House Republicans successfully compelled former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify before Congress, but the move could backfire by setting a precedent for Democrats to summon their own political target: President Donald Trump.
The Clintons are set to testify in late February before the House oversight committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted and since-deceased sex offender whose records have been the subject of scrutiny on Capitol Hill for months.
But Democratic lawmakers and strategists are warning that this establishes a precedent Republicans may regret down the road, especially if Democrats take back the House majority as they are projected to in the 2026 elections.
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” said veteran Democratic strategist Brad Bannon. “If Republicans want to bring a former president to testify about their relationship with Epstein, it seems to me it gives the Democrats the license to do the same thing after Donald Trump is out of office.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), a member of House oversight who voted in committee to hold Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress, told the Washington Examiner Republicans have “110%” set a precedent for calling Trump or his associates to testify on Epstein.
Frost said it became clear the GOP’s inquiry into the Clintons was a “political witch hunt” after Chairman James Comer (R-KY) kept “moving the goalposts” and rejected a “really fine offer” from the duo to testify. Now, Frost said with the Clintons set to appear, no one is off the table.
“We’re going to expect any former president and anyone who they might be married to, or part of their family, to do the same thing if we see fit on future investigations,” Frost said.
The House was poised to move forward with holding the Clintons in contempt this week after the pair refused to comply with bipartisan subpoenas for interviews. An original contempt vote was set for Monday, but it was postponed after the Clintons agreed to testify.
Oversight Democrats have blasted Republicans for not operating in good faith. They say there are frequent mentions of Trump in the Epstein documents, but so far, Republicans have rebuffed calls for the president to appear before the committee.
Comer conceded to NBC News that bringing in the Clintons “could set a precedent,” but noted that Trump’s testimony hasn’t been needed because “he’s been answering questions about Epstein” from reporters.
“Democrats are grasping at straws now that the release of the Epstein files has backfired on them. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries solicited campaign cash from Epstein, and Stacey Plaskett appears to have visited the island, took campaign cash from Epstein, and texted with Epstein during a congressional hearing. Bill Clinton is the former President of the United States; not the sitting President. Democrats need therapy for their TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome],” Comer said.
On Tuesday, Trump said it’s “really time for the country to get on to something else,” days after the latest batch of Epstein files were released to the public. Many high-profile individuals, including Trump, Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, were mentioned in the files.
Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) said Democrats have been thinking “several steps ahead” when it comes to investigating the Epstein files, stating she thinks it’s important that the Clintons come and testify.
“I think it’s important for us to get as much information as we can through all the people who knew [Epstein] in some capacity, but also to signal to Republicans, ‘We’re going to come after you guys, too, when we have the gavels back. We’re going to use our subpoena power.’”
Republicans have largely brushed off calls from Democrats to bring Trump before the committee. The White House said in a statement that Democrats are “suffering from severe cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome” and they should “focus on implementing good policies, like President Trump is, not falling for blue-anon conspiracy theories.”
“These antics are why Congressional Democrats have record low approval ratings,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) told the Washington Examiner that Democrats haven’t “treated [Trump] well throughout history,” so he’s not surprised they are focusing on bringing the president before the committee again, like they tried to do in the select committee to investigate the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
“They’re going to do it anyway,” Messmer said.
CLINTONS DODGE CONTEMPT AND SET DATES TO TESTIFY BEFORE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Not all Democrats think this is a good decision for Democrats to prioritize when they get the majority back. Veteran strategist Hank Sheinkopf said it’s “not a wise approach.”
“It could make [Trump] into a martyr,” Sheinkopf said. “Let him stew in the White House and go on the attack is a smarter strategy than a revenge tactic.”
