The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, calling on her to testify before Congress about the Department of Justice‘s handling of the case files of Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter requesting Bondi’s testimony on the Epstein files, as well as the DOJ’s handling of its case against Epstein prior to his death in August 2019. The committee had voted to subpoena Bondi on March 4. The letter ordered Bondi to appear on April 14.
“As Attorney General, you are directly responsible for overseeing the Department’s collection, review, and determinations regarding the release of files pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the Committee therefore believes that you possess valuable insight into these efforts. The Committee may use the results of this investigation to inform legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations,” Comer wrote.
The committee’s top Democrat praised the subpoena in a statement. Rep. Robert Garcia of California said that Bondi’s testimony is a step toward “justice for the survivors.”
“The Attorney General will now appear before our committee under oath. No more lies. No more distractions. We want the truth,” he said.
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In a statement shared with several outlets, the Department of Justice called the subpoena “completely unnecessary.”
“Lawmakers have been invited to view the unredacted files for themselves at the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General has always made herself available to speak directly with members of Congress. She continues to have calls and meetings with members of Congress on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is why the Department offered to brief the committee tomorrow,” a spokesperson shared. “As always, we look forward to continuing to provide policymakers with the facts.”
