For those Americans longing for an end to the hyperpartisan gridlock in Washington, there’s finally some good news.
And it happened on a very hot issue and involved very big names.
The surprising vote came last week when some Democrats joined with House Republicans to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify under oath about their knowledge of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking scandal.
The number of crossover votes wasn’t large, but it’s still a very big deal that even a handful of Dems crossed party lines to put the screws to leading members of their own party on such a sordid matter.
The vote was all the more surprising given that the Clintons, despite their endless controversies and enormous baggage, are still in good graces with the party and considered Democratic royalty.
He is a former president and the former first lady was secretary of state, a United States senator and the Dems’ 2016 presidential nominee.
‘Not mere suggestions’
That history means the Clintons are widely sought after for endorsements and fund-raising pitches on behalf of candidates across the nation.
Both gave well-received speeches in support of Vice President Kamala Harris at the 2024 convention where she was nominated as the presidential candidate.
So a decision by some House Dems to break ranks and compel the Clintons’ testimony before a GOP-led congress on any issue would be a very big deal.
And the Epstein case is not just any issue, especially because of the sickening charges about his recruitment and abuse of women and young girls.
The full extent of Bill Clinton’s relationship with Epstein is not clear, though the public has seen photographs of them together and with his imprisoned recruiter, Ghislane Maxwell.
A recently released photo shows Clinton floating on his back in a hot tub, with Maxwell and an unidentified woman both visible.
The former president often flew on Epstein’s private planes, with evidences suggesting he took 20 or more flights, although Clinton denies any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he never went to the notorious abuser’s private island.
The Monica Lewinsky scandal and other reported affairs cement the former president’s reputation, and so the Epstein connection adds a sordid chapter to Clinton’s shadowy past.
Thus, the bipartisan vote against him is especially noteworthy in a congress where nearly every important vote, including on government shutdowns, splits along party lines.
So hurrah for the daring Dems — nine voted with the GOP to hold Bill Clinton in contempt, while three did so on the Hillary vote.
Among them was Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who told reporters afterward that, “I’m just focused on survivors. We want to hear from anyone who has information. And that should not be limited to party lines.”
The vote came after months of pressure by the House Oversight Committee for the testimony.
Lawyer letters, demands and promises came and went as the Clintons demanded that they be allowed to submit written statements instead of giving testimony under oath.
But as Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the GOP chairman of the committee, put it, “Subpoenas are not mere suggestions.”
The full House is now gearing up for a contempt vote, and passage would send a criminal referral to the Justice Department calling for prosecution of the Clintons.
Digging up dirt
That same process led to the prosecution of two Trump associates, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, under Joe Biden.
Both were convicted and served four months in prison for refusing to testify about their knowledge of events surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
In another hopeful sign, the party-crossing Dems have all lived to tell about it.
So far, there is no Dem outcry that they are traitors, nor is there any talk about finding and funding primary candidates against them this year.
Still, there is another aspect to consider, and that’s where the good news turns sour.
It’s that the Clinton vote is just the latest sign that both Democrats and Republicans remain demonically possessed with exploring every jot and tittle of the disgusting life of a convicted criminal who committed suicide in prison in 2019.
It’s also hard to escape the sense that all hold motives devoid of self interest.
Rather, I believe politics is the ultimate driver of the relentless passion over Epstein, with both sides holding out hope that proof exists somewhere that will give them a kill shot to use against their opponents. Consider that last November, by wide margins in both chambers, Congress passed the “Epstein Transparency Act” that required Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “all documents and records” held by the Justice Department that relate to Epstein.
She was given just a month, or by last Dec. 19, to put virtually every document in a searchable data base for public consumption.
The act also covered Maxwell and included flight logs, travel records, customs and immigration documents for any aircraft, boat or vehicle “owned or used by Epstein.”
All internal Justice Department documents, including memos, were included.
In an extraordinary statement that belies the political overtones, the law specified that with the exception of identifying victims, “No record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
A major factor, of course, is that President Trump had a long relationship with Epstein, a fact Trump has admitted.
Photos show them together at Mar-a-Lago and elsewhere over the years, though there is no charge that Trump acted inappropriately with any Epstein victims.
Fanning the flames
Although some Dems hoped the transparency act would nail Trump, the president supported it and even took credit for passage after it sailed through both chambers.
With some 75% of the public supporting the bill, the measure united Congress.
There was only one “no” vote in the House, and Senate passage was unanimous.
But in an odd twist, the release of the documents is partially fanning the flames of partisanship.
That’s largely because the documents are so voluminous that they have swamped the Justice Department and led to suspicions about the release timetable.
An AP report in December claimed the agency was holding an estimated 5.2 million covered documents and had assigned some 400 lawyers to reviewing them for quick release.
Recently, Justice said it has released 125,000 pages of documents, but critics, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, bitterly complain that the deadline required release of all documents.
“What are they trying to hide,” Schumer fumed as he accused the administration of violating the transparency act.
Bondi responded by writing that “There are more than two million documents potentially responsive to the Act that are in various phases of review” and that protecting victims also slowed the process.
There you have it.
Bipartisanship was fun while it lasted.
The post Michael Goodwin: House Dems broke ranks to hold the Clintons accountable on Epstein — it may be a sign of things to come appeared first on New York Post.
