Hillary Clinton makes fools of Republicans as 'gotcha' subpoena backfires
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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The American people are basically telling the president that they are not okay with any of this.
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a former first lady and secretary of state gave closed-door testimony as part of an investigation seeking justice for hundreds of women victimized by a notorious child sex trafficker. And the first big news we got out of that deposition was that it had been abruptly paused. For context here, today's deposition comes after months of back and forth between the Clintons and the Republican-controlled committee about whether they would testify and how. Hillary Clinton had specifically asked for an open hearing where she could answer questions publicly with live cameras rolling. But the committee's Republican chairman, James Comer, insisted that she testify privately behind closed doors. And that was how Secretary Clinton's deposition had been proceeding, right up until the moment when Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert snapped this photo from inside the room, leaked it to a right-wing influencer who quickly shared it online.
That photo appears to have violated House rules on disseminating information from closed-door depositions. And since it was Republicans who insisted on a closed-door testimony in the first place, well, Clinton wanted answers. A source tells MSNOW that after learning about the photo, Clinton paused the hearing and asked for the press to be let in. Chairman Comer refused. And his choice is notable, given that House Republicans have spent months telling us that their number one goal in this Epstein investigation is transparency. Here was Oversight Chairman James Comer on the day the House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. I've always believed that sunshine is the best disinfectant. For years, the American people have demanded transparency about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's horrific crimes.
We are committed to accountability, transparency, and justice for the American people and for the survivors. I support full transparency. I support full transparency. And yet, despite repeated attempts to hold a transparent hearing before the American public, Republicans repeatedly declined, choosing instead to keep these hearings behind closed doors so that they could pick and choose what the American people would see from this deposition. Which, as you'll recall, is also what the Judiciary Committee did when they invited Jack Smith to testify about his investigation into Donald Trump. After today's deposition, Secretary Clinton decided that she would take it upon herself to speak to the press and let them know what exactly took place in that deposition.
It was disappointing that they refused to hold a public hearing, so I wouldn't have to be out here characterizing it for you. You could have seen it for yourself. We had asked for that. We think it would have been better for the committee. We had a bit of a challenge in the beginning because we had agreed upon rules based on the fact it was going to be a closed hearing at their meeting. demand.
How did the Republicans' subpoena of Hillary Clinton backfire?
And one of the members violated that rule, which was very upsetting because it suggested that they might violate other of our agreements. And we returned to answer questions repetitively, literally over and over again. I don't know how many times I had to say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein. I never went to his island. I never went to his homes. I never went to his offices. It then got, at the end, quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet.
UFOs and the Pizzagate conspiracy. That is how Republicans chose to spend their time in this hearing.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–3:32
2
How did the Republicans' subpoena of Hillary Clinton backfire?
3:32–9:25
3
What were the key moments from Hillary Clinton's closed-door testimony?
9:25–13:48
4
What was the response from the Oversight Committee members after Clinton's deposition?
13:48–19:17
5
How is Donald Trump attempting to influence the upcoming midterm elections?
19:17–24:43
6
What are the implications of Trump's potential national emergency declaration?
24:43–30:48
7
What recent developments involve Tulsi Gabbard and a whistleblower report?
30:48–36:54
8
What are the challenges faced by whistleblower clients in Congress?
36:54–43:30
Speakers
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