Epstein files: Pam Bondi testimony to House panel canceled, Democrats threaten contempt charges
The Department of Justice and former attorney general Pam Bondi have faced criticism for their handling of files about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Pam Bondi, US attorney general, during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
Graeme Sloane | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not appear as scheduled on April 14 to testify to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about her and the Department of Justice's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the panel's spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Bondi's appearance — which was compelled by a committee-issued subpoena — was canceled because "she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General," said the spokeswoman, speaking for the Republican majority that controls the panel.
The committee will contact Bondi's lawyer "to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition," the spokeswoman said.
Democrats on the committee quickly threatened to initiate contempt charges against Bondi if she fails to testify as scheduled.
"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," said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the committee's ranking Democrat, in a statement.
"Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not," Garcia said.
"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 said.
President Donald Trump fired Bondi as attorney general on April 2 after reports that he was unhappy with her handling of the DOJ's files about Epstein, the notorious dead sex offender whose past high-profile friends included Trump.
Read more about the Jeffrey Epstein files
Bondi and the DOJ have faced strong criticism since last year over the Epstein files.
Bondi and other leading figures in Trump's orbit had promised that the DOJ's documents relating to Epstein would be made public after Trump regained the White House in January 2025.
Bondi reneged on that promise, which in turn led to Congress passing a bill, which Trump signed into law, mandating the release of those files.
The DOJ, since then, has released millions of documents about Epstein and his convicted procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell.
But the department and Bondi have been criticized after that release for withholding many other documents about Epstein and Maxwell, as well as other issues related to the files.
