Fired AG Pam Bondi Dodges Epstein Testimony After Trump Axe

Pam Bondi got fired by Donald Trump last week after a chaotic 14-month run as Attorney General. Now she's trying to wriggle out of testifying under oath about what happened to the Epstein files on her watch.

The Justice Department informed the House Oversight Committee that Bondi won't appear for her scheduled deposition on April 14, despite a bipartisan subpoena demanding her testimony. The DOJ's reasoning? She's no longer Attorney General, so the subpoena doesn't apply anymore.

That argument isn't sitting well with lawmakers from both parties who want answers about why the federal government has slow-walked and stonewalled the release of documents about Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation and the powerful men who enabled it.

"Pam Bondi is trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up," said Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee's top Democrat. "Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not. She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress."

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna sent their own letter to committee chair James Comer making the same point. "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."

A Pattern of Obstruction

The subpoena was issued last month with bipartisan support while Bondi was still in office. Committee chair Comer wrote at the time that lawmakers were investigating "possible mismanagement" of the government's handling of the Epstein case and the prosecution of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted on sex trafficking charges in 2021.

Bondi faced intense criticism from across the political spectrum over her handling of the Epstein files. Last year, the White House handed out a batch of supposedly explosive Epstein documents to far-right influencers in a splashy release that turned out to contain mostly information that was already public. By summer, the Justice Department and FBI declared there was "no basis" to release any more Epstein-related documents, a move that sparked widespread allegations of a cover-up to protect powerful public figures who exploited and abused young girls.

Congress wasn't having it. Lawmakers passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed into law in November. The legislation ordered the Justice Department to release all files connected to investigations into Epstein by December 19. The DOJ blew past that deadline and has since published millions of pages of documents, but questions remain about what's still being withheld and why.

What's Being Hidden?

The committee's investigation aims to uncover what Bondi knew about the scope of the Epstein files, why the Justice Department dragged its feet on releasing them, and whether political considerations influenced decisions about what to disclose. Comer wrote in his subpoena letter that Bondi "is directly responsible for overseeing the Department's collection, review and determinations regarding the release of files pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act."

The Justice Department's position is that it remains "committed to working cooperatively with the Committee" and that "additional compulsory process is unnecessary." Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis asked the committee to withdraw the subpoena in an undated letter, arguing that because Bondi is no longer Attorney General, she's off the hook.

But that cooperation rings hollow when the person who ran the department during the period under investigation refuses to answer questions under oath. The survivors of Epstein's trafficking operation and the public deserve to know whether the Justice Department protected powerful predators and their enablers.

"The survivors deserve justice," Garcia said. If Bondi thinks getting fired means she can avoid accountability for what happened on her watch, she's about to find out that Congress doesn't see it that way.

The committee says it will contact Bondi's personal counsel to schedule her deposition. If she continues to refuse, contempt charges could follow. Whether Bondi ultimately testifies or not, her attempt to dodge the subpoena sends a clear message about how seriously the Trump administration took transparency around one of the most notorious sex trafficking cases in American history.