Overview
- Pam Bondi, subpoenaed in March by the House Oversight Committee, failed to appear Tuesday for a scheduled deposition on the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein records.
- The Justice Department told lawmakers the subpoena no longer applies because Bondi was subpoenaed in her official capacity and has since been fired, and a senior official asked the committee to withdraw it.
- Ranking Member Robert Garcia said the subpoena still binds Bondi and warned that Democrats will move to hold her in contempt of Congress if she does not testify.
- Republicans on the committee called the Democratic response performative and said the deposition would likely be rescheduled, while members from both parties, including Nancy Mace and Ro Khanna, said Bondi remains obligated to appear.
- The clash grows out of a transparency law that forced release of millions of Epstein-related records that critics say were over-redacted, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the Epstein files should not factor into DOJ’s work going forward.