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In a sweeping move, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, demanding testimony in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Depositions are set for October—Hillary on October 9 and Bill on October 14—as part of a broader probe that includes former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, and six ex-Attorneys General across multiple administrations. Congress also demanded unredacted Justice Department records on the case by August 19. While this is the first time former presidents have been compelled to testify, none have yet appeared under subpoena. The effort intensifies scrutiny over high-level ties to Epstein and reflects ongoing pressure from Trump supporters calling for greater transparency.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has petitioned the Republican-led Texas Supreme Court to oust Democratic Rep. Gene Wu—the chair of the State House Democratic Caucus—for leading more than 50 fellow Democrats out of state to halt a GOP-backed congressional redistricting plan. Abbott argues their refusal to return constitutes abandonment of office, justifying Wu’s removal under Texas law. Attorney General Ken Paxton and Senator John Cornyn have backed the move: Paxton filed a supporting letter, while Cornyn asked the FBI to assist in locating the absent lawmakers and hinted at bribery allegations. Democrats, now safe in Illinois, defend their actions as constitutional resistance to gerrymandering.
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NOTABLES
Federal prosecutors in South Florida have charged Smartmatic co-founder Roger Piñate with secretly bribing Venezuela’s former elections chief, Tibisay Lucena Ramírez, by transferring a luxury home in Caracas to her in 2019. The alleged payment is tied to a commercial dispute following Smartmatic’s public claim of election fraud by the Maduro regime in 2017, which led the company to halt operations in Venezuela. The case is part of a broader corruption indictment that also includes money laundering charges related to contracts in the Philippines, where prosecutors say Piñate used a slush fund to funnel bribes. Lucena, who died in 2023, reportedly received the property via a shell company, and the prosecution plans to introduce the Venezuelan transaction as evidence of a pattern of illicit behavior.
Highland Park election integrity activist Robert Davis has filed a federal lawsuit against Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey and the city, alleging they failed to publicly disclose where absentee ballots were counted ahead of the August primary—violating Michigan law. Detroit officials reportedly began tabulating early and absentee ballots mid‑week without alerting observers or posting the locations of counting centers. In court, city attorneys conceded they were “not complying with the law,” and a judge has now allowed Davis access to inspect the tally sites—raising transparency and legality concerns over Detroit’s vote counting process.
