suicide, though many supporters of President Donald Trump allege a cover-up.
MULTIPLE SUBPOENAS ISSUED
In addition to the Clintons, the panel also subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey, ex-special counsel Robert Mueller, and several former attorneys general, including Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales. Their depositions are scheduled between mid-August and mid-October.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer accused Clinton of having a relationship with Epstein, citing flight records and a widely circulated photo showing him receiving a massage from one of Epstein's alleged victims.
'By your own admission, you flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane four separate times in 2002 and 2003,' Comer wrote to the former president.
The committee also subpoenaed the Justice Department for records related to Epstein, including communications with President Joe Biden's administration.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNDER PRESSURE
The renewed interest in the Epstein case follows pressure from Trump supporters and lawmakers to release previously sealed documents. After returning to office in January, Trump promised to make the case files public.
However, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on July 7 that there was nothing further to release. The decision drew backlash from Republicans and prompted additional scrutiny after a Wall Street Journal report alleged Trump had written a lewd birthday note to Epstein in 2003. Trump denies the claim and is suing the publication.
The Journal also reported that Bondi had privately informed Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files, though there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT FOR DISCLOSURE
Despite the investigation being driven by Republicans, some Democrats have backed the effort. Congresswoman Summer Lee, who led a successful vote to subpoena the Clintons just before the August recess, said transparency was critical.
'Justice must apply to everyone, no matter how rich, powerful, or well-connected they are,' she said.
Epstein was known to associate with numerous high-profile figures across the political spectrum, including both Trump and Clinton, before his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor.
MAXWELL TESTIMONY SOUGHT
The committee is also seeking testimony from Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein's sex trafficking network. Her cooperation, however, is viewed as unlikely.
The White House has not responded to the latest subpoenas. It has previously attempted to redirect public attention by accusing former president Barack Obama of orchestrating a 'treasonous conspiracy' against Trump, a claim that has not been substantiated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
12 hours ago
- CNA
Trump demands US$1 billion from University of California over UCLA protests
LOS ANGELES: President Donald Trump demanded a massive US$1 billion fine from the prestigious University of California system on Friday (Aug 8) as the administration pushed its claims of antisemitism in UCLA's response to 2024 student protests related to Gaza. The figure, which is five times the sum Columbia University agreed to pay to settle similar federal accusations of antisemitism, would "completely devastate" the UC public university system, a senior official said. President James Milliken, who oversees the 10 campuses that make up the University of California system, including Los Angeles-based UCLA, said managers had received the US$1 billion demand on Friday and were reviewing it. "As a public university, we are stewards of taxpayer resources and a payment of this scale would completely devastate our country's greatest public university system as well as inflict great harm on our students and all Californians," he said. "Americans across this great nation rely on the vital work of UCLA and the UC system for technologies and medical therapies that save lives, grow the US economy, and protect our national security." Asked about Trump's fine during a press conference on Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom - who sits on the UC's board - said "we'll sue" and accused the president of trying to silence academic freedom. "He has threatened us through extortion with a billion dollar fine unless we do his bidding," Newsom said, crediting the UC system as "one of the reasons California is the tentpole of the US economy, one of the reasons we have more scientists, engineers, more Nobel laureates, than any other state in this nation". Media reports suggest the government wants the money in installments and is demanding the university also pay US$172 million to a claims fund to compensate Jewish students and others affected by alleged discrimination. The UC system, with schools that are consistently ranked among the best public universities in the United States, is already grappling with the Trump administration's more-than half-billion dollar freeze on medical and science grants at UCLA alone. The move appears to follow a similar playbook the White House used to extract concessions from Columbia University, and is also trying to use to get Harvard University to bend. Columbia's agreement includes a pledge to obey rules barring it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring, among other concessions, drawing criticism from Newsom. "We will not be complicit in this kind of attack on academic freedom, or on this extraordinary public institution. We are not like some of those other institutions that have followed a different path," Newsom said. Pro-Palestinian protests rocked dozens of US campuses in 2024, with police crackdowns and mob violence erupting over student encampments, from Columbia to UCLA, with then-president Joe Biden saying "order must prevail".
CNA
13 hours ago
- CNA
Putin-Trump summit: What we know so far
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Alaska next Friday (Aug 15) in a bid to end the war in Ukraine, which was triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion. Trump has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace - after boasting he could end the war in 24 hours - but multiple rounds of peace talks, phone calls and diplomatic visits have failed to yield a breakthrough. Here is what we know about the summit so far: WHEN AND WHERE On his Truth Social site on Friday, Trump announced that his meeting with Putin would be held in the far-north US state of Alaska on Aug 15, which was later confirmed by the Kremlin. The announcement came after days of both sides indicating the two leaders would hold a summit next week. The Kremlin confirmed the summit in Alaska on Friday, calling it "quite logical". "They would like to meet with me, I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing," Trump said on Thursday, speaking of both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the White House on Friday, Trump said "there'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Ukraine and Russia, without providing further details. WHY ALASKA? The meeting will be held in Alaska, which Russia sold to the United States in 1867. The western tip of the state is not far - just across the Bering Strait - from the easternmost part of Russia. "Alaska and the Arctic are also where our countries' economic interests intersect, and there are prospects for large-scale, mutually beneficial projects," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in a statement on Telegram. "But, of course, the presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," he added. Ushakov also expressed hope that next time the two presidents would meet on Russian territory. "A corresponding invitation has already been sent to the US president," he added. The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Putin - which obligates members to detain the Russian leader if he visits their country - had been thought to narrow the potential number of venues. Putin had previously mentioned the United Arab Emirates as a possible host for the talks, while media speculated Turkey, China or India could be possible venues. WILL ZELENSKYY BE INVOLVED? Zelenskyy has been pushing to make it a three-way summit and has frequently said meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting when he held talks with Putin earlier this week, but the Russian leader has appeared to rule out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart. At talks in Istanbul in June, Russian negotiators said a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could only take place at the "final phase" of negotiations, once the two sides had agreed on terms for peace. Asked if Putin had to meet Zelenskyy as a prerequisite for their summit, Trump said on Friday: "No, he doesn't." WHEN DID THEY LAST MEET? Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump's first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January. Putin previously held a summit with Trump in Helsinki in 2018. Trump raised eyebrows at the time by appearing to side with Putin over the US intelligence community's finding that Russia had interfered in the US election to support the New York tycoon. The last time Putin met a US president in the United States was during talks with Barack Obama at a UN General Assembly in 2015. NEGOTIATING POSITIONS Despite the flurry of diplomacy and multiple rounds of peace talks, Russia and Ukraine appear no closer to agreeing on an end to the fighting. Putin has rejected calls by the United States, Ukraine and Europe for an immediate ceasefire. At talks in June, Russia demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, demanded Ukraine commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Kyiv wants an immediate ceasefire and has said it will never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory - though it acknowledged securing the return of land captured by Russia would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.
CNA
16 hours ago
- CNA
LA28's Wasserman says Trump-led task force shows government commitment
LOS ANGELES :LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman on Friday defended President Donald Trump's controversial decision to name himself head of a White House task force for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, saying it reflected the federal government's commitment to the Games. "The president naming himself the chair is unique, but I think it shows the importance of this event to the president and the federal government, which just validates their support and their commitment to delivering these Games with us," Wasserman told Reuters. Noting that then-Vice President Al Gore chaired the White House task force for the 1996 Atlanta Games, Wasserman said, "This is not a new concept... This is business as usual." Trump, a Republican, said this week he would lead the task force to deliver a "safe, seamless and historically successful" Olympics to California's largest city, a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Party. The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial on Thursday, called for the city to pull out of the Games due to Trump's involvement, citing the administration's deportation blitz in the region. Wasserman was in Washington as Trump signed the executive order on Tuesday creating the task force, which is meant to help coordinate security, transportation, visa processing and other issues related to the 2028 Games. "This administration and the whole force of the federal government has truly been consistently engaged, supportive and responsive," Wasserman said. "That's all you could ask for with what we're trying to do." He said the organizers, working with 36 federal agencies, need a unified federal effort rather than "piecemeal" engagement. Trump has not shied away from the glare of the sports spotlight during his second term. In May he created a presidential task force for soccer's 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In February Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl and last month he was on the field in New Jersey to celebrate Chelsea's win in the FIFA Club World Cup.
