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THANK YOU, MICHAEL. STAY WITH ME BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME OTHER MAJOR BREAKING NEWS HAPPENING ON CAPITOL HILL RIGHT NOW.
JUST MOMENTS AGO, FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON AND FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SAID THEY WILL NOT TESTIFY BEFORE THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE REGARDING THE EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS, MICHAEL?
YEAH, ANA, IT'S PRETTY VERY BIG NEWS UP HERE ON CAPITOL HILL JUST COMING IN WITHIN THE LAST FEW MINUTES. THAT WILL HAVE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS. SO OF COURSE, WE HAD EXPECTED FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON TO APPEAR FOR A DEPOSITION TODAY AS PART OF THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE'S INVESTIGATION INTO JEFFREY EPSTEIN. I SAY EXPECTED BECAUSE TODAY WAS HIS DAY TO APPEAR, BUT HE DID NOT APPEAR. WRITING TO THE COMMITTEE OVERNIGHT, HIM AND HIS WIFE, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON, WHO'S SCHEDULED TO APPEAR FOR A DEPOSITION TOMORROW, SAYING THAT THEY WOULD NOT APPEAR AND ESSENTIALLY BLASTING THIS INVESTIGATION AS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED.
I WANT TO READ TO YOU PART OF THIS STATEMENT THAT JUST CAME IN FROM HILLARY AND BILL CLINTON, THEM WRITING TO CHAIRMAN JAMES COMER OF THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: "QUOTE, EVERY PERSON HAS TO DECIDE WHEN THEY HAVE SEEN OR HAD ENOUGH AND ARE READY TO FIGHT FOR THIS COUNTRY, ITS PRINCIPLES AND ITS PEOPLE NO MATTER THE CONSEQUENCES. FOR US NOW IS THAT TIME."
NOW, ANA, THIS IS GOING TO HAVE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS UP HERE ON CAPITOL HILL. WE JUST HEARD WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS WORD AGAIN WITHIN THE LAST FEW MINUTES FROM CONGRESSMAN JAMES COMER, AGAIN, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, WHO SAYS HE NOW PLANS TO LAUNCH CONTEMPT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON. THIS WAS THE THREAT THAT JAMES COMER HAD BEEN LEVYING FOR WEEKS AS THE TWO PARTIES WERE GOING BACK AND FORTH ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE CLINTONS WOULD APPEAR. NOW THAT BILL CLINTON HAS NOT FOR THE DEPOSITION, HE SAID HE WILL GO DOWN THAT ROUTE.
WHAT WILL THIS LOOK LIKE? THERE WILL HAVE TO BE A VOTE AMONG THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. IF THAT IS SUCCESSFUL, IT WILL THEN GO TO THE HOUSE FLOOR WHERE A SIMPLE MAJORITY IS NEEDED TO REFER BILL CLINTON FOR CRIMINAL CONTEMPT TO THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, ESSENTIALLY A REFERRAL TO THE DOJ TO THEN DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO INVESTIGATE BILL CLINTON. BUT AGAIN, THE PRESIDENT IS NOT APPEARING FOR HIS DEPOSITION, AND JAMES COMER SAYS HE'S GOING DOWN THE ROUTE OF CONTEMPT.
MICHAEL SCHNELL, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US THAT DEVELOPMENT. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DIG ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THE HOUR.