Hillary Clinton Accuses Trump of Perpetrating a ‘Continuing Cover-Up’ as She Ups Ante Ahead of Epstein Testimony

Secretary Hillary Clinton’s accusation that the Trump Administration is engaged in a “continuing cover-up” of the Epstein Files signals a pugnacious posture before she — and her husband —testify separately next week behind closed doors to the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee about their own relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The couple had wanted to testify in a public hearing — the same desire expressed by Special Counsel Jack Smith — but eventually caved to the demands of House Republicans after progressive Democratic lawmakers backed GOP efforts to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress, a criminal offense if prosecuted. Mrs. Clinton, in Munich for the high-powered security conference, told the BBC that the government is “slow-walking” the release of information and “redacting the names of men who are in” the documents relating to Epstein. She adds that the Department of Justice is “stonewalling legitimate requests from members of Congress.” Mrs. Clinton insinuated to the BBC that “There’s something about this administration’s attitude toward this, which I think really leads us to conclude they have something to hide. We don’t. We have been willing to say whatever we know. We’ve even done it under oath.” She is referring to sworn written statements submitted in January that describe their relationship with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20 year prison sentence for sex trafficking. Mrs. Clinton says she met her “on a few occasions.” President Clinton will have a more difficult time minimizing his ties due to photos showing him in consortium with Epstein and his female retinue in a hot tub, on a plane and in other convivial settings. The 43rd president has said he engaged with Epstein — who was perceived as a connector of ultra-wealthy men to elite charities and academic institutions — for the benefit of the Clintons’ philanthropies.Mrs. Clinton sternly declared to the BBC that “I have very strong opinions about what it is they’re hiding and who they are protecting. Why do they want to pull us into this? To divert attention from President Trump. This is not complicated.” Mr. Trump on Monday responded that I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein.” He describes himself as “totally exonerated.”Mrs. Clinton also lamented to the BBC that she wants the process “to be fair, I just want everyone to be treated the same way. That’s not true for my husband and me.” Mrs. Clinton asserts that the couple have “no links” to Epstein. The Clintons have agreed to testify only after faced with criminal contempt of Congress for refusing a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee.The Clintons call the hot tub image and other embarrassing photographs “irrelevant.” There is less evidence linking Mrs. Clinton to Epstein. After Mr. Clinton left office, he traveled on Epstein’s private jet multiple times. Mrs. Clinton tells the BBC that those trips were related to “charitable work.” Mrs. Clinton said she barely recalls meeting Ghislaine Maxwell, and that she believes they were introduced at a Clinton Global Initiative event. Ms. Maxwell, however, attended the wedding of Chelsea Clinton and can be seen peering out into the aisle as Mr. Clinton walks his daughter to the chuppah. When the Clintons agreed to testify behind closed doors, they were facing the very real threat of criminal prosecution. If the DOJ had chosen to prosecute contempt of Congress, the consequences can be severe. Two advisers to President Trump, Stephen Bannon and Peter Navarro, were prosecuted by President Biden’s DOJ for failing to heed subpoenas issued by the Democrat-controlled House January 6 Committee. Messrs. Bannon and Navarro each spent four months in prison. The DOJ last week moved to vacate Mr. Bannon’s conviction. Mr. Navarro, who was 74 when he reported to prison in Miami, has returned to the White House, has declined such a maneuver in his case. The Biden Administration’s decision to prosecute and seek prison time for the two Trump advisors for refusing to testify before a harshly partisan committee created a precedent. The deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, says that the Trump administration is “hiding nothing” and “committed to transparency” in executing the mandate of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by a 427-1 vote in the House of Representatives and unanimous consent in the Senate.Mrs. Clinton is set to be deposed on February 26, with the former president telling his story under oath the next day. The once-mighty couple have already made their feelings on the investigation in an extraordinary letter to their main congressional antagonist, Congressman James Comer, who leads the Oversight Committee and who since August has been negotiating with the Clintons over the terms of their testimony. The Clintons wrote to Mr. Comer that “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. For us, now is that time.” They insist that the subpoena are “literally designed to result in our imprisonment” and are “invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose.”The Clintons also claim that tradition marshals against them appearing before lawmakers under oath. They write that “no former president has appeared before Congress since 1983, and President Ford did so voluntarily to discuss the upcoming celebration of the 1987 bicentennial of the enactment of the Constitution.”

Hillary Clinton Accuses Trump of Perpetrating a ‘Continuing Cover-Up’ as She Ups Ante Ahead of Epstein Testimony

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