Democrats file contempt charges against Pam Bondi, Republicans call it 'theater'

On Wednesday, Democrats filed contempt charges against former Attorney General Pam Bondi after she failed to show up to a closed-door deposition to testify before the House Oversight Committee on the Jeffrey Epstein probe. Saying that the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse "deserve answers and the American people deserve the truth," House Oversight Democrats Ranking Member Robert Garcia said in a statement 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."

"Pam Bondi has illegally defied our committee, skipped her deposition, and has refused to cooperate. We have introduced a contempt resolution to hold her accountable," Garcia said, and accused House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of "trying to run out the clock." "We refuse to let this Administration stop our investigation," he said. The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Bondi to testify before lawmakers in a closed-door deposition on April 14. However, at the time, the Department of Justice said that she would not appear as she was no longer Attorney General. 

Republican members of the House Oversight Committee dubbed the contempt resolution unnecessary. "This is all theater and completely unnecessary. They were happy giving the Clintons a free pass for months. We have secured Bondi's appearance for May 29," the GOP Oversight Committee wrote in a post on its official X handle. "Today, we're marking up legislation to tackle fraud at the federal level, and all Democrats can talk about is Epstein." 

GOP announced Bondi's appearance '45 mins' after contempt charges: Rep. Ayanna Pressley 

Questioning the GOP statement, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley claimed that Republicans announced Bondi's appearance 45 minutes after the charges were filed. "Today we filed contempt charges against Pam Bondi for refusing to testify about the Epstein files cover-up. 45 mins later, the GOP announced her appearance date," Pressley said on X. 

Speaking to reporters, Pressley said that it was a matter of "life and death" as the Epstein survivors appealed to the lawmakers of the House Oversight Committee that the Bondi testimony did not turn into "one more demonstration of what has been an institutional betrayal for decades," and took aim at her Republican colleagues. "Under this Republican majority, everything they have done has flown in the face of the integrity of this committee and what our job is," she said.