Veteran political strategist James Carville says the GOP is shooting itself in the foot with its “theatrics” over the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Donald Trump and his allies in Congress have tried to frame the files’ release as a “Democrat problem” by zeroing in on Bill and Hillary Clinton’s appearance in the documents.
The GOP-led House Oversight Committee, chaired by MAGA Rep. James Comer, issued subpoenas to the former president and first lady, which they initially resisted. The Clintons agreed this week to be deposed as Republicans moved to hold them in criminal contempt of Congress.
But Carville, the 81-year-old strategist behind Bill’s 1992 presidential campaign, argues that Republicans’ attempts to pin the Epstein files on the Clintons are bound to backfire.
He told Politico that Bill, 79, would be “well-prepped” to face Comer, 53, in testimony.
“You’ve got one of the lowest IQ people to ever serve in the United States government matched against maybe the highest IQ person ever served in the United States government,” Carville said.
He followed up with a scathing metaphor for the Republicans’ pursuit:
“This whole thing reminds me of what you see a lot here down in the South where I live—dogs chasing cars. You caught the car. Good. What are you gonna do with it? It was fun chasing the car. The car stopped. Eat the hubcap.”
Carville also noted that Hillary, now 78, endured an 11-hour grilling before a House committee in 2015 over the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi when she was secretary of state.
“The more attention they bring to this, it’s not going to end well for them,” he said.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Comer’s office for comment.
Republicans will get a chance to “eat the hubcap” on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27, when Hillary and Bill are respectively scheduled to appear for all-day depositions.
But by taking the unprecedented step of forcing a former president to testify before Congress, Comer has also opened the door for Democrats to target Trump and his family down the line, The New York Times reports.
The Clintons and Comer are still feuding over the format of the proceedings. The Clintons are seeking to have an open hearing, while Comer said they would appear for transcribed, recorded depositions—behind closed doors.
Bill maintained a relationship with Epstein for years and has featured prominently in the trove of images and documents released by the Department of Justice. Trump, who has himself been named more than 1,000 times in the Epstein files, called on the DOJ to investigate Bill’s relationship with the late pedophile.
In turn, the former Democratic president has accused Trump and Republicans of trying to smear him while protecting others. Both Trump and Clinton have denied any wrongdoing.
