Former President Bill Clinton is among a wave of high-profile figures subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer as part of an escalating congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. But legal analyst Royal Oakes says the odds of Clinton ever being compelled to testify are slim.
"It's very unlikely," Oakes told The Ryan Gorman Show. He explained that judges typically show caution when considering compelling testimony from a former president, especially if the connection to any criminal activity is tenuous. "If it doesn't have any real relationship to illegality, if there's no real link or nexus there, it can be tough to convince a judge."
While Clinton had a known personal association with Epstein, Oakes noted that courts would likely require more than a social relationship to justify such a move. He also pointed out that President Donald Trump's name has similarly surfaced due to social ties with Epstein, potentially giving Democrats ammunition to counterbalance any GOP efforts.
Also subpoenaed are former FBI Director James Comey, former special counsel Robert Mueller, former Attorneys General Merrick Garland and Loretta Lynch, and others who may have had peripheral connections to Epstein's prosecution. Notably absent from the list, however, is former U.S. Attorney and former Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta—the very official who approved Epstein's controversial plea deal in the mid-2000s. Oakes called his omission "a little weird" and speculated that political considerations could be at play.
Get the full scoop, including Royal Oakes' take on Ghislaine Maxwell's Supreme Court strategy and the Texas redistricting showdown, on this episode of The Ryan Gorman Show.