Bondi to testify in House panel's Epstein probe as Democrats threaten contempt

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will appear before the House Oversight Committee next month for a closed-door deposition in the ongoing congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

A spokeswoman for the committee announced Bondi’s deposition moments after Democrats on the committee said they had filed a resolution that would hold Bondi in contempt of Congress for her failure to appear under subpoena earlier this month.

“Clearly we’re being effective,” the committee’s Democratic Ranking Member Robert Garcia said in response to the news.

Bondi was initially set to appear on April 14, but the Justice Department said she would not appear, since she had been ousted from her post in the interim. A senior Justice Department official wrote in a letter to the committee that it was calling off her appearance because the committee’s subpoena was issued to Bondi in her official capacity as attorney general, not in her personal capacity. 

The committee approved a motion on March 4 to subpoena Bondi. The panel’s Democrats were joined by five Republicans in voting for the subpoena: Reps. Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, Michael Cloud, Scott Perry and Tim Burchett.

Before the announcement Wednesday, Garcia said that Bondi was to blame for the delay.

“Pam Bondi has illegally defied our committee, skipped her deposition, and has refused to cooperate,” Garcia said.

Congress approved the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, which required the release of the Justice Department’s records related to federal investigations into Epstein and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Bondi faced heated criticism from officials in both parties about the agency’s efforts to comply with the law.

The Justice Department ultimately released roughly 3 million pages of documents, roughly half its files. It said millions of other documents were withheld for reasons including efforts to protect survivors’ personal information and avoid jeopardizing active federal investigations.

Bondi will be among a slew of high-profile people to come before the committee. Previous testimony includes depositions from former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire businessman Les Wexner.

Bondi will be among a slew of high-profile people to come before the committee. Previous testimony includes depositions from former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire businessman Les Wexner.