How Bill and Hillary Clinton Could Soon Become Criminal Defendants

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Hey everyone, Ellie here, wishing you a happy Friday. Well, those of you who are listeners of this podcast or read my column or watch what I do on CNN, I think you know that my number one goal is always. To explain. And I try to keep things straightforward and clear. And I try not to veer into being judgmental. There are times when it's necessary, but I generally don't approach every issue as if I'm gonna be wagging my finger at somebody or other.

However, At times, it is necessary for proper context. to call out something that's being done absolutely wrong. And I did that on air several times this week and last week regarding what DOJ is doing in Minnesota and Minneapolis. At one point I said, that they had lost their minds and I stand by that. Here's what's going on. There is a very close call with respect to the fatal shooting of Renee Good. People can reasonably see it either way,

I, as I said last week, lean towards it being a bad shooting, as we would put it in the parlance, but we need a full investigation. But DOJ has made clear there will be no investigation. Todd Blanche has said nothing to see here. That's bad enough. Meanwhile, DOJ has decided that they're gonna subject essentially everyone who speaks out against them, every Democrat.

every objector in the state of Minnesota to a full body MRI. They're going through the policies of the Minneapolis Police Department. They're lodging subpoenas at the mayor and the governor. They're investigating Renee Good's widow. It is

outrageous. It is the opposite of what DOJ ought to be about. It's the opposite of just sound investigation and prosecution. So Look, we're a year in to this Trump second administration, uh, and I think DOJ has been a failure to this point and has shown itself to be Overtly, abjectly political. So I will continue to call that out as necessary over the next three years. Okay.

That sermon is over. Now I want to draw your attention to another issue that is going to get really big. It's really starting to bubble up now late in the week. It's sort of sliding a little under the radar with all the other news. But I want to get you on it early. Okay. Uh, we look like we're gonna get dumped on a lot of snow this weekend. I hope everyone stays safe and sound. Remember the days when you used to

listen for your school number, whether it was closed. Like each school would have, I think mine was 640 something, and you'd listen on the radio. People my age know what I'm talking about. And they would call out each school if it was open or closed or delayed. Delays were the worst. Anyway, I hope everyone stays safe and sound. As always, do love to hear your thoughts, questions, comments. Keep them coming. Letters atcafe.com.

Republicans have thirsted for a criminal prosecution of a Clinton, Bill, Hillary, any Clinton will do, since the 1990s. Thirty years and several near misses later, they might finally get their wish. The Clintons almost certainly are not going to prison or even getting convicted. But with characteristic hubris, Bill and Hillary have walked themselves to the brink of federal charges by defying bipartisan congressional subpoenas on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

And it's a good bet that our current Justice Department, which apparently makes critical decisions by a sophisticated litmus test that asks, do we like you or not, will pursue criminal contempt charges. The Clintons have, of course, had previous brushes with the law. We all remember the impeachment and acquittal of Bill Clinton over his false testimony about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. But nearly lost to history is that Clinton barely avoided a federal indictment.

On his final day in office in January 2001, Clinton agreed to a deal with prosecutors that spared him criminal charges for perjury and obstruction in exchange for a five-year suspension of his Arkansas law license. a twenty five thousand dollar fine, and a public statement acknowledging that he had testified falsely.

For my most recent book, I asked Robert Ray, who replaced Ken Starr as independent prosecutor in late nineteen ninety nine, whether he would have indicted Clinton had he not agreed to the deal. Ray responded, quote, we were more than prepared to pull the trigger if necessary. End quote. A decade and a half later, Hillary Clinton narrowly dodged an indictment for her use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State.

Shortly before the 2016 election, FBI Director Jim Comey infamously and unilaterally announced that Clinton had been, quote, extremely careless. but that the Justice Department would not pursue criminal charges. Comey then announced the case's reopening eleven days before the election. Clinton was spared an indictment, but Comey's public comments probably cost her the presidency.

Yet, for all the political drama and close prosecutorial calls, the Clintons could soon find themselves sitting at the defense table over a pair of comparatively mundane subpoenas.

In August 2025, the House Oversight Committee, led by Republican James Comer, a serial over-promiser who habitually teases shocking revelations about prominent Democrats, but never delivers. Well, Comer subpoenaed both Clintons for in-person testimony over their connections to Epstein and Ghane Maxwell. Both subpoenas were approved unanimously by all Republicans and all Democrats on the committee.

Through their lawyers, the Clintons then engaged in a months-long pushback campaign. They argued to the committee that the subpoenas were unrelated to any legitimate legislative purpose.

were intended to harass and embarrass, and were overbroad and unduly burdensome. Indeed, it's not clear Hillary would know anything of substance about the details of Epstein's criminal enterprise, And while Bill Clinton would have a hellacious time explaining newly revealed photographs of his nighttime frolic in a pool with Gollaine Maxwell and an unidentified female.

It's difficult to articulate how testimony about his dealings with Epstein 30 years ago might somehow inform the drafting of anti-human trafficking legislation now, as the committee disingenuously claims. But the committee holds broad subpoena power, and Comer was unswayed by these legal arguments. Comer declined the Clintons' offer to provide written statements in lieu of live testimony, and ultimately the parties reached no resolution.

Last week, the Clintons launched a self-important last ditch public relations campaign in a letter signed personally by both Bill and Hillary, not their lawyers. The Clintons wrapped themselves in all manner of high-minded irrelevancy. They cited, quote, people who have been seized from their homes by mass federal agents.

The mass pardons of January 6th rioters, Donald Trump's targeting of universities and law firms, and the recent fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis. Quote, every person has to decide when they've seen or heard enough. and are ready to fight for this country, its principles, and its people, no matter the consequences, the Clintons wrote with a self-important flourish. For us, now is that time. End quote.

Yet the Clintons conspicuously failed to explain how their cited examples had anything to do with whether Bill Clinton should tell Congress what he knows about Jeffrey Epstein's child sex trafficking network.

Now the Clintons have worked themselves into a jam. They made a curious tactical decision not to file a lawsuit in advance to quash, invalidate, essentially, the subpoenas. While they still might formally challenge the subpoenas in court, it's probably too late. When the designated days arrived last week for the Clintons to testify, they both chose not to appear. At that point, the committee had all it needed to pursue contempt.

Presumptively valid subpoenas and no court order invalidating them, two dates for testimony, and no shows by both Bill and Hillary. On Wednesday, the Oversight Committee voted to hold both Clintons in contempt of Congress. Notably, nine Democrats joined the Republican colleagues to vote for contempt for Bill Clinton, while three Democrats voted for contempt against Hillary.

The matter will next move to the full house for a vote. If it passes, and of course Republicans hold a slim majority and several Democrats on the committee voted for the subpoenas and contempt, then the matter will be formally referred to the Justice Department for potential prosecution. That'll leave the final call to DOJ leadership. Both Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch have made eminently clear that political retribution is their highest aspiration.

Witness, for example, the spectacularly failed payback prosecutions of Jim Comey and Letitia James, and the recent full bore investigations of seemingly every prominent Democrat in Minnesota, but not the ICE officer who fatally shot Renee Good. And consider that during the Biden administration, lightning rod Trump confidants Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were both prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned for four months each.

for contempt of Congress after they too defied congressional subpoenas. Navarro and Bannon made less of an effort than the Clintons have to engage with the committee, And were more defiant in general, but those are thin distinctions. At bottom, the Clintons did the same thing as the two Trump loyalists.

If the Justice Department does indict the Clintons for contempt, don't count on the cases getting very far. The cases would have to be charged in Washington, D.C., which is overwhelmingly pro-democratic and anti-Trump. Trump received less than seven percent of the vote in DC in all three of his presidential runs. Bill Clinton topped 84% in both of his campaigns, and Hillary topped 90% in hers.

A grand jury might well refuse to indict, even under the low probable cause standard, and it's almost impossible to conceive of a DC trial jury unanimously voting to convict Bill or Hillary. But it's not clear that the Justice Department or Comer or Trump would care about the ultimate outcome. After more than three decades of futile yearning for a Clinton indictment, Republicans have never seen an opportunity quite like the one the Clintons have handed them now.

The prospect of a Clinton criminal charge, even if unlikely to succeed, might just be too much to resist. Thanks for listening everyone. Stay safe and stay informed. This podcast is brought to you by Carvana. Selling your car shouldn't feel like a subject. Carvana? It is. Just visit Carvana.com enter your license plate or VIN. Answer a few quick. And get an offer. pick it up right from your door and hand you your check. No haggling. Pickup fees may apply.