Overview
- On Friday, former Attorney General Pam Bondi sat for a closed-door transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee and defended the Justice Department’s release of nearly three million pages while acknowledging there were redaction errors.
- Bondi told lawmakers she delegated oversight of the Epstein files review and release to then‑Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and repeatedly deferred detailed questions to him.
- Democrats said Bondi refused to answer any questions about President Trump, and they reported that DOJ counsel Harmeet Dhillon at times intervened to block responses.
- Survivors and Democratic lawmakers criticized the interview’s non‑oath, non‑videotaped format and said roughly half of DOJ‑held Epstein documents remain unreleased, prompting plans to summon or subpoena Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel.
- The exchange sharpens legal and political stakes: the DOJ Office of the Inspector General is reviewing the release process, survivors say redaction mistakes exposed victim data, and Congress is weighing subpoenas or contempt actions to compel fuller, sworn testimony.