An upcoming televised hearing featuring testimony from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has major implications for President Donald Trump, according to a recent analysis by the Bulwark's Joe Perticone.
In a Thursday article, Perticone observed that House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) was successful in forcing the Clintons to testify, despite the former First Couple initially stiff-arming his subpoenas. However, after a bipartisan vote to threaten the Clintons with contempt, both Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to come before the committee to discuss their connections to convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein.
But according to Perticone, Comer may have inadvertently given Democrats a huge gift, should they retake the majority in the House of Representatives in 2027. As the Bulwark writer explained, Comer established a precedent that even former presidents can be compelled to testify before Congress and be threatened with criminal charges and potential jail time for not appearing.
Democrats could feasibly use the same tactics against Trump and members of his administration if they win back the House in the midterms. But Comer insisted that the prior criminal investigations of Trump's alleged election interference and mishandling of classified documents meant that the precedent had already been set.
"This has nothing to do with how they treated Trump,” Comer told the Bulwark. “But going after a former president, they’ve already set that precedent. So according to the Democrats, nobody’s above the law.”
Perticone disputed Comer's point, arguing that when Democrats on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack subpoenaed Trump in 2022, he never showed, and members didn't attempt to hold him in contempt. He noted that now, new rules apply to both sitting and former presidents thanks to Comer's actions.
"Under Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, Comer has laid low, as is customary for the head of a committee whose primary function (when the president belongs to the majority’s party) is to act as the administration’s public relations arm," Perticone wrote. "But Comer may have just made another blunder, and unlike his past blunders as Oversight chair, this one might make it impossible for him to simply pivot away."
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), who sits on the Oversight Committee, voted for the contempt measure, arguing that Congress' constitutional powers should be respected and upheld. She added that Trump may have to look over his shoulder under a potential future Democratic-controlled House.
“I mean, listen, if you are subpoenaed to Congress and you don’t show, you’re going to be held in contempt,” Stansbury said. “And I know that there were legal arguments being made about a president or former president not having to show, but part of why I voted ‘yes’ in committee is because it feels extraordinarily important to preserve the subpoena of Congress, especially as we have the most corrupt president in American history in office.”
