Pam Bondi to appear before House oversight panel over Epstein files

The House oversight and government reform committee has said that former attorney general Pam Bondi will now appear before the panel on 29 May to answer questions about the Department of Justice’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its release of the Epstein files.The announcement of the date came shortly after the Democrats on the committee announced that they had filed a civil contempt resolution against Bondi after she did not appear for her deposition earlier this month.On Wednesday morning, Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, announced the contempt resolution, saying in a statement that Bondi had “illegally defied our committee, skipped her deposition, and has refused to cooperate”, adding that Democrats had introduced the contempt measure “to hold her accountable”.Bondi was subpoenaed by the committee last month, while she was still serving as attorney general. In the subpoena letter, Representative James Comer, the Republican who chairs the committee, wrote that there were “questions regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act”.The justice department has faced criticism in recent months over its compliance with the law, after the department failed to comply with the act’s 19 December deadline to release the relevant files, instead releasing what it claimed were the full files on 31 January. Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have also raised concerns that sensitive personal information was improperly disclosed in the files, while several lawmakers have also criticized some of the redactions in the documents. The department has maintained that it acted in accordance with the law.Earlier this month, after Donald Trump removed Bondi from her role, the House committee announced that it was informed by the justice department that Bondi would not be appearing for the scheduled deposition.In a letter to Comer, assistant attorney general Patrick Davis argued that the subpoena no longer applied because “the committee issued the subpoena to Ms Bondi in her official capacity as attorney general”.“Ms Bondi no longer holds that office,” the letter reads. “As a result, because Ms Bondi no longer can testify in her official capacity as attorney general, the department’s position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her to appear on 14 April.”In the statement on Wednesday, Garcia said that “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”.After the Democrats’ announced the contempt action, a spokesperson for the oversight committee said the contempt charges were “completely unnecessary” and said that Bondi was “appearing on May 29.”.In response, the oversight Democrats wrote on social media: “Well look at this… 45 minutes after we file contempt charges against Pam Bondi for defying her subpoena to testify, @GOPoversight finally announces a date for her appearance.”The justice department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.