Bondi Dodges Epstein Files Testimony After Trump Fires Her

Pam Bondi thought getting fired would get her out of answering questions about the Epstein files disaster. She was wrong.

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that Bondi will not appear for her scheduled April 14 deposition before the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating how DOJ bungled the release of millions of pages of case files on Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who ran a sex trafficking operation targeting underage girls. The department's excuse? Bondi was subpoenaed "in her capacity as attorney general," and since Trump fired her on April 2, they claim the subpoena no longer applies.

It's a convenient legal dodge for someone overseeing a release that was riddled with errors and missed a congressional deadline. The Epstein files were supposed to provide transparency about how powerful men enabled and protected a predator for decades. Instead, DOJ's handling raised more questions than it answered.

Lawmakers from both parties aren't buying the excuse. Rep. Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican who initiated the motion to subpoena Bondi, made it clear on social media that "Bondi cannot escape accountability simply because she no longer holds the office of Attorney General." Mace emphasized that the subpoena was issued "by name, not by title" and expects Bondi to appear once a new date is set.

The committee's top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, went further, threatening contempt of Congress charges if Bondi continues to dodge her legal obligation. "Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she's trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up," Garcia said in a statement.

The bipartisan subpoena itself tells you everything you need to know about how badly DOJ mishandled this. The Republican-led committee voted last month to compel Bondi's testimony with support from Democrats. That kind of unity doesn't happen unless the failure is undeniable.

The Epstein files matter because they document how a serial abuser of children operated for years while connected to some of the most powerful people in America and abroad. Survivors and the public deserve to know who enabled him, who looked the other way, and why it took so long for any accountability. A sloppy, error-filled document dump that misses deadlines suggests someone at DOJ didn't want this information out there, or at minimum, didn't care enough to do it right.

Bondi's attempt to use her firing as a shield is particularly galling given what she said after Trump announced her ouster. She posted on social media that she would spend the next month "working tirelessly to transition the office." Apparently that tireless work doesn't include answering questions from Congress.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department's own website still listed Bondi as attorney general as of Wednesday, even though Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has been elevated to perform the duties of the top job. The whole situation reeks of bureaucratic chaos designed to avoid accountability.

Committee chair Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, has shown he's willing to enforce subpoenas on high-profile figures. Earlier this year, he made Bill and Hillary Clinton among the highest-ranking former government officials ever subpoenaed by Congress. If Comer applied that same standard to a Democratic attorney general who tried to dodge testimony about a bungled investigation, he should do the same here.

Jessica Collins, a spokeswoman for the Oversight Committee, said the panel will contact Bondi's personal counsel to discuss next steps for scheduling the interview. Translation: this isn't over.

The Epstein case has always been about powerful people trying to avoid consequences. Bondi's refusal to testify fits that pattern perfectly. She oversaw a Justice Department that fumbled the release of critical documents about a sex trafficking ring, and now she's trying to duck questions about it by hiding behind a technicality.

Survivors of Epstein's abuse have waited years for transparency and accountability. They've watched as institutions failed them repeatedly. Bondi's no-show would be one more failure in a long line of them.

If Congress lets her walk away without testifying, it sends a clear message: you can oversee a disaster, get fired, and face zero accountability as long as you time it right. That's not how oversight is supposed to work. That's not how justice is supposed to work.

Bondi needs to show up and answer questions under oath. If she refuses, Congress should hold her in contempt. The Epstein files debacle demands answers, and the American people deserve to hear them directly from the person who was in charge when it all went wrong.