Fact Check: Did James Comer threaten Bill Clinton with obstruction for invoking 5th Amendment?

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the deposition of former President Bill Clinton on his ties with convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein, a claim began circulating online that Representative James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, said that he would charge Clinton with obstruction if he takes the Fifth Amendment during questioning. Let us fact-check it.

Claim: Bill Clinton threatened with obstruction if he invoked Fifth Amendment

The claim surfaced on Facebook soon after the deposition of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as Bill Clinton was preparing for his. 

The viral post with thousands of links and shares comes with a caption stating, “Senator James Comer says he's prepared to charge former President Bill Clinton with obstruction of Congress if he takes the 5th Amendment during questioning.”

"This isn't a court case. It's a fact-finding commission looking for answers about a human trafficking organization."

“Clinton can either tell the truth or he can go to jail for hiding it. Those are his only two options.”

Fact Check: False, the claim originated from a parody account

The claim, however, is false as it originated from a parody account called ‘America’s Last Line of Defense’ which states in its bio, ‘Nothing on this page is real.’

The claim even mentions Comer as a Senator, but he is a Representative, making it inaccurate. 

Invoking the Fifth Amendment in a congressional deposition is a constitutional right and does not automatically constitute obstruction.

There is no evidence that Comer threatened the former president with obstruction of Congress if he took the Fifth Amendment. 

No major news outlets have reported on the claim, and a Google search yielded no relevant results supporting the statement.

Bill Clinton denies knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes

Clinton said on Friday, February 27, that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and did not witness any misconduct during their limited interactions, according to his prepared opening statement to the House Oversight Committee.

Clinton said his acquaintance with Epstein was brief and ended years before the crimes became public.

“Though my brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light, and though I never witnessed during our limited interactions any indication of what was truly going on,” Clinton wrote.

“I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.”