House Democrats say Attorney General Pam Bondi is attempting to evade a congressional subpoena to testify about the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffery Epstein case.
Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday evening walked out of a closed door briefing with Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, saying the nation’s lead prosecutor declined to commit to cooperating with a subpoena issued by the panel’s Republican chair earlier this week.
The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, told reporters his members had only been informed about the planned Oversight briefing with Bondi and Blanche the day before. He accused the Trump administration officials of trying to stage “some kind of fake hearing” to avoid Bondi testifying under oath.
“This has been completely set up in a way that’s been irresponsible. And quite frankly, we believe a way for the Attorney General to get out of her answering questions under oath and to the public,” Garcia said.
It marks the latest escalation in the House Oversight’s partisan splintering around its Epstein investigation. Though five Republicans joined Democrats on the House Oversight Committee earlier this year to subpoena Bondi, the two parties continue to differ in their approaches to the probe and their treatment of prospective witnesses.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bondi said she “will follow the law” when asked if she would commit to cooperating with the subpoena. She also extolled the work done under the Trump administration to promote transparency in the Epstein case.
“We were there to answer questions,” she said. “It’s the evening. We came at their convenience. We gave them as really, as much time as they wanted.”
A House Oversight GOP spokesperson said this week the Justice Department requested the opportunity to speak to lawmakers while details of Bondi’s deposition are sorted out, which could take time. Wednesday’s closed-door briefing with Bondi was far less formal than a deposition, with neither Bondi nor Blanche speaking under oath or having their comments recorded to be made public down the road.
But in the event Bondi does not comply, it’s not clear how Republicans on the committee would respond. Earlier this year, the panel approved measures to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt for failing to appear for their scheduled subpoenas, which eventually forced the former first couple to testify.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Penn.) said she asked House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) during the Wednesday briefing whether he would compel Bondi to appear for her deposition through pursuit of contempt proceedings as he had for the Clintons.
“Instead of answering as an adult, he said that I was ‘bitching’ — which is, again, something that would not be allowed if we were operating under the rules of this committee, because engaging in personalities is actually something that we are not able to do,” Lee said of Comer. “If C-SPAN and the public were there, I’d imagine that he would not act that way.”
Comer later confirmed that Lee’s account of the exchange was accurate. He said he did not personally see a purpose for Bondi’s sworn deposition and that the saga was a plot by Democrats intended to embarrass her.
“This was clearly the Democrats’ plan all along: to walk out of the briefing the DOJ offered to provide,” said the GOP spokesperson for the Oversight panel in a statement. “Both Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche were answering substantive questions, and Attorney General Bondi stated she would follow the law regarding her subpoena. It’s clear Democrats don’t want answers or justice for survivors; they just want theatrics for their latest partisan stunt.”
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Lawmakers of both parties have been highly critical of Bondi and her department’s handling of the release of materials in the Epstein case, arguing that it had bungled the redactions in what files were made public and slow-walked their release. Democrats have gone so far as to accuse the administration of a cover-up in the case.
Bondi and the Justice Department have brushed aside lawmakers’ concerns around their handling of the Epstein matter, arguing that DOJ has complied with the law Congress passed last year compelling the full release of the files related to the late convicted sex offender.
“I wish we’d had a briefing sooner,” Comer told reporters Wednesday. “I think a breakdown of communication’s been a part of the problem too.”
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