Justice Department tries to bail Trump’s former AG out of Epstein testimony

The Trump Justice Department is attempting to postpone or block scheduled testimony by former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was slated to appear before the House Oversight Committee in conjunction with its investigation into the Epstein files.

“The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” the Oversight Committee announced on Wednesday morning, as Punchbowl News’ Max Cohen reported. He noted that Oversight said it will contact Bondi’s personal counsel to “discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”

Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman remarked that he does not think DOJ’s efforts “will fly” with Democrats and even some Republicans on the committee.

Indeed, also on Wednesday, U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) sent a letter to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, urging him to “make clear former Attorney General Pam Bondi remains obligated to comply with the Oversight Committee’s subpoena and appear for her scheduled deposition on April 14, 2026.”

They stated that “serious questions remain regarding the DOJ’s non-compliance and their handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates while she was Attorney General.”

Bondi’s removal “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.”

They also asked Comer to “publicly reaffirm” Bondi must appear “as ordered or face appropriate enforcement if she refuses to comply.”

That enforcement could come in the form of contempt charges.

“Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not,” Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA) said, Scripps News reports. “She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress. The survivors deserve justice.”

The New York Times’ Michael Gold reports that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace “and others have argued that Bondi is not off the hook, because the subpoena (which Mace introduced) is for Bondi and doesn’t refer to her role as the AG.”

“This is their playbook,” commented U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA). “Republicans will drag their feet like they have with everything else to enable perpetrators to escape accountability. I filed an amendment to hold Bondi in contempt once before. Accountability is a nonnegotiable.”

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