The House Oversight Committee issued deposition subpoenas on Aug. 5 to failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton requiring their testimony “related to horrific crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein.”

Evidently the Clintons didn’t feel that they should be held to the same standard to which Democrats previously held President Donald Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon and current trade adviser Peter Navarro, who were both jailed for defying subpoenas issued by the Jan. 6 committee.

‘The Clintons were legally required to appear and instead responded to our good-faith negotiations with defiance.’

After repeated warnings that the Clintons risked criminal exposure by failing to comply with the subpoenas, the committee advanced two resolutions on Wednesday recommending that the House of Representatives find them in contempt of Congress.

The resolution finding Hillary Clinton in contempt passed in a 28-15 vote. The three Democratic lawmakers who joined Republicans in supporting the resolution were Reps. Summer Lee (Pa.), Melanie Stansbury (N.M.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).

The resolution finding Bill Clinton in contempt passed in a 34-8 vote with the help of Lee, Stansbury, Tlaib, and six other Democrats: Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Emily Randall (Wash.), and Lateefah Simon (Calif.).

“By voting to hold the Clintons in contempt, the Committee sent a clear message: No one is above the law, and justice must be applied equally — regardless of position, pedigree, or prestige,” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in the wake of the votes. “The Clintons were legally required to appear and instead responded to our good-faith negotiations with defiance, delay, and obstruction.”

RELATED: Ghislaine Maxwell scheduled to testify before House Oversight Committee

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.

The Clintons’ lawyers, apparently aware that the other shoe was about to drop, proposed that Comer travel to New York for a conversation with Bill Clinton where “no official transcript would be recorded and other Members of Congress would be barred from participating,” Comer indicated on Tuesday.

Comer noted both that the “Clintons’ latest demands make clear they believe their last name entitles them to special treatment” and that the proposal for a transcript-free interview was unworkable because “Clinton has a documented history of parsing language to evade questions, responded falsely under oath, and was impeached and suspended from the practice of law as a result.”

Angel Urena, deputy chief of staff to Bill Clinton, denied Comer’s framing and stated hours ahead of the votes that “we have offered to help, we have helped, and to this very moment we are ready to help. But the Republicans REFUSE to say yes.”

Urena suggested that the dealbreaker was ultimately lawmakers’ alleged refusal to “keep their questions about the Epstein investigation to questions about Jeffrey Epstein.”

House GOP leaders are reportedly not expected to vote on whether to refer the contempt findings to the Department of Justice for potential prosecution until lawmakers return in February. The Washington Post suggested that the delay will afford the Clintons time to talk their way out of hot water and into an arrangement with the committee.

Democrats have a history of evading consequence for defying congressional subpoenas.

Eric Holder, former President Barack Obama’s attorney general, was held in contempt of Congress in a decisive 255-67 vote in 2012 for refusing to turn over documents related to the Fast and Furious scandal.

The Obama Justice Department rewarded Holder for keeping Obama’s documents from the American people’s elected representatives by refusing to prosecute.

In 2024, House Republicans voted to hold former Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas for audio recordings of former President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

The Biden Department of Justice revealed on June 14, 2024, that it would not bother prosecuting the Democratic official.

House Republicans talked a big game in early 2024 about possible repercussions after Hunter Biden defied a congressional subpoena. Biden managed to get out unscathed as lawmakers dropped their proposed contempt resolution to give the pardoned felon’s attorneys more time.

Republican allies have not been so lucky.

After the Democrat-controlled House voted 229-202 in 2021 to hold him in contempt of Congress, the Biden DOJ energetically prosecuted Steve Bannon, securing a conviction and recommending that he serve at least six months in prison and pay a $200,000 fine. He ultimately served four.

Navarro received a similar treatment and ended up serving a four-month prison sentence as well.

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A felon who had spent time behind bars for kidnapping and other crimes tried to abduct a Florida woman who was walking her dog in the area of 18th Place East in Bradenton on New Year’s Day, WFLA-TV reported, citing the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman managed to run away from the suspect’s car and made it to her home — and then warned her husband about what happened, the station said.

‘Chalk one up for the good guys!’

Detectives said the husband went outside and confronted the suspect, who behaved “in a threatening manner” toward the couple, WFLA reported.

But when the suspect began approaching, the husband shot the suspect once in the driveway, the station said.

The sheriff’s office told WFLA the entire incident occurred in a matter of minutes.

Deputies responded to the shooting at 12:27 a.m., and the suspect — 36-year-old Nicholas Palomo — died at the scene despite efforts to save him, the station said.

RELATED: Crook forces way into home, stabs resident amid fight. But victim’s wife grabs gun, opens fire — and permanently ends threat.

Mugshot of Nicholas Palomo from 2023Image source: Manatee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office

More from WFLA:

After collecting further evidence in the shooting, investigators determined that Palomo did not know the couple, classifying the shooting as a “random incident.”

Detectives also found that Palomo previously caused a disturbance at a Circle K before the shooting. It is believed he may have been under the influence of narcotics.

An autopsy found Palomo died of a single gunshot to the chest, and toxicology testing is being done to determine what drugs were in his system at the time.

The State Attorney’s Office classified the shooting as self-defense, justifying the homeowner’s actions, the station said.

As you can imagine, commenters under WFLA’s Facebook post about the incident gave the husband hearty kudos.

“Husband of the year!” one commenter declared.”I got his next beer,” another user promised.”Chalk one up for the good guys!” another commenter exclaimed.”Hero husband,” another user stated.”The south don’t play games,” another commenter wrote.

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Radicals from Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and BLM Twin Cities assembled on Sunday for a so-called “ICE Out Action,” then stormed a Christian church in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday morning that at her direction, Homeland Security Investigations and FBI agents arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, the founder of the Racial Justice Network and former president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP, who claimed responsibility for the disruption.

The AG indicated that Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a radical lesbian who has led BLM Twin Cities and worked for the Saint Paul School Board since 2020, was also arrested.

“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” wrote Bondi.

‘President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.’

FBI Director Kash Patel indicated that both Armstrong and Allen were arrested for alleged violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon indicated in the immediate aftermath of the radicals’ incursion into Cities Church, which apparently has a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-affiliated pastor, that her office was looking into potential FACE Act violations “by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”

RELATED: ‘You are on notice!’ Don Lemon backs anti-ICE radicals who stormed Saint Paul church — but DOJ vows reckoning

Photo by Jason Alpert-Wisnia/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

“We don’t want to prejudge, but I think it is fair to say that I saw multiple federal criminal incidents yesterday, and there will be charges,” Dhillon told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck Monday. “It’s only a question of when we can get a judge to sign off on arrest warrants and exactly what the charges would be.”

The law prohibits the use of force, threat of force, or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise their First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.

Violations can result in prison time and hefty fines as well as civil lawsuits.

Footage of the church-storming appears to show the mob led by Armstrong blocking the altar, yelling Renee Good’s name, and pressing parishioners individually to answer whether they support ICE. One pair of visibly upset churchgoers can be seen in the video comforting one another while the radicals angrily condemn members of law enforcement.

In one video of the mob action, Armstrong apparently yells, “Someone who claims to worship God, teaching people in this church about God, is out there overseeing ICE agents. Think about what we experienced. The murder of Renee Good at the hands of ICE. A Venezuelan national shot by ICE.”

Armstrong references a pair of individuals who were shot while allegedly attacking federal agents, then yells, “How dare you claim to be a pastor of God? … You are involved in evil in our community,” video appears to show.

“President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday. “The Department of Justice has launched a full investigation into the despicable incident that took place earlier today at a church in Minnesota.”

Bondi suggested that there are more arrests to come.

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Many Americans have watched Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy “The Lord of the Rings.” And many have read J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. Some can quote whole passages and trace Tolkien’s deliberate references to the life of Christ and the horror of modern war.

Maybe House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) live in that camp. If not, they should.

The Republicans’ plan cannot be ‘use federal power while we have it, then trust the next guys.’

A crucial scene comes early in the saga. The council debates what to do with the One Ring, the ultimate source of power. Boromir makes an understandable, dangerous suggestion — a perfect expression of fallen man’s temptation: “Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him.”

Aragorn stops him with two sentences rooted in humility and truth: “You cannot wield it. None of us can.”

That is the lesson Republicans must learn now, while they still hold majorities.

Dismantle the machine, don’t borrow it

Many supporters of President Trump want Congress to act boldly. They also want something more important: They want Republicans to roll back the reach and scope of the federal government while they can. If the GOP refuses, Democrats will inherit the same machinery and use it without restraint. Not someday. Soon.

If you think I exaggerate by calling Democrats the enemy or warning that we are doomed, consider a recent message from the second-highest-ranking elected congressional Democrat in the country, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Jeffries posted a video of White House adviser Stephen Miller on X.com and wrote: “Donald Trump will leave office long before the five-year statute of limitations expires. You are hereby put on notice.”

Jeffries did not allege a crime. He did not explain what Miller did wrong. He did not argue facts or law. He issued a threat: We will punish you later because we can.

That is what Republicans keep forgetting. The federal government’s power does not idle in neutral. It exists to be used. If it remains in place, someone will use it — and progressives have already shown what they want to do with it.

Which raises the central point: Nobody can safely wield that power. Not congressional Republicans. Not any administration. The correct move is not to grab the weapon and promise better behavior. The correct move is to destroy the weapon.

Fraud stories shine a bright light

Start with something as basic as fraud.

Look at the unraveling of the Somali day-care scandal in Minnesota and the billions of stolen tax dollars. That story grew so large that it helped end Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz’s re-election ambitions. Yet the government did not uncover it.

Not the Government Accountability Office. Not the Congressional Budget Office. Not the Office of Management and Budget. Not House or Senate oversight committees. Not the IRS. Not the Small Business Administration. Not the armies of full-time staffers inside federal agencies reporting up to inspectors general whose job description exists for this very purpose.

All that government power — and it did nothing.

RELATED: America now looks like a marriage headed for divorce — with no exit

mathisworks via iStock/Getty Images

The scandal came to light because of the tenacity of a 23-year-old guy with a camera. If the federal machine can miss fraud on that scale, imagine what else it misses.

Fraud saturates the system. Estimates run as high as $500 billion — roughly 7% of the $6.8 trillion federal budget. That budget still reflects COVID-era spending levels. In 2019, Washington spent $4.45 trillion. Why did we never return to pre-COVID levels?

Because money is power. And like Boromir, too many people convince themselves they can wield it.

Ethics are not enough

Energy policy shows the same temptation in real time.

My nonprofit organization, Power the Future, sent another letter to House and Senate oversight committees and to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging investigations into Biden’s energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm. In the final days of the Biden administration, Granholm awarded $100 billion in green-energy grants — more than the previous 15 years combined. Many recipients had previously supported her political campaigns.

Green money poured out of Washington through the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated $60 billion for “environmental justice” — a phrase so deliberately amorphous that it has no fixed meaning. Team Biden spent $1 trillion “going green,” a statistic Vice President Kamala Harris bragged about during her lone 2024 debate with Donald Trump.

That entire structure still stands.

Nothing prevents the current energy secretary, Chris Wright, from spending billions on his favorite projects except his ethics. I believe Wright has ethics in abundance. We should feel grateful. But one man’s ethics do not qualify as a system of government.

The next secretary could be worse than Granholm. If the power remains, someone will use it.

RELATED: Nuke the filibuster or brace for the next impeachment campaign

Viktoriia Melnyk via iStock/Getty Images

Empty the arsenal

Just as in Tolkien’s masterpiece, our enemies do not wait quietly. They scheme. They train. They amass armies of lawyers, activists, operatives, and bureaucrats. They build institutional pipelines that outlast elections. They do not go home after losing once. They plan the return.

Republicans need to plan as well — and their plan cannot be “use federal power while we have it, then trust the next guys.”

One party will not hold Washington forever. When conservatives lose power, they should make sure the left inherits a reduced federal government: weaker, narrower, stripped of the patronage systems and enforcement tools that now function as political weapons.

That is why it is incumbent upon congressional Republicans to do everything in their power — everything — to destroy the Ring.

America’s founders envisioned a weak federal government for this reason. In America’s 250th year, Congress should act like it understands the danger of concentrated power. If Republicans keep the machinery intact, they will regret it. If the Ring finds its next master, it will not spare the people who once held it.

​Opinion & analysis, Politics, Corruption, Minnesota fraud, Somali fraud, Tim walz, Government accountability office, Jacob frey, Theft, Tolkien, Lord of the rings, Sauron, Aragorn, Boromir, Mike johnson, John thune, Congress, Day care, Scandal, Investigation, Hakeem jeffries, Donald trump, Stephen miller, Social media, Weaponized justice, Office of management and budget, Jennifer granholm, Energy, Climate change, Climate justice, Power 

Democrats, ever desperate for one-party control, filed a lawsuit in October claiming that New York City’s only Republican-held congressional district was unconstitutionally drawn because it allegedly “dilutes black and Latino voting strength.”

The Staten Island plaintiffs, represented by the Washington, D.C.-based Elias Law Group, demanded that the map — which was approved by the Democrat-controlled state legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in 2024 — be redrawn such that it’d be virtually impossible for Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis to defend her district.

‘This entire exercise is a cynical attempt to enact an illegal partisan gerrymander under the guise of a voting rights case.’

Jeffrey Pearlman, a justice on the New York Supreme Court who was not only appointed by Hochul but previously served as her lawyer and chief of staff, delivered the plaintiffs a win on Wednesday, claiming that the configuration of New York State’s 11th congressional district is unconstitutional.

“It is clear to the Court that the current district lines of CD-11 are a contributing factor in the lack of representation for minority voters,” wrote Hochul’s former chief of staff.

While the Democratic plaintiffs proposed new gerrymandered district lines for the Hochul judge to adopt, he noted that the New York state Constitution leaves it to the legislature to correct the law’s legal infirmities in the event that a congressional map is invalidated by a court.

RELATED: Christians win BIG: New York caves on forcing nuns and churches to fund abortion after knockout SCOTUS ruling

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.). Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

Accordingly he ordered the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to draw a new map by Feb. 6.

Days ahead of the ruling, Malliotakis told “The Point with Marcia Kramer” that the Democratic campaign to redraw the map was “ludicrous” and “an insult to the people of Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, who had a Democrat, by the way, Max Rose, who represented them, and they fired this individual.”

“So they had a choice here between a Republican and a Democrat, and they decided they didn’t want the Democrat representing them anymore,” continued Malliotakis. “And here comes this Washington firm saying they don’t care about the will of the voter. They’re going to set it up so a Republican can never win and it’ll always be one-party rule.”

Aria Branch, a partner at the D.C.-based Elias Law Group, claimed that the decision was “a victory for every voter in New York’s 11th Congressional District who has been denied an equal voice.”

Hochul also lauded her former underling’s decision.

“The New York State Constitution guarantees the principles of fair representation, and New Yorkers in every community deserve these protections,” stated Hochul. “The court’s decision underscores the importance of these constitutional principles and directs the congressional map be redrawn by the New York Independent Redistricting Commission so impacted communities are fully represented and have a voice in our democracy.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) characterized the apparent effort to disenfranchise Republican voters in New York City as “the first step towards ensuring communities of interest remain intact from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R) rejected Jeffries’ framing, suggesting the Hochul judge’s order amounted to an “absurd fraud” perpetrated against those “New Yorkers who demanded independent redistricting and overwhelmingly rejected partisan gerrymandering.”

Ed Cox, chairman of the New York Republican Party, similarly condemned the ruling.

“This was a partisan ruling made by a partisan judge in a case brought by a notoriously partisan attorney,” stated Cox. “Kathy Hochul and Albany Democrats did not alter this district when they had a chance in 2024. This entire exercise is a cynical attempt to enact an illegal partisan gerrymander under the guise of a voting rights case.”

The district Hochul’s former underling deemed unconstitutional has been represented by Malliotakis since 2021, when she beat her Democratic opponent in a landslide, 63.8% to 35.8%.

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Rep. John James, a Michigan Republican running for governor, has launched a new ad tying the fate of Trump’s second term and the America First agenda to James’ home state of Michigan.

On Thursday, James released an ad titled “Impeached,” claiming that Michigan, with its open U.S. Senate seat and four competitive House races, is “ground zero” in the fight to keep Congress under Republican control.

Recent polling indicates that James holds a commanding lead in the Republican primary and a slight edge in the general election in November.

The ad suggests that if Congress falls into the hands of the Democrats after the 2026 midterms, Trump will be “impeached” and his “Cabinet dragged before hearings led by AOC and Rashida Tlaib,” referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Tlaib (D-Mich.).

In the ad, James, currently a Michigan congressman who has “backed President Trump every time,” makes the pitch to MAGA Michiganders that his election to be their next governor is vital to protecting Trump and his ability to continue implementing his policies: “If you care about President Trump, you must stand up for John James.”

RELATED: Gov. candidate John James hammers Michigan GOP over political failures: ‘What are we even talking about?’

In a press release given to Blaze News, James’ spokeswoman Hannah Osantowske stated: “This ad makes the stakes unmistakable. If Republicans lose Michigan, Democrats will move to impeach President Trump and grind the America First agenda to a halt. John James is the conservative fighter who can win — and who Michigan families can trust to hold the line.”

As of Thursday morning, Trump has made no endorsement in the Michigan gubernatorial Republican primary, though he previously endorsed James’ Senate and congressional campaigns and even referred to the Iraq War Army aviation officer as “legendary.”

Osantowske told Blaze News that James is “committed to earning” Trump’s endorsement once again. “John James is a proven winner. President Trump likes winners, and he remembers those who’ve been loyal,” she added.

Recent polling indicates that James holds a commanding lead in the Republican primary and a slight edge in a hypothetical three-way matchup against Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Democrat-leaning independent Mike Duggan in the general election in November.

The RealClearPolitics average currently has James ahead by 3.5 points.

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It’s been less than a week since Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as Virginia’s governor, and already her unhinged liberal policies are poisoning the state, says BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales.

“She’s a deranged, liberal, white woman, so she’s handling it about how you would expect,” she sneers.

As one of her first actions after being sworn in, Spanberger signed an executive order rescinding her predecessor Glenn Youngkin’s directive that required state law enforcement, including Virginia State Police and corrections, to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on immigration enforcement.

“I’ve explained this to you multiple times,” says Sara. “They want the criminals.”

“You had Glenn Youngkin. You could have actually made some progress to not be a total hellhole, and instead, they were like, ‘Nope, nope, nope — we want the law-abiding Americans to not feel safe.”’

On top of that, just days before Spanberger’s swearing-in, Democratic delegates rushed in bills that critics argue will fuel crime and anti-white racism in Virginia.

For example, Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D) introduced a bill (HB912) that will “guarantee illegal alien children free education in Virginia.”

“Come on over. It’s all free,” retorts Sara.

Delegate Sam Rasoul (D) introduced a bill (HB1070) that aims to “prohibit the state from mentioning an accused criminal’s prior conviction to the jury during the guilt phase of the trial.”

“They won’t hold it against them that they’ve just gone on to commit crime after crime after crime after crime” scoffs Sara.

“But wait, there’s more.”

Delegate Rae Cousins (D) introduced a bill (HB863) that removes mandatory minimum prison sentences for many crimes, including rape, manslaughter, assaulting a police officer, possession and distribution of child pornography, and repeat violent felonies.

“You guys think that I’m being hyperbolic. I’m not,” Sara insists. “They want the crime and the criminals to thrive in the state of Virginia.”

But perhaps the worst bill came from Delegate Jeion A. Ward (D), who introduced a bill (HB61) that proposes giving state contracts under $100,000 almost exclusively to businesses owned by women, minorities, or veterans — effectively shutting out white men unless no one else qualifies — and even then allows the state to award the contract to a preferred business if their bid is up to 5% higher than a white male-owned bid.

“Guys, the DOJ needs to sue them like yesterday. … That is blatant discrimination,” says Sara.

“By the way, if you live in Virginia, get the hell out. [Spanberger] is raising taxes on basically everything from retail delivery — so like Amazon, Uber Eats, FedEx, UPS, guns and ammo, you name it.”

Virginia, she says, “had something good,” and then it elected a “crazy, liberal, white [woman],” and now “just like that,” it’s been “run into the ground.”

To hear more of Sara’s commentary, watch the full episode above.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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