1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

To say Republicans are fumbling the bag in the handling of this latest tranche of Epstein files is to do them a disservice. They’re going full Wile E. Coyote, stringing up the anvil that’ll come crashing down on them later. Between Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s obvious attempts to gaslight Americans about what’s clearly in the files, and Republicans’ poorly thought out attempts to weaponize subpoenas against their political opponents, they’re planting landmines that are all but guaranteed to blow up in their faces. When Republicans think about next steps, they literally only think about the next step. Today, it’s to subpoena the Clintons to testify before Congress to answer questions about their associations with Jeffrey Epstein. To be clear, this is deeply unorthodox. No former president has ever been compelled to testify before Congress. But… there’s a silver lining here. Because in compelling a former president to testify, the Republicans establish precedent for, well, compelling a former president to testify. Trump will one day be a former president. One who’s had associations with Jeffrey Epstein. And he won’t be shielded by the Office of Legal Counsel guidance saying that a sitting president cannot be indicted. It is a crime to lie to Congress and it is a crime to defy a subpoena. And as long as the next Democratic attorney general does not subscribe to the Merrick Garland approach to government, then Trump can be held accountable if he breaks either of those laws. Prominent Democrats have taken note of all of this. They’re pointing out that by hauling in the Clintons, James Comer sets the precedent that will come back around for the Trumps eventually. Rep. Jared Moskowitz said that when it comes time for the Trumps to take the stand, they’ll have Comer to thank. Rep. Jamie Raskin issued a similar warning, that if there is a former president who doesn’t render substantial good-faith compliance, they’re going to be in trouble under this precedent. “All bets are off.” The lesson here is that Democrats fight as hard -- if not harder -- than Republicans have fought in the past. The Democrats did not start this fight, but they should be willing to finish it. So, remember these moves right now, because this is the playbook, and Democrats should have every intention of using it.