Oversight Committee Nixes Pam Bondi’s Scheduled Deposition Despite Subpoena

The former U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, will not sit for a deposition with the House Oversight Committee next week, the panel has announced. Ms. Bondi was subpoenaed by the committee to provide testimony about the Epstein files, though her departure as head of the Justice Department nullifies that subpoena, Republicans say. In a statement, the committee said that it will work with Ms. Bondi’s attorneys to discuss next steps. She was removed from her position earlier this month by President Trump, with deputy attorney general Todd Blanche taking over the position in an acting capacity. “The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” a spokeswoman for the committee’s GOP majority said in a statement. “The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”Ms. Bondi was subpoenaed last month after a Republican, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, moved to force her to answer more questions about her handling of the Epstein files. The committee voted 24–19 to issue the subpoena, with Ms. Mace being joined by all Democrats and a small band of fellow Republicans in that vote. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and Congressmen Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, and Scott Perry sided with Ms. Mace and the committee’s Democrats. The top Democrat on the panel, Congressman Robert Garcia, did not hide his anger at the decision to nix Ms. Bondi’s scheduled testimony. He says the subpoena has full effect whether or not Ms. Bondi is currently serving as attorney general. He says Democrats will introduce a resolution to hold Ms. Bondi in contempt if she does not come forward to testify “immediately.” “Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up. Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not,” Mr. Garcia said in a statement. “She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress. The survivors deserve justice,” he added. Ms. Mace and one of the committee’s Democrats, Congressman Ro Khanna, sent a letter to the panel’s chairman, Congressman James Comer. They demanded that he enforce the subpoena and require Ms. Bondi to come in for a deposition. “The removal of Pam Bondi as Attorney General does not diminish the Committee’s legitimate oversight interests in seeking her sworn testimony or the need for accountability and information about files withheld from the public by the DOJ. On the contrary, it makes her sworn testimony even more important,” Ms. Mace and Mr. Khanna wrote. During her tenure as attorney general, her handling of the Epstein files is considered by many to have been a disaster. The issue captured the nation’s attention last summer, when she declared in a memo that no additional files related to Epstein would be released, despite earlier assurances that information would be disclosed. When she testified before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this year, she brought what was described as a “burn book” to the hearing replete with opposition research allowing her to attack members of Congress. In her binders, she had past statements and vote records of members so that she could deflect and go after lawmakers personally instead of addressing the questions at hand. One Republican on the committee, Congressman Thomas Massie, pressed Ms. Bondi on her handling of the Epstein files. “This guy has Trump derangement syndrome. You’re a failed politician,” Ms. Bondi told Mr. Massie.

Oversight Committee Nixes Pam Bondi’s Scheduled Deposition Despite Subpoena

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