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Reporter’s Notebook: Clinton contempt vote gains steam as Democrats join GOP in Epstein probe standoff
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It all started back in the summer. A furor erupted over releasing the Epstein files.
The House began its summer vacation a day early. That halted spending bills. Congressional Republican leaders were concerned that bipartisan lawmakers wanted to attach provisions to the measures to compel release of the Epstein files.
But there was a weird détente — if you can call it that — on the House Oversight Committee.
COMER RIPS ‘PAID DISRUPTER’ AS BRIEFING ON CLINTON CONTEMPT PUSH DEVOLVES INTO CHAOS
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech after being defeated by Republican president-elect Donald Trump as former President Bill Clinton (L) and running-mate Tim Kaine look on in New York on Nov. 9, 2016. (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)
On what turned out to be the final day for the House before the lengthy «August recess,» which consumed lots of July, all of August and some of September, the Oversight Committee conducted a hearing on international trafficking.
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., popped a surprise on the committee. She engineered a plan to subpoena the Epstein files.
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., countered Lee’s effort. He concocted an amendment to subpoena former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with other luminaries who may have some information about the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and the sexual abuse of underage girls in 2005. Epstein later secured what critics termed a «sweetheart deal,» by then U.S. Attorney and future Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. Among those Perry wanted to hear from in depositions were former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales. Perry also asked to hear from former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller.
That’s quite a list.
Most never came in for interviews. Some simply had communication with the committee that they had no knowledge of Epstein or the original prosecution.
HILLARY CLINTON EXPECTED TO DEFY EPSTEIN PROBE SUBPOENA, RISKING CRIMINAL CHARGES
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were both indicted on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from Epstein’s years of abuse of underage girls. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
But the Clintons were another matter.
Particularly former President Bill Clinton.
Firstly, he’s a former president. Secondly, he traveled periodically with Epstein and was documented in photographs together. Third, the former president has a lot of baggage after his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
The Clintons were supposed to meet with House Oversight Committee investigators in October. But that was moved until mid-December. The couple then begged off because of a funeral. The Oversight Committee assigned the duo separate dates in mid-January. Both failed to materialize. So House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., threatened them with contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena.
«It always seems that the Democrat Party has rules for thee, not for me,» said Rep. John McGuire, R-Va. «But we have oversight and we have subpoena power. And we can put a case and give it to the DOJ and let them prosecute. They need to hold them accountable.»
Of course, Democrats screeched that former Trump advisors Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro didn’t comply with subpoenas from the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The House then voted to hold Bannon and Navarro in contempt of Congress.
«What do you suppose ol’ Steve Bannon has to say about contempt of Congress? They either need to show up or go to jail,» said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis. They’re like extra super special people? Hell no they’re not. They’re American citizens. We are a country of laws. They break the law. They go to jail. I don’t care who it is.»
CLINTON SPOKESMAN LASHES OUT AT COMER OVER EPSTEIN PROBE AS CONTEMPT VOTE NEARS
The House Oversight Committee released video of its deposition of Hillary Clinton, featuring an empty chair emphasizing Clinton’s absence. (House Oversight Committee Majority)
In 2022, the same Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., along with Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Perry and former Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., for depositions about the riot. All refused to comply with the subpoena because they were members of Congress. The Constitution’s «speech or debate» clause inoculates lawmakers from having to fulfill such demands. Moreover, it was argued that the House could always refer them to the Ethics Committee for not adhering to a congressional mandate. The Constitution stipulates that the House can discipline its members and establish codes of conduct.
Those lawmakers argued that the Jan. 6 committee wasn’t valid because former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., vetoed McCarthy’s picks for the panel: Jordan and Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who served in the House at the time.
So the Oversight Committee voted to hold both the former president and former Secretary of State in contempt of Congress. There were two extraordinary votes.
«Subpoenas are not mere suggestions,» said Comer. «He is not above the law.»
Nine Democrats voted alongside all Republicans to hold the former Democratic president in contempt.
Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (L) and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., was among them.
«I’m just focused on survivors,» said Pressley. «We want to hear from anyone who has information. And that should not be limited to party lines.»
Lee joined her.
«I do believe that our subpoena is legally binding,» said Lee. «I did not feel like I could let one off.»
A contempt citation must go before the entire House. If the House approves it, the body makes a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for prosecution. That’s what happened with Bannon and Navarro. But some Democrats predict that potentially prosecuting a former President will backfire.
«If we launch criminal contempt proceedings, we will not hear from the Clintons. That is a fact. It’ll be tied up in court,» said Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif.
‘THE VIEW’ HOSTS CALL ON CLINTONS TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENA, TESTIFY ON EPSTEIN
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer speaks to reporters in the Rayburn House Office Building in August 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Clintons may have ducked multiple depositions as part of the Epstein probe. But Comer doesn’t think they can skip out forever. Especially since the House likely has the votes — on a bipartisan basis — to refer them to DOJ for prosecution.
«I think the Clintons probably are thinking more about how they can get out of this today than they were for the last five months, because the court of public opinion is not on the Clintons’ side,» said Comer.
Of course, there are legal issues about prosecuting a president. And even a former president.
But some Democrats believe all the focus on the Clintons is an effort to divert attention from releasing all Epstein documents.
«It’s about protecting one man: Donald J. Trump,» said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va.
And since the documents aren’t out, some Democrats believe the committee should target someone else. And no. It’s not Trump.
«The only person who should be held in contempt right now is [Attorney General] Pam Bondi. We need to be releasing these files,» said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
But at least one Democrat casts a broader net.
«We should hold everybody in contempt that had anything to do to cover this up,» said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. «All I needed to do is hear the survivors tell us, ‘Please, do something.’ These are people that have impacted their lives forever.»
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Comer broke news that the committee will hold a virtual deposition with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell on Feb. 9. Any member of the committee can ask questions. And Comer also announced that the House Judiciary Committee will hear from Bondi in mid-February, too. Expect the Epstein issue to be prominent there as well.
The calendar is now pressing up against February. And even though it’s the dead of winter, Congress is still wrestling with the same issue that sidetracked things last July.
politics,congress,house of representatives politics,the clintons,jeffrey epstein
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Japón afirmó que el fallo del Tribunal Supremo de EEUU contra los aranceles de Trump no afectará las inversiones en el país
Japón indicó este sábado que el fallo del Tribunal Supremo de Estados Unidos contra los aranceles impuestos por el presidente de ese país, Donald Trump, no afectará a las primeras inversiones del marco comercial que contempla compromisos valorados en 550.000 millones de dólares, afirmó el diario económico Nikkei.
Una fuente gubernamental, cuya identidad no fue revelada por Nikkei, señaló que los primeros proyectos valorados en 36.000 millones de dólares anunciados el pasado martes por Trump serán mantenidos por ser “necesarios para el crecimiento y la seguridad económica de Japón”.
“Se espera que Trump continúe imponiendo tarifas por otros medios”, añadió una segunda fuente gubernamental citada por el diario económico.
Las inversiones niponas en suelo estadounidense incluyen un masivo proyecto de construcción de la mayor infraestructura de gas natural en el estado americano de Ohio (oeste del país), así como otros dos relacionados con los sectores del gas natural licuado (LNG) y los minerales críticos.
Estas inversiones forman parte del acuerdo comercial alcanzado el pasado julio entre Tokio y Washington, que incluye inversiones japonesas de hasta 80 billones de yenes (550.000 millones de dólares) así como la reducción del 25 % al 15% los aranceles recíprocos a productos japoneses, incluyendo automóviles.
Las declaraciones, a falta de una reacción oficial, llegan en medio de los planes de la primera ministra, Sanae Takaichi, de viajar a Estados Unidos el mes próximo para reunirse con Trump.
El fallo del Supremo estadounidense del viernes afecta a la tarifa global base del 10 % a las importaciones extranjeras y los llamados gravámenes “recíprocos” a los socios comerciales de la mayor economía del mundo.
La corte determinó que Trump excedió su autoridad al imponer tributos basados en la Ley de Poderes Económicos de Emergencia Internacional (IEEPA), bloqueando así la herramienta clave con la que Washington buscaba implementar su agenda económica.
El Gobierno taiwanés, por su parte, consideró que el nuevo arancel global del 10 % anunciado por Trump, tendrá un “impacto limitado” en la isla, que firmó recientemente un acuerdo comercial con Washington.
El arancel fue anunciado después de que el Supremo bloqueara el viernes los aranceles previamente aplicados a socios comerciales, incluida Taiwán, al amparo de la Ley de Poderes Económicos de Emergencia Internacional (IEEPA).
La ley en la que se basó Trump para esta nueva orden ejecutiva solo permite incrementar aranceles hasta un 15 % y por períodos de 150 días, por lo que no está claro cómo se articulará a largo plazo.
La portavoz del Yuan Ejecutivo (Gobierno), Michelle Lee, señaló que Taipéi seguirá “de cerca” la evolución de la política arancelaria estadounidense y mantendrá una comunicación estrecha con Washington para comprender las medidas específicas y responder “de manera oportuna”.
“Independientemente de cómo evolucionen las políticas arancelarias posteriores de la administración Trump en respuesta a la decisión del Supremo, el objetivo central del Gobierno es seguir esforzándose por lograr los mayores beneficios nacionales e industriales y garantizar el desarrollo estable de la economía de Taiwán”, afirmó Lee, citada por la agencia isleña CNA.
Este mes, Taiwán y Estados Unidos firmaron un acuerdo comercial que reducía del 20 % al 15 % los aranceles aplicados a la isla por Washington. No obstante, tras el fallo del Supremo, está por ver cómo afectará la decisión judicial a ese entendimiento bilateral.
Lee indicó que productos que representaron el 76 % de las exportaciones taiwanesas a Estados Unidos en 2024 están sujetos a la Sección 232 de la Ley de Expansión Comercial de 1962, cuyas investigaciones han concluido o siguen en curso.
Según la portavoz, el equipo negociador taiwanés logró en el acuerdo recientemente firmado un trato de “nación más favorecida” respecto a esos aranceles, lo que contribuiría a reducir el impacto en sectores afectados y a mitigar la incertidumbre para la cadena de suministro tecnológica ante posibles futuros gravámenes sobre semiconductores y productos relacionados.
El acuerdo incluía además el compromiso de Taipéi de eliminar o reducir el 99 % de sus barreras arancelarias a importaciones industriales y agrícolas estadounidenses, según la Oficina del Representante Comercial de EEUU.
Desde su regreso a la Casa Blanca, Trump y su gabinete han insistido en la necesidad de “traer de vuelta” la producción de semiconductores a EE.UU., un país que durante años dependió de fabricantes extranjeros y de cadenas de suministro globales frágiles.
Sin embargo, los expertos consideran que replicar la capacidad de fabricación de Taiwán no será sencillo, dado que cuenta con décadas de experiencia, una mano de obra altamente especializada y un ecosistema completo de proveedores y logística que permite mantener elevados niveles de eficiencia.
Varios países y regiones de Asia respondieron este sábado al fallo del Tribunal Supremo de Estados Unidos que invalida la mayoría de los aranceles impuestos por la Administración del presidente Donald Trump desde el pasado abril, así como a la nueva tasa global del 10 % que el mandatario firmó como respuesta a la resolución.
Las reacciones se producen después de que la Corte Suprema estadounidense determinase este viernes, con una clara mayoría de 6-3, que el Gobierno de Trump se extralimitó en los poderes invocados para imponer gran parte de sus gravámenes a sus socios comerciales.
Como respuesta a la resolución, que invalida los llamados “aranceles recíprocos” y otros gravámenes generalizados impuestos por Trump, con un tipo mínimo del 10 %, el mandatario firmó un arancel global del 10 % sobre todos los países.
La ley que soporta esta nueva orden ejecutiva solo permite incrementar aranceles hasta un 15 % y por períodos de 150 días, por lo que no está claro cómo se articulará a largo plazo.
Corea del Sur afirmó que su acuerdo comercial con Washington, que contempla compromisos como una inversión surcoreana de 350.000 millones de dólares, y aranceles del 15 % por parte de Washington, sigue intacto.
Las autoridades surcoreanas convocaron una reunión de emergencia –según la agencia de noticias Yonhap– para evaluar el impacto de la invalidación de tasas.
Hong Kong consideran que el arancel global del 10 % anunciado por Trump tendrá un “impacto limitado” en sus economías.
El secretario de Servicios Financieros y del Tesoro de Hong Kong, Christopher Hui, afirmó que la estructura económica del centro financiero, fuertemente centrada en el sector servicios, reduce de forma significativa su exposición directa a las tensiones comerciales internacionales.
Indonesia, que el jueves firmó un acuerdo comercial con EEUU, indicó que mantendrá “nuevas conversaciones” con Washington ante “las dinámicas que están ocurriendo”.
El portavoz del Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos de la principal economía del Sudeste Asiático, Haryo Limanseto, dijo que “sigue dependiendo de la decisión de ambas partes” la continuidad del pacto, que mantiene en el 19 % los aranceles de Washington a Yakarta, excepto para determinados productos textiles y agrícolas exentos de gravámenes, entre ellos el aceite de palma.
El acuerdo también incluye compras de productos estadounidenses valoradas en 33.000 millones de dólares por parte de Indonesia y cooperación en minerales críticos y tierras raras, en un contexto marcado por esfuerzos globales para reducir la dependencia en esta materia hacia China.
Malasia aseguró que “continuará diversificando sus relaciones comerciales y fortaleciendo la cooperación económica regional y multilateral” pese al fallo que invalida gran parte de los aranceles de Trump.
Washington y Kuala Lumpur firmaron en octubre un acuerdo comercial que contempla tasas del 19 % para los productos malasios y permite a EE. UU. ampliar su acceso a las tierras raras del país asiático.
(Con información de EFE)
Asia / Pacific
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Judge forces CA hospital to keep trans treatments for minors despite Trump funding threat
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A California judge is requiring a San Diego children’s hospital to continue providing transgender treatments to minors for now, extending a temporary restraining order as hospitals in California and New York take sharply different approaches to President Donald Trump’s executive order threatening to pull federal funding.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner agreed last week to extend a temporary restraining order by 15 days, allowing Rady Children’s Health to continue providing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to minors despite the Trump administration’s efforts to ban such treatments and fears of losing federal funds.
The judge’s order comes as a New York City hospital announced this week it is ending its Transgender Youth Health Program in part due to the «current regulatory environment» — a result of Trump’s executive order aimed at banning transgender medical procedures for minors.
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President Donald Trump speaks to the media after signing executive orders in the Oval Office. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
At issue is Trump’s executive order, signed shortly after he took office, that seeks to end transgender treatment for minors. In December, the Health and Human Services Department proposed a new rule that would strip federal Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide «sex‑rejecting procedures» for children under the age of 18.
NYU Langone Health, one of New York City’s largest hospital networks, said the change was due to what hospital officials cited as the «current regulatory environment.»
Meanwhile, lawyers for the San Diego hospital argued in court that continuing the treatments for minors, even temporarily, could expose it to immediate risk and threaten its Medicaid and Medicare funding — a critical revenue source given Rady’s status as Southern California’s largest children’s health care provider.
Braner acknowledged after hearing from both parties that Rady and other hospitals likely feel caught «between a rock and a hard place» amid heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Still, he said concerns about losing funding could be quickly addressed if that scenario unfolds. «We’ll clear our calendar, and we’ll have a hearing within 24 hours of any notice» from HHS, he said, according to local news outlets.
100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT
Trump and protesters advocating on behalf of transgender treatments for minors are seen in this split imge. (Getty Images)
The reassurances from the judge, whose extension is slated to last through March 15, did little to assuage Rady’s lawyers, who cited the risks of noncompliance and told the judge that even in a short window, continuing the treatments could pose a «catastrophic risk.»
The legal back-and-forth comes as more than 40 hospitals in the U.S. have so far restricted such treatments for minors, in compliance with the administration’s guidance, according to data compiled by STAT News earlier this month.
«Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,» NYU Langone officials said in a statement this week announcing the hospital was ending transgender treatment for minors.
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Hospital staff from Children’s National Hospital watch as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Airforce Thunderbirds fly over the D.C. area on May 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
«We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change. This does not impact our pediatric mental health care programs, which will continue,» the hospital said.
Officials at Rady in San Diego previously announced the hospital would also stop treatments for minors in accordance with the Trump administration’s guidance. The announcement prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta to file a lawsuit earlier this year.
donald trump,politics,supreme court,federal courts,health,crime world,us
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Potential US military strikes on Iran could target specific individuals, pursue regime change: report
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Potential U.S. military strikes on Iran could target specific individuals and even pursue regime change, a report said.
Two U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity reportedly said those are options that have emerged in the planning stage, if ordered by President Donald Trump. They did not say which individuals could be targeted, but Trump, notably, in 2020 ordered the U.S. military attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Department of War for comment.
Trump already said Friday that he is «considering» a limited military strike on Iran to pressure its leaders into a deal over its nuclear program, when asked by a reporter at the White House.
BUILT FOR WEEKS OF WAR: INSIDE THE FIREPOWER THE US HAS POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE EAST
President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. Trump said Friday he is «considering» a limited military strike on Iran. (Allison Robbert/AP)
Last week, when questioned if he wanted regime change in Iran, the president said, «Well it seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.»
Trump on Thursday suggested the window for a breakthrough is narrowing in talks with Iran, indicating Tehran has no more than «10, 15 days, pretty much maximum» to reach an agreement.
«We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,» he said.
TRUMP GIVES IRAN 10-DAY ULTIMATUM, BUT EXPERTS SIGNAL TALKS MAY BE BUYING TIME FOR STRIKE
The USS Gerald R. Ford is heading to the Middle East as the U.S. is building up its military presence there, amid talks with Iran. (U.S Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 6th Fleet / Handout via Reuters)
A Middle Eastern source with knowledge of the negotiations told Fox News Digital this week that Tehran understands how close the risk of war feels and is unlikely to deliberately provoke Trump at this stage.
However, the source said Iran cannot accept limitations on its short-range missile program, describing the issue as a firm red line set by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iranian negotiators are not authorized to cross that boundary, and conceding on missiles would be viewed internally as equivalent to losing a war.
In 2020, the Pentagon said President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, left, in Iraq. (Getty Images)
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The source indicated there may be more flexibility about uranium enrichment parameters if sanctions relief is part of the equation.
Fox News’ Emma Bussey and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
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