Lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives have called on former Attorney General Pam Bondi to address a committee probing how the government handled files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Thursday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee accused Bondi of stonewalling Congress’s oversight powers and defying a subpoena for her testimony.
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Their statement comes one day after the Department of Justice said Bondi would not testify since she was no longer attorney general. She was fired on April 2.
“It is shameful that Pam Bondi is still trying to protect powerful men and their connections to Jeffrey Epstein,” the Democrats said in a social media post. “She must come before our committee and answer our questions.”
Bondi was subpoenaed last month to testify about the release of the Epstein files, which was compelled under the November passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
As attorney general at the time, Bondi was in charge of seeing the records published in accordance with the law.
In an interview on Thursday with the television channel MS NOW, Congressman Robert Garcia warned that Bondi could be held in contempt of Congress if she refuses to appear.
“Legally, at the end of the day, if somebody is under subpoena, it doesn’t matter if they change jobs or if they have a job or if they don’t. They’re still expected to appear before the Congress,” Garcia said.
“If she doesn’t come forward under her legal subpoena — which still stands, by the way — then we will hold Pam Bondi in contempt.”
The files have become a persistent political headache for the administration of President Donald Trump, which has faced accusations that it shielded powerful people connected to Epstein from public scrutiny.
Trump himself had a close relationship with Epstein for years. He repeatedly called the scrutiny over the Epstein files a “hoax” and a “scam”, and even called some Republicans “stupid” for calling for their release.
The US president ultimately switched his stance and backed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November.
But critics have said his administration openly flouted the law by withholding certain documents and heavily redacting others, in a way that goes beyond what is allowed.
A bipartisan group of legislators pushed for the Epstein Files Transparency Act to be passed, and on Wednesday, two of them — Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Nancy Mace — were among the voices calling on Bondi to testify.
In a joint statement, Khanna and Mace argued that Bondi’s termination as attorney general does not nullify her obligation to comply with the congressional subpoena.
“Bondi’s removal as Attorney General doesn’t erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight,” the statement says.
“The American people deserve to know whether Congress was misled and whether information about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is being withheld. Pam Bondi has answers.”
A YouGov poll released in February found that 56 percent of people in the US disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, and 53 percent also indicated they believe Trump is trying to cover up Epstein’s crimes.
About half of the respondents said they believed Trump was involved in crimes committed by Epstein, who is accused of leading an international sex-trafficking ring.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, died in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting federal sex-trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Previously, in 2008, he had been convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution, but he was given a plea deal widely considered to be lenient. He served 13 months of an 18-month sentence.
The Epstein files have become a potent symbol of impunity both in the US and around the world.
In the United Kingdom, for instance, several high-profile figures, including politician Peter Mandelson and the former Prince Andrew, have been arrested in relation to their associations with Epstein.
Critics in the US have also demanded accountability from public figures in their government.
“We’re demanding the truth, and we’re demanding answers,” Garcia said in Thursday’s interview.
“And the fact now that the White House wants to play games and essentially continue this cover-up and not allow [Bondi] to come and testify, that’s not acceptable.”