A subcommittee of the US House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi, compelling her to testify in a closed-door hearing as part of an investigation into convicted former sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The subpoena was released on Tuesday following a committee vote earlier this month, marking a significant step in the ongoing congressional scrutiny of the Epstein case.
In a letter issued on Tuesday, committee chair James Comer explained that Bondi would be required to give a sworn deposition on April 14. Comer wrote that the committee has questions regarding the Department of Justice's handling of the investigation into Epstein and his associates, as well as its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. He noted that Bondi, as Attorney General, is directly responsible for overseeing the department's efforts related to the release of files under this act, and thus possesses valuable insight.
Reuters reported that the Department of Justice, which Bondi oversees, has yet to comment on the latest request. Bondi previously testified before the House Judiciary Committee in February, where lawmakers grilled her over the handling of Epstein files during the administration of former US President Donald Trump. Since Trump took office for a second term in 2025, Bondi has faced repeated criticism for her management of Epstein-related documents, including a controversial statement in February 2025 where she told Fox News that Epstein's "client list" was "sitting on my desk right now," only to walk back those remarks by July, claiming no such list existed.
The Trump administration has also been criticized for failing to deliver on its promise of transparency in the closely watched Epstein case. Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November to compel the administration to release the entire federal case file related to Epstein, but the administration has been accused of concealing the names of powerful individuals implicated in the files by heavily redacting documents. The act only allows for limited redactions to protect victims' identities, yet lawmakers such as Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna have asserted that the Justice Department's redactions exceed permissible limits.
Massie and Khanna have further raised concerns about why the Justice Department missed the legal deadline for releasing the Epstein files and why some documents appeared to be missing from a late January release. On Tuesday, Khanna, a Democrat, commented on Bondi's upcoming testimony, praising bipartisan efforts for accountability, stating that lawmakers like Massie and Nancy Mace "are showing that you can stand for accountability of the Epstein class by working across the aisle and putting the American people before party." He concluded by inviting public input on questions Bondi should answer under oath.
Source: www.aljazeera.com