WHAT REMAINS: Who let the mutts out?

MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2026

This horseplay is all that remains: For starters, let it be said that Chairman Comer seemed to be suitably staffed. 

Two Fridays back, the chairman was on the ground in Chappaqua, prepared to depose Bill Clinton. At the start of the lengthy session, his 34-year-old chief counsel introduced himself: 

"Thank you. My name is Jack Emmer and I am the chief counsel of investigations for Chairman Comer."

Emmer conducted himself in a professional manner during the long day's journey. When the testimony finally began, he thanked the former president "for agreeing to testify today and for your years of service to our country." 

So said the chairman's chief counsel. First, though, the chairman's additional staffers signed in—staffers on the House Oversight Committee, which Comer serves as chairman.

First, seventeen committee members—seventeen members of the House—introduced themselves to Clinton. After that, it became fairly clear that Chairman Comer was suitably staffed:

EMMER (2/27/26): For the record, starting with the majority staff, can the additional staff members please introduce themselves with their name, title, and affiliation?

BILLY GRANT: Billy Grant, deputy chief counsel for investigations for Chairman Comer.

PETER SPECTRE: Peter Spectre, deputy director of oversight for Chairman Comer.

DANIEL ASHWORTH: Daniel Ashworth, general counsel for Chairman Comer.

RYAN GIACHETTI: Ryan Giachetti, chief counsel for Chairman Comer.

WILL HARNESS: Will Harness, professional staff member for Chairman Comer.

ANNAH CATHEY: Hannah Cathey, professional staff member for Chairman Comer.

MELVIN SOTO: Melvin Soto, digital director for Chairman Comer.

ALLISON COLEMAN: Allison Coleman, counsel for Chairman Comer.

EMILY FEYERABEND: Emily Feyerabend, counsel for Chairman Comer.

MARK MARIN: Mark Marin, staff director for Chairman Comer.

AUSTIN HACKER: Austin Hacker, communications director for Chairman Comer.

ASHLEY GINGER: Ashley Ginger, deputy staff director for Chairman Comer.

EMMER: Thank you, all. 

Based on a cursory look at their bios, they all seemed to be "majority staff," though we could be wrong about that. At any rate, it seemed that Chairman Comer had managed to arrive on the scene with plenty of help.

This legion was present to question the former president about his past association with the late Jeffrey Epstein. Laboriously, Emmer instructed the former president in the rules of the game—for example, by telling him this: 

EMMER: Furthermore, you cannot tell half-truths or exclude information necessary to make statements accurate. You are required to provide all information that would make your response truthful. A deliberate failure to disclose information can constitute a false statement. Do you understand? 

President Clinton said that he did understand. No half-truths would be allowed! 

After roughly nineteen minutes of this, the questioning finally began. The questioning started with this: 

EMMER: Mr. President, thank you for agreeing to testify today and for your years of service to our country. I want to start from the beginning. When did you first meet Jeffrey Epstein?

CLINTON: Well, I will try in this testimony and I will point it out when I'm aware there's a picture or something that predates this. There's a picture where it shows him shaking hands in the White House Historical Association reception. That was in 1993, but I'm not aware of that. I first remember meeting him when I got on his airplane to take the first trip with my foundation in, I think, 2002, whenever it was.

The foundation to which he referred was, in fact, the Clinton Foundation. The trips in question, the former president said, were "four or five trips to Asia and Africa and one to north of Europe on Mr. Epstein's airplane"—trips taken in 2002 and 2003 in connection with the former president's desire "to set up a global network to provide lifesaving AIDS medicine to as many people as possible." 

(For the record, few questions were asked about that effort. For the record, that's because no one actually gives a flying felafel about a tedious topic like keeping AIDS victims alive.)

The deposition took place on Friday, February 27. For the record, the ongoing war on Iran started that very same Friday night. 

For reasons which weren't clear, or possibly were, Hillary Clinton had been deposed the day before.

Based on this transcript from the invaluable Rev, the deposition of President Clinton burned roughly four and a half hours away, not counting time for breaks. When C-Span posted the committee's official videotape, it ran 4:33:48.

As a general matter, Emmer engaged in perfectly reasonable lines of questioning. (When the questions came from other staffers or from some members of Congress, maybe just possibly not.) But in these ways, we've set the scene for the onslaught by the mutts which was destined to follow. 

The committee's official videotape was released on Monday, March 2. The onslaught by the mutts began on Tuesday, March 3.

Who let the mutts out with respect to this deposition? Tomorrow, we're going to say the names of the various performers in question. 

For today, we're going to close by posting an inconsequential exchange—an underwhelming set of Q-and-A's which took place about one hour and fifteen minutes into the committee's official videotape.

During this exchange, Emmer seemed to be testing the president's claim that he and Epstein had engaged in cordial relations on the lengthy plane trips in question but had never been "friends." This semantic distinction came under review—or so it now basically seemed.

You can check the transcript and the videotape for yourselves. For the sake of clarity, we've edited our interjections by the former president's counsel.

You can check the record yourself! Starting at roughly 1:13 on the transcript or tape, this is what you'll find:

EMMER: At this time, I'd like to introduce what'll be marked as Majority Exhibit 14. And while it's being handed out, this is an article published by The New York Times on August 5th, 2025, entitled "A Look Inside Epstein's Manhattan Lair." And once you receive the article, I will just direct your attention to page 10.

[...]

And we're specifically looking at a framed photo on a wooden table, alongside multiple other framed photos. And we're focusing on the photo in the middle, which appears to have a golden frame.

CLINTON: Yeah, okay, I see it.

EMMER: Mr. President, do you recognize yourself in this photo?

CLINTON: I do.

EMMER: And it appears that the man on the right of the photo is Jeffrey Epstein. Is that correct?

CLINTON: I think so.

As can be seen in that New York Times article, a photo exists of Clinton and Epstein, apparently from one of those flights. As can be seen in that article, the photo was on display in Epstein's Manhattan mansion, along with many other celebrity photos, including one of Epstein with the former Pope!

President Clinton said he recognized himself in the one photo under review. The colloquy continued:

EMMER: And for the record, what is happening in this photo?

CLINTON: He's smiling at me. He looks like he's talking to me.

EMMER: This is one of the friendly interactions that you were describing earlier?

CLINTON: Yes.

EMMER: And can you describe the circumstances surrounding this photo?

CLINTON: I do not—I have no idea. I see Richard Branson in the back, and other people [in other photos]. But I don't remember anything about it.

EMMER: Okay, that's fine. And you appear to be comfortable with Mr. Epstein in this photo. Would you disagree with that characterization?

CLINTON: I'm comfortable. I'm comfortable here. I'm not happy, but I'm comfortable.

[Substantial pause]

And my conscience is clear. That helps.

At this point, Clinton and attorney Cheryl Mills continue to look at one or more of the "multiple photos" from the New York Times article. After pausing his questioning. Emmer eventually moves on to a different line of questioning.

Our view? That one photograph was hugely underwhelming, as was that exchange. 

Emmer seemed to be trying to claim that Clinton and Epstein had actually been more friendly than the president had claimed. We'd have to say that line of questioning was underwhelming—was essentially inconsequential. 

Nothing much was taking place as Clinton and Mills continued to look at those photos. But the next night, the Fox News Channel let the mutts out, and the mutts proceeded to behave in their typical way.

Tomorrow, we'll show you what these fiendish creatures said about the brief chunk of videotape before Emmer starts his new line of questioning. More generally, we'll show you what happens when the trainers at the Fox News Channel let the mutts out every night.

As the week proceeds, we'll have more to show you about this deposition—rather, about the way its contents have frequently been portrayed. Most strikingly, we'll show you an exchange about one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims—a poignant observation to which, or so it says here, attention should be paid.

We'll do that later this week. Tomorrow, we'll restrict ourselves to the fun enjoyed by the mutts on last Tuesday's edition of The Five, and then on the Gutfeld! show.

No one in our own Blue America will ever tell you what those performers did that night. More generally, no one will ever report the way they like to roll in the garbage spread out by their handlers most nights. 

At this site, we will tell you this:

Their conduct is bringing the possibility of the American enterprise to an end. 

This steady descent has been underway for a good long time now. We Blues say it started with Newt's list of recommended words. Reds say it began before that.

With respect to last week's events, Blue America's journalists and academics refuse to report the way these mutts behave—won't even say these nitwits' names! 

This has been taking place for decades. What happened last Tuesday can sometimes seem to be all that remains.

Tomorrow: "[Little] beside remains?"