Pam Bondi subpoenaed to testify about handling of Epstein files - The Times

The House oversight committee has voted to subpoena President Trump’s attorney-general to testify in its Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

In a rare show of defiance of the Trump administration, the Republican-led House committee voted 24 to 19 in favour of issuing a subpoena to Pam Bondi. Five Republicans voted for the measure.

The motion was put forward by Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who is considered to be a staunch Trump loyalist, once describing herself as “Trump in high heels”.

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If Bondi fails to appear before the committee she can be held in contempt, which may trigger a criminal referral to her own justice department.

The justice department had no immediate comment on the subpoena.

Bondi, who previously worked as Trump’s personal lawyer, was criticised last month by a group of Epstein survivors for not acknowledging them during a combative appearance before Congress as she defended the Department of Justice’s handling of the so-called Epstein files. She has accused Democrats of using the files to distract from Trump’s successes.

The 59-year-old US attorney-general originally drew controversy after claiming last year that she had a list of Epstein’s former clients “sitting on my desk right now”, before her department concluded there was no incriminating client list after all.

Since the release of more than three million documents by the Department of Justice, Democrats have been pressuring Bondi to investigate alleged co-conspirators of Epstein whose names appear in the files. She told the survivors that “any accusation of criminal wrongdoing will be taken seriously and investigated”.

On Tuesday, Bill Gates was asked to testify before Congress over his relationship with Epstein.

The Microsoft co-founder, 70, was one of seven people who were sent a letter from the House oversight committee, which is seeking new interviews as it widens its investigation into Epstein.

The interviews requested on Tuesday are voluntary, but the House could subpoena Gates to give evidence as it did with Bill Clinton, the former president, and Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state. Should he attend, Gates’s interview is set for May 19.

Others called to testify between April and June include Lesley Groff and Sarah Kellen, Epstein’s former personal assistants who were named as “potential co-conspirators” in the late paedophile’s 2008 non-prosecution agreement.

Doug Band, a former top aide to Bill Clinton, has also been called, as well as Ted Waitt, the former boyfriend of Ghislaine Maxwell, who invited her to the wedding of Clintons’ daughter, Chelsea; Leon Black, the former chief executive of Apollo Global Management, who has been accused by numerous Epstein victims of sexual assault; and Kathryn Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs’s departing general counsel.

None of the individuals called to testify has been convicted of a crime and being mentioned in the Epstein files does not imply wrongdoing.

Black denies the allegations against him. Groff has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s trail of abuse. Kellen has not commented on the accusations against her. Ruemmler has said previously that she regrets knowing Epstein and has not been charged with any misconduct.

“Ms. Ruemmler welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee,” said Jennifer Connelly, a spokeswoman for Ruemmler, in a statement. “At the time she interacted with Jeffrey Epstein, she was a practicing criminal defence attorney and shared a client with him. She has done nothing wrong and had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity on his part.”

Gates’s name appears thousands of times in the files the Department of Justice has published regarding Epstein. Documents suggest the pair met repeatedly in the years between the paedophile’s 2008 conviction for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution and his death in a Manhattan prison cell, where he was awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking. Gates is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011 and was aware of “some 18-month thing” that had limited his travel, but acknowledged that he did not properly investigate the financier’s background.

Last week he apologised to staff for his ties to Epstein, admitting he had had two affairs with Russian women but insisting they were not victims of Epstein.

Earlier on Tuesday, Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s commerce secretary, agreed to testify before the committee over his own relationship with Epstein.

Lutnick appears in the justice department’s files from his time as a neighbour of Epstein on East 71st Street in Manhattan until the sex offender was found dead in his cell in August 2019. His association with Epstein has been under intensifying scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans.

Lutnick was the first Trump cabinet secretary to be confirmed as having to face questioning from the House oversight committee as it investigates Epstein’s vast sex trafficking ring.

Lutnick claimed he broke off all contact with Epstein in 2005, but a photograph was found in the files last week that appeared to show Lutnick on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands in 2012.

Lutnick acknowledged during a Senate hearing last month that he had visited Little Saint James but denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

“We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour,” Lutnick told a Senate subcommittee, describing his visit as an innocent and brief stopover with his family.

Lutnick said in a statement on Tuesday: “I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight.”

Trump has repeatedly backed Lutnick, and said on Friday: “Howard would go in and do whatever he has to say. He’s a very innocent guy — doing a good job.”

Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said: “Secretary Lutnick continues to be a critical asset for President Trump, having played a key role in securing major trade and investment deals. The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick, remains focused on delivering more wins for the American people.”

Last week, Democratic senators Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jeff Merkley of Oregon formally requested that Lutnick produce all records of meetings, phone calls and correspondence with Epstein, as well as a complete timeline of every interaction he had with him, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.

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Lutnick, a former chief executive of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has been an important trade negotiator in Trump’s second term. He described Epstein as “the greatest blackmailer ever” and said “that’s how he had money”.

Lutnick told The New York Post in October that he and his wife Allison were so revolted by a tour of Epstein’s townhouse in 2005 that he “decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again”.

However, the justice department’s release of case files shows that Lutnick had two engagements with Epstein years after that. He also attended a 2011 event at Epstein’s home.

It was not clear when Lutnick would appear before the committee. Axios said the interview would take place behind closed doors in the coming weeks. Interviews conducted in private can later be shared publicly.

Videos of congressional interviews with Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and the retail magnate Leslie Wexner were later released in full.