Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) stated earlier this year that his committee overseeing the Benghazi investigation would “ratchet it up.” Instead, he’s approaching a dead end, unless House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) steps in to help.
Upon revelations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used only a private email server throughout her tenure, the Benghazi Select Committee vowed to subpoena her emails and continue its investigation. “Letters haven’t worked. Southern politeness hasn’t worked,” Gowdy said in a hearing back in January, adding, “We’re going to ratchet it up.”
But in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Gowdy is now saying his committee doesn’t have the ability to subpoena the server.
“For my committee, which has a more limited jurisdiction, we, No. 1, lack the authority under House rules to subpoena the server,” Gowdy said, “The House as an entity, it’s an open legal question, but most experts believe that the House could subpoena that server.”
Stephen Klein, an attorney with the Pillar of Law Institute, tells Breitbart News that the House itself has very broad subpoena power, even into the private lives of citizens.
“Since there is overwhelming evidence Clinton used her private server for official business as Secretary of State, this would not be a novel or invasive subpoena in any event. I don’t believe there is any reason Speaker Boehner could not issue such a subpoena,” Klein said.
Breitbart News asked House Speaker John Boehner if he plans to subpoena Clinton’s private email server on behalf of Gowdy and the Benghazi committee, but his office has not returned the inquiry.
Calls to Gowdy’s office for comment were also not returned.
Gowdy, a former prosecutor, has said he wants all the documents – including the emails – to review before interviewing Hillary Clinton in a private or public hearing.
And at the end of last year, Gowdy responded to critics’ comments that the investigation isn’t going anywhere by saying, “We are going to keep asking questions.”
Gowdy continued, “And to that end, we will have hearings in January, in February, and March and until. This committee will be the last best hope for answering the questions surrounding the attacks in Benghazi.”
Gowdy has asked Clinton to answer questions about her private email server before May 1, 2015 – just two weeks from now.
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