THE CLINTON GAMBIT: Did They Just Trap the DOJ…

The political world gasped yesterday. But for once, it wasn’t because of a scandal. It was because Bill and Hillary Clinton just looked the House Oversight Committee in the eye and effectively told them to go to hell. The subpoena demanded their presence for a closed-door deposition regarding Jeffrey Epstein. The Clintons didn’t just decline. They sent a legal letter so scorching it practically burned the paper it was printed on.

The breakdown of the last 24 hours is simple. Chairman James Comer issued the summons, expecting the former power couple to fold or plead the Fifth. Instead, they refused to show up entirely. In response, the committee voted yesterday to hold them in contempt of Congress. But if Republicans think they just scored a victory, they might want to check the chessboard again. They may have just walked into a trap.

The rejection letter from the Clinton legal team was not standard boilerplate. It called the subpoenas “invalid” and “legally unenforceable.” It accused the committee of harassment “untethered to a valid legislative purpose.” This matches the sentiment of “eat shit” perfectly, though phrased in the polite brutality of high-priced lawyers. They explicitly stated they would “forcefully defend” themselves.

Here is the core of their argument. It is actually a point that transparency advocates have been making for years. The Clintons argued that it is absurd for Congress to interrogate them about the Epstein files while the government is simultaneously refusing to release those very files. They asked a simple question. How can we testify about evidence you are hiding from us and the public?

This is where the strategy gets brilliant. Legal analysts are buzzing about a theory called “Forced Discovery.” By refusing to testify, the Clintons are practically begging to be prosecuted. If the House refers them to the Department of Justice, and if the Trump DOJ actually decides to charge them with Contempt of Congress, the dynamic flips instantly.

Once they become criminal defendants, the game changes. In a criminal trial, the defense has broad rights to see the evidence against them. This is known as “discovery.” If the government wants to put them in jail for what they know or didn’t say about Epstein, the Clintons can argue that they cannot defend themselves without seeing the full, unredacted Epstein files.

It is the ultimate checkmate. To prosecute the Clintons, the Trump administration would have to hand over the documents they have been slow walking for a year. The Clintons are effectively holding a gun to the DOJ’s head. They are saying, “Go ahead. Charge us. But if you do, you have to give us the files.”

The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. Republicans led by Comer want a show trial to embarrass the Clintons. But by pushing this contempt charge, they are handing Bill and Hillary the legal authority to demand the release of the most explosive secrets in Washington. The Clintons might be the only people with the security clearance and the legal standing to force these documents into the light.

This is high-stakes poker played at the highest level. If the DOJ blinks and refuses to prosecute, the Clintons walk away looking untouchable. If the DOJ prosecutes, the files likely come out in court. Either way, the Clintons have managed to turn a subpoena into a weapon against the very committee trying to investigate them.

Whether you love them or loathe them, you have to admire the maneuver. They saw the trap set by the Oversight Committee and decided to spring it on purpose. Now the ball is in the DOJ’s court. Do they want the Clintons in handcuffs enough to risk exposing every secret in the Epstein vault? 

We are about to find out just how much the government really wants us to know.

*Originally posted by Donald Trump Jail Tracker.