Bondi dodges House Epstein files deposition following DOJ ouster

WASHINGTON (CN) — Attorney General Pam Bondi, ousted days ago from the Trump administration, will no longer appear as scheduled for a closed-door interview with House lawmakers next week after the Justice Department claimed a congressional subpoena no longer applies.

The agency’s repudiation of Congress’ legal summons comes as members on both sides of the aisle argued its former top official was still obligated to meet with the House Oversight Committee to discuss her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files.

In a statement to Courthouse News Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for Oversight Committee chairman and Kentucky Representative James Comer said the Justice Department had stated Bondi — fired last week by President Donald Trump — would not appear for an April 14 deposition with the panel because she is no longer attorney general. According to the spokesperson, the agency claimed Congress issued a subpoena to Bondi “in her capacity as the attorney general.”

The Oversight Committee plans to contact the former attorney general’s personal counsel to “discuss next steps” and to schedule a future date for a deposition, the spokesperson said.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bondi’s planned deposition before House lawmakers was a central question for both Democrats and Republicans following her ouster from the Justice Department last week. Members from both parties argued in the wake of her firing that she was still required to appear for the closed-door meeting and answer questions about the Epstein files.

And in a bipartisan letter to Comer penned Tuesday, California Representative Ro Khanna and South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace urged the Oversight Committee chairman to “make clear” that Bondi was still obligated to comply with the panel’s subpoena.

“The removal of Pam Bondi as attorney general does not diminish the committee’s legitimate oversight interests in seeking her sworn testimony or the need for accountability and information about files withheld from the public by the DOJ,” the lawmakers 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.”

Bondi last month met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill for a private briefing on the Justice Department’s compliance with federal law requiring it to publish all its documents related to the investigation of Epstein, the late New York financier and convicted sex criminal.

Democrats, however, walked out of the meeting early, arguing Bondi had refused to speak to lawmakers under oath and that she’d showed “disrespect” to the committee.

In their letter to Comer, Khanna and Mace noted the panel chairman had said at the time he would continue to pursue “sworn testimony” from Bondi and that he’d be willing to discuss holding her in contempt of Congress if she refused to comply.

“She also stated that she would follow the law with respect to her subpoena, which clearly requires her to appear before the Oversight Committee,” they said, adding that the panel’s oversight authority “does not end when an official leaves office.”

Trump last week announced that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche would step up as acting attorney general following Bondi’s departure.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Blanche refused to say whether the Justice Department would invoke agency privileges to block Bondi’s deposition, saying he wasn’t “committing to anything.” The acting attorney general told reporters he would “leave it to Chairman Comer and others to figure out.”

Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files dogged her tenure as head of the Justice Department — she faced consternation from both Democrats and Republicans for what critics said was an incomplete and at times messy publication of the agency’s documents from the investigation. The former attorney general clashed with lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee earlier this year during an acrimonious hearing where she faced sharp questions about the Justice Department’s redaction of Epstein files and its treatment of victims.

The ousted attorney general said last week she’d remain on the job through this month but now appears to have left the Justice Department. Bondi has said she will take on a new role somewhere in the private sector, though she has not provided further details.

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