‘Pursuit of the truth’: Pam Bondi tried dodging testifying about Epstein by saying she is a civilian. But Democrats just busted her bluff

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is finally scheduled to testify before Congress regarding the Epstein files on May 29 after facing significant pushback for failing to appear for a previously scheduled deposition. It led to a confrontation between House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members and the Department of Justice. However, per the Hill, committee members have now confirmed this needed shift in the ongoing investigation.

The initial subpoena was issued in March following a surprise motion by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who successfully garnered support from four of her GOP colleagues and all of the Democrats on the panel. The situation intensified when Democrats on the committee introduced a formal resolution to hold Bondi in contempt after she failed to show up for her deposition. 

Ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) was vocal about the necessity of this step, stating, “Pam Bondi has illegally defied our committee, skipped her deposition, and has refused to cooperate. We have introduced a contempt resolution, to hold her accountable. Bondi has extensive personal knowledge about the Trump Administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and regardless of her job title, her testimony and cooperation are crucial.”

Their persistence paid off

Garcia also criticized committee leadership. He accused Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) of “trying to run out the clock” on Bondi. This tension highlights the deep divide regarding how the committee should handle witnesses who have left their government positions. 

Bondi had already been against cooperating with the subpoena, enough that lawmakers walked out of her hearing. Then, when Bondi was fired from her role, the BBC reported that the Department of Justice informed the committee that Bondi would not appear at the April 14 deposition because she was “subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General.”

Despite that argument, Democrats on the committee pushed back hard. They pointed out that the panel has subpoenaed several other former attorneys general and maintained that Bondi still holds valuable knowledge regarding the Department of Justice’s management of the files. 

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) argued that Bondi’s tenure was particularly significant. “Listen, Pam Bondi has served as the AG for over a year,” Stansbury said. She further alleged that Bondi had engaged in “manufactured lies to the American people over the Epstein case” and claimed that unredacted files suggest there are “dozens of potentially prosecutable crimes and cases in the Epstein files, and they have not pursued a single investigation.”

Not everyone on the Republican side of the aisle shares the same urgency. After the initial support for the subpoena, four of the five GOP members who backed it began to express hesitation about joining Democrats in the contempt effort. Some even questioned whether Bondi actually possesses the kind of information that would be useful to the committee. 

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told The Hill that he doubted her usefulness, saying, “Let’s get somebody in that knows what’s going on.” He added, “First thing she said was she’s going to release all this stuff that nobody had, and it was stuff everybody had. I just don’t think she — I think she just didn’t have the knowledge of any of that stuff.”

Democrats continue to maintain that Bondi is the central figure in this inquiry. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) articulated this view, stating, “I don’t understand why they wouldn’t think the former attorney general, who is the sole reason why so many files were withheld for so long, and who had custody over them and complete control over the situation wouldn’t have information about why 2 and a half million files have been withheld.”

The core of this dispute lies in the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law last November. The legislation mandated that the Department of Justice release all materials from its investigations into Epstein. Following the release of millions of documents, the agency faced heavy criticism from both sides of the aisle. 

Lawmakers expressed concerns that the department failed to properly protect the identities of survivors while allegedly shielding others who were not victims. Now that the date for her testimony is set, the committee will finally have the opportunity to press Bondi on these specific oversight failures and the management of the transparency process. 

Whether her testimony will satisfy the committee’s questions remains to be seen, but the pressure to provide answers is clearly at an all-time high.