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pam bondi
'The Cover-Up Continues': Fury as DOJ Says Pam Bondi Won't Testify at Epstein Hearing
"She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress," said Rep. Robert Garcia.
Apr 08, 2026
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers reacted with outage on Wednesday after the US Department of Justice said former Attorney General Pam Bondi would no longer be required to testify before the House Oversight Committee next week.
Bondi had been subpoenaed to testify on April 14 about her handling of criminal case files related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
However, the DOJ said in a letter sent to the committee on Wednesday that she didn't have to comply with its congressional subpoena because she is no longer attorney general, having been fired by President Donald Trump earlier this month.
This prompted an angry response from Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Oversight Committee, who said that Bondi didn't get out of her obligation to testify just because she had been ousted from her position by the president.
"Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the attorney general or not," Garcia emphasized. "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."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) led the congressional effort to force the DOJ to release the Epstein files, also refused to accept the justification for canceling Bondi's testimony.
"The cover-up continues," Khanna wrote in a social media post, "but we will fight for accountability."
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) reminded the former AG that complying with congressional subpoenas was not optional.
"Just because Pam Bondi got fired, doesn't mean that she's no longer accountable for her role in the White House cover-up of the Epstein files," she wrote. "She MUST come to testify before the Oversight Committee or be held in contempt of Congress. This is far from over."
Democrats weren't the only ones fuming over the DOJ's letter, as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) also refused to back down on compelling Bondi to testify.
"Pam Bondi cannot escape accountability simply because she no longer holds the office of attorney general," Mace wrote. "Our motion to subpoena Pam Bondi, which was passed by the Oversight Committee, was for Bondi by name, not by title. She will still have to appear before the Oversight Committee for a sworn deposition. The American people deserve answers, and we expect her to appear as soon as a new date is set."
Bondi has come under fire in recent months for not only her handling of the Epstein files, but her compliance with Trump’s demands to file criminal charges against political enemies including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Leticia James.
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Message to Senate Dems: No Confirmation of New AG Without Commitment on Epstein Files Release
“The American people are tired of a system where the powerful operate under a different set of rules. This is a moment to draw a line."
Apr 03, 2026
With Pam Bondi fired from her position as US attorney general, progressive campaigners on Friday said that Democrats in the Senate, although they are in the minority, must use the leverage they have to force a release of all the remaining files concerning convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"Even in the minority, Senate Democrats have tools to exert pressure—by withholding votes, slowing proceedings, and setting clear conditions," said the grassroots group Our Revolution as it launched a nationwide petition demanding that Senate Democrats block the confirmation of Bondi's replacement unless they commit to the document release. "That leverage must be used."
Our Revolution elevated a call from US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has led the push for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all of the Epstein files.
The latest release of files, which Bondi oversaw and which didn't occur until more than a month after a December 2025 deadline, failed to protect the identities of some survivors of the abuse perpetrated by Epstein and his vast network of powerful associates, while redacting the identities of many of the alleged abusers. Last month at a congressional hearing, Bondi refused to apologize to the survivors in attendance.
Khanna and Massie as well as Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) have led Democrats in demanding the release of 3 million more files that remain, which Garcia said in February include official FBI interviews regarding allegations that President Donald Trump sexually assaulted a 13-year-old child.
The release of files in late January included thousands of references to Trump, but Khanna said the release amounted to a "cover-up" due to the absence of many official FBI survivor statements.
Khanna said in an interview with NPR on Friday that "the Senate should make it absolutely clear they will not confirm a new attorney general unless that attorney general commits to the release of all these files and commits to starting investigations. And if that new attorney general doesn't live up to that word, they will have the same fate as Pam Bondi."
He added that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche—who stepped into the role vacated by Bondi without needing to go through the confirmation process due to his previous confirmation as Bondi's deputy—has falsely stated that "all the files" the DOJ can release have already been disclosed to the public.
"That's just not factual," said Khanna. "In the past, he said that there are 3 million files that have not been released. Now, he claims that they're not releasing those because they're protecting the identity of survivors. But if you talk to the survivors, if you talk to the survivors' lawyers, they will tell you, in fact, that the DOJ was reckless and did not protect their identity. And the 3 million files that haven't been released have the survivors' statements to the FBI agents, where the survivors name the rich and powerful people who raped them, abused them, showed up to Epstein's island, and that they are protecting a group of people who aren't playing by the same rules. This is about two tiers of justice in America."
Massie offered his congratulations to Blanche on Thursday before telling him, "Now you have 30 days to release the rest of the files before becoming criminally liable for failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act."
Our Revolution said Senate Democrats must condition any confirmation vote for Bondi's successor on "a clear commitment" to:
- Release all Epstein-related files with only the most limited and necessary redactions;
- Provide full disclosure of what the federal government knows about the Epstein files;
- Initiate credible investigations and prosecutions of the Epstein network and any co-conspirators; and
- Uphold the rule of law without targeting political opponents or shielding elites.
“The American people are tired of a system where the powerful operate under a different set of rules," said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution. "This is a moment to draw a line. There should be no confirmation vote without a clear commitment to release the Epstein files, pursue prosecutions, and restore trust in the rule of law.”
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'This Isn't Over': AOC Says Pam Bondi Must Still Testify on Epstein Files Despite Firing
"We must also investigate the continued breaking of the law around the DOJ still hiding Epstein files from the public," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Apr 03, 2026
Pam Bondi may no longer be US attorney general, but that doesn't get her out of previously scheduled testimony before the House Oversight Committee about her handling of criminal case files related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in a Thursday social media message posted shortly after Bondi's termination, warned the one-time AG that being fired by President Donald Trump "still doesn’t get her out of testifying to Congress about Epstein."
"We must also investigate the continued breaking of the law around the DOJ STILL hiding Epstein files from the public," Ocasio-Cortez added. "This isn’t over."
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement that Bondi "will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath" on the scheduled date of April 14.
"Oversight Democrats have been leading serious investigations into Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem," Garcia added. "If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken."
The calls for Bondi to follow through with her planned testimony aren't only coming from Democrats, as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) told CNN on Friday that she has no plans to back off her demands that the former AG speak under oath later this month.
"When I issued this subpoena that was voted on by the Oversight Committee a number of weeks ago, we did it by name and not by the title of the attorney general," said Mace. "So she's still compelled and required by law to come before the Oversight Committee, and at this juncture I'm not backing away from that or backing down from that. I do believe that handling of the Epstein files was done in a very poor manner."
Rep. Nancy Mace: "The subpoena is by name and not by the title of the attorney general, so she's compelled and required by law to come before the Oversight Committee, and at this juncture I'm not backing away from that" pic.twitter.com/UULq6e9Q4m
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 3, 2026
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, also cited Bondi's handling of the Epstein files as a permanent and emblematic stain on her legacy as the nation's top law enforcement officer.
"[Bondi] ran an historic and egregious cover-up right out of the Justice Department," Raskin said. "Investigations into co-conspirators were shut down. She withheld three million pages of documents in defiance of the law. The names of abusers, enablers, accomplices and co-conspirators were redacted from public view while the identities of victims were exposed to the world. Under Bondi, perpetrators were coddled and survivors given the back of the hand."
In addition to her handling of the Epstein files, which earned bipartisan criticism, Bondi also ceded to President Donald Trump's demands to file criminal charges against political enemies including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Leticia James.
Both of those cases were tossed last year by a federal judge who found that Trump's handpicked US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was illegally installed in the position.
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