Republicans Have Created a Legal Nightmare for Themselves on Epstein [View all]

[allegorical oracle]

By Elie Honig, former federal and state prosecutor

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has hit a temporary lull — but rest assured it’s coming back, and it’s going to be ugly for the Trump administration. Major issues remain unresolved and will play out over the coming weeks and months, whether Donald Trump and his Congressional supporters like it or not. And they’ve mostly got themselves to blame.

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Speaker Mike Johnson courageously adjourned the House early for summer recess to avoid a vote on a measure seeking public release of the Epstein files. But days later, the House Oversight Committee, under the leadership of Representative James Comer — who’s perpetually on the brink of uncovering some massive scandal but never quite gets there — issued a series of subpoenas calling for broad release of documents by DOJ and a series of in-person testimonial depositions.

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Comer will have to show that the subpoenas are likely to provide information relevant to some valid legislative purpose and don’t otherwise call for privileged or protected information. Yet Comer’s stated rationales for the necessity of the subpoenas are laughable. He explained in his cover letter to Hillary Clinton that, more than a decade ago, she hired Epstein’s nephew. And Comer offers no basis at all for his subpoena of James Comey — who was FBI director, but not during either Epstein investigation or prosecution (in Florida from 2006 to 2008 and then in the Southern District of New York in 2019). It’s doubtful any of the subpoena recipients will ultimately be compelled to testify under oath and against their wills. But for now, it’s a show, of sorts.

At the same time, Comer’s ill-conceived subpoenas will keep the Epstein story burning bright. Serial court showdowns between Congress and a parade of former attorneys general, FBI directors, presidents, and cabinet secretaries will only stoke public interest. Trump surely wants this scandal to fade away, but Comer has ensured it will remain at the fore.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-epstein-republican-investigations-maxwell.html