Bondi Dodges Epstein Files Testimony After Trump Fires Her -- DOJ Claims Subpoena No Longer Applies

Pam Bondi is pulling a disappearing act. The former Attorney General, fired by Donald Trump just days ago, will not show up for her April 14 deposition with the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files. The Justice Department's excuse? The subpoena was issued to Bondi "in her capacity as the attorney general," so now that she's out, the legal summons supposedly doesn't count anymore.

That's a convenient interpretation of how congressional oversight works -- and lawmakers from both parties aren't buying it.

In a rare show of bipartisan agreement, California Representative Ro Khanna and South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace sent a letter to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Tuesday making clear that Bondi doesn't get to dodge accountability just because Trump showed her the door. "The removal of Pam Bondi as attorney general does not diminish the committee's legitimate oversight interests in seeking her sworn testimony," they wrote. "On the contrary, it makes her sworn testimony even more important, especially with respect to actions she took as attorney general, matters already under investigation and decisions made under her leadership."

They're right. Bondi's tenure at DOJ was defined by her mishandling of the Epstein files -- documents the Justice Department is legally required to publish under federal law. She faced bipartisan criticism for incomplete and heavily redacted releases, and her February appearance before the House Judiciary Committee turned into a hostile interrogation over her treatment of Epstein's victims and the agency's refusal to provide full transparency.

When Bondi met with House lawmakers last month for a private briefing on DOJ's compliance with the Epstein files law, Democrats walked out early. Their complaint? Bondi refused to speak under oath and showed "disrespect" to the committee. At the time, Chairman Comer said he would pursue sworn testimony from Bondi and was willing to discuss holding her in contempt of Congress if she refused to comply. Bondi herself said she would "follow the law" with respect to the subpoena.

Now the Justice Department is claiming that law doesn't apply anymore because Bondi no longer holds the title. It's a legal dodge that conveniently shields her from having to answer hard questions about what she knew, when she knew it, and why the Epstein files remain incomplete.

The Oversight Committee says it will contact Bondi's personal counsel to "discuss next steps" and schedule a future deposition date. But there's no guarantee she'll show up -- and the Justice Department's position suggests the Trump administration has no intention of making her cooperate.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who stepped up after Bondi's firing, refused to commit to anything during a Tuesday news conference. When asked whether DOJ would invoke agency privileges to block Bondi's testimony, Blanche said he wasn't "committing to anything" and would "leave it to Chairman Comer and others to figure out." Translation: Good luck getting answers.

This is how cover-ups work. An official presides over a botched or incomplete investigation, faces mounting pressure to testify under oath, and then conveniently exits stage left before accountability can catch up. Bondi has said she's taking a job in the private sector but hasn't provided details. What she has provided is a trail of unanswered questions about why the Justice Department under her leadership failed to deliver full transparency on one of the most high-profile sex trafficking investigations in modern history.

The Epstein files aren't just about one dead financier. They're about a network of powerful enablers, institutional failures to protect victims, and ongoing efforts to keep the public from knowing the full truth. Bondi's refusal to testify under oath -- enabled by DOJ's legal gymnastics -- is part of that pattern.

Khanna and Mace noted in their letter that the Oversight Committee's authority "does not end when an official leaves office." That's the law. Whether Bondi and the Justice Department choose to follow it is another question entirely.