Fired AG Pam Bondi Dodges Epstein Files Testimony After Trump Ouster

Pam Bondi spent weeks overseeing a Justice Department that bungled the release of millions of Jeffrey Epstein case files. Now that Trump has fired her, she is trying to use that firing as an escape hatch from congressional accountability.

The Department of Justice informed the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that Bondi will not appear for her April 14 deposition because she is "no longer attorney general" and was subpoenaed "in her capacity as attorney general," according to committee spokeswoman Jessica Collins. The deposition was part of a bipartisan investigation into how DOJ mishandled the release of what are known as the Epstein files, documents related to the late financier's sexual abuse of underage girls.

The excuse is legally dubious and politically convenient. Bondi was subpoenaed by name in a bipartisan vote last month, after her department released Epstein documents riddled with errors and missed a congressional deadline. She does not get to walk away from that subpoena just because Trump decided she was not executing his vision with sufficient enthusiasm.

Rep. Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican who initiated the motion to compel Bondi's testimony, made that point explicit on social media Wednesday. "Bondi cannot escape accountability simply because she no longer holds the office of Attorney General," Mace wrote, adding that the motion was done "by name, not by title" and "we expect her to appear as soon as a new date is set."

The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, went further, threatening contempt of Congress charges if Bondi continues to stonewall. "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 Epstein files debacle has been a source of bipartisan frustration. Congress mandated the release of millions of pages of case documents to provide transparency about how federal authorities handled investigations into Epstein's sex trafficking operation and the powerful men in his orbit. Instead, DOJ delivered a sloppy, error-filled dump that raised more questions than it answered.

Bondi's role in that failure is precisely why the committee subpoenaed her. She was attorney general when the botched release happened. She oversaw the department responsible. The fact that Trump fired her on April 2 does not erase her responsibility for what occurred on her watch.

Trump elevated Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to perform the duties of attorney general after Bondi's ouster, though as of Wednesday the Justice Department website still listed Bondi as the top official. Bondi herself posted on social media after her firing that she would spend the next month "working tirelessly to transition the office," a claim that now rings hollow given her apparent unwillingness to fulfill basic legal obligations to Congress.

The committee plans to contact Bondi's personal counsel to schedule the interview. If she refuses, she will join a short list of high-profile figures held in contempt by Congress. Committee chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, has shown a willingness to enforce subpoenas this year, compelling testimony from Bill and Hillary Clinton, among the highest-ranking former officials ever subpoenaed by Congress.

The question now is whether Bondi will comply voluntarily or force the committee to take enforcement action. Either way, her attempt to use her firing as a shield from accountability is a transparent dodge. She ran the Justice Department during a critical period of the Epstein files release. Congress has every right to ask her what went wrong and why.

Survivors of Epstein's abuse and the public deserve answers about how federal authorities handled this case and whether political interference or incompetence led to the botched document release. Bondi does not get to walk away from that reckoning just because Trump showed her the door.