Despite firing, Pam Bondi must testify on Epstein files, House members insist

Despite President Donald Trump's administration firing Attorney General Pam Bondi days ahead of her scheduled testimony on the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files, House members have said that Bondi will still need to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who forced the vote on the subpoena last month, told Axios that the subpoena still stands as she did it by name and "not as the sitting Attorney General."

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner claimed that Bondi "severely obstructed and carelessly mishandled" the Epstein files and used the Department of Justice for "political retribution." Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) said that the former Attorney General was "obligated to adhere to our subpoena and appear before the Oversight Committee." Bondi's firing from her role led to the leader of the Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), saying that the next steps were yet to be decided, as per a Washington Post report. Comer said that he would have to confer with Republicans in the committee before deciding on what to do next.

During her time as Attorney General, Bondi came under immense scrutiny for the DOJ's handling of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Congress had passed a law earlier that obligated the DOJ to release all of the files by a certain deadline. However, the instructions set in the law were allegedly not followed by the Justice Department. "Oversight Democrats have been leading serious investigations into Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem. If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken," Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) was quoted by Axios as saying. Questions were raised about missed deadlines, heavy redaction of information, and non-redaction of the identity of the victims.  

Several U.S. lawmakers believe that the former Attorney General used the Justice Department to protect President Donald Trump. "Pam Bondi's legacy will be the weaponization of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency for Trump's personal benefit," Sen. Dick Durbin said. He also claimed that Bondi was fired because she did not do enough to "appease" Trump. While her handling of the Epstein files was one of the primary reasons behind her getting the boot, reports suggest that Bondi was not able to successfully indict Trump’s adversaries. A CNN report claimed that a deleted social media post by Trump urged her to indict former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff of California.

It's not just the House Oversight Committee that Bondi has to worry about in the near future. Three fired FBI agents have filed a suit against the agency and the Justice Department, claiming that they were involved in an illegal "retribution campaign" against them for investigating President Trump's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election. According to a Politico report, the suit names FBI Director Kash Patel and Bondi. Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman, and Blaire Toleman were fired without notice last year, despite having years of "exemplary and unblemished" service. Their investigation into Trump led to an indictment by special counsel Jack Smith in 2023.