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Bondi blocks Trump questions
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer lawmakers’ questions about President Donald Trump’s involvement in the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files during a closed-door interview on Capitol Hill before House lawmakers scrutinizing the process.
“Ex-attorney general refuses to answer questions on Trump's involvement in Epstein Files release 'She refused to answer any questions about President Trump”
Bondi told the House Oversight Committee, “The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” according to her opening statement.
Democratic Rep. Dave Min of California said, “It’s a sham in there. They are not answering any questions,” during a break in the interview.
The hearing focused on the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Bondi said mandated the public release of unclassified records, and on Democrats’ claims that Bondi would not speak about Trump’s role.
Epstein died in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking and sexually abusing underage girls, and the dispute over the files has continued after Trump’s administration moved to publish them.
Redaction errors and blame
Bondi defended her handling of the Epstein files by saying she “delegated oversight” to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is now the acting attorney general, and she said the team assured her that “the only materials that were withheld were either non-responsive, privileged, or duplicative.”
In the same testimony, Bondi admitted that “there were redaction errors,” but she said the Department had been committed to accountability and transparency “since day one of this process.”
Ranking Democrat Robert Garcia accused Bondi of shifting responsibility for redaction errors and investigation questions to Blanche, saying, “She said, and I quote, 'Acting AG Blanche was managing the entire investigation' end quote,” during a break in proceedings.
Bondi later refuted Garcia on X with “NOT TRUE,” and she wrote, “I praised Acting AG Blanche's management of this Herculean task.”
The dispute also played out over whether the interview should have been videotaped and whether Bondi should have answered questions about Trump, with Democrats saying the process was a cover-up and that government lawyers stepped in to prevent her from answering.
Survivors press for answers
Epstein survivors gathered outside the Capitol office where Bondi’s closed-door interview took place, and Danielle Bensky said she hoped Bondi would “remember her own humanity and our humanity and finds her compassion,” framing the issue as “a bigger story than political rhetoric.”
“Former US attorney general Pam Bondi defends her handling of Epstein files in congressional probe Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi has defended her handling of the release of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein”
Bensky and other survivors implored lawmakers to hold Bondi accountable for the handling of the Epstein case files’ release, which included personal information of potential victims, as they confronted committee chair Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky.
Comer told the survivors, “We want justice for the survivors, we do,” and he said he would press for the complete release of case files mandated by law.
Democrats said Bondi refused to answer questions about Trump’s involvement, and Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia said Bondi responded, “I’m not certain of the extent of his knowledge.”
The stakes described in the coverage included whether additional documents would be turned over and whether investigative leads were pursued, as Comer said, “We’re going to try to determine whether or not there could be more documents legally turned over.”
