Ex-US Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify after Democrats file contempt charges

Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi has agreed to testify before Congress next month about her handling of the legally mandated release of federal documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, lawmakers said Wednesday.

"We have secured Bondi's appearance for May 29," the Republican-controlled Oversight Committee's X account said.

Democrats on the panel responded that the announcement came just minutes after they filed contempt charges against Bondi for her refusal so far to testify.

"Well look at this… 45 minutes after we file contempt charges against Pam Bondi for defying her subpoena to testify, @GOPoversight finally announces a date for her appearance," they wrote. "When Democrats fight, we win. And we won’t stop until we get justice."

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement released minutes earlier that he and his colleagues were filing contempt charges against Bondi because she "illegally defied our committee, skipped her deposition, and has refused to cooperate."

"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. The survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse deserve answers and the American people deserve the truth," he added.

She had been subpoenaed while still serving as attorney general, but then was fired earlier this month. She said her no longer holding the position freed her of the obligation to testify, while Democrats said she had been summoned to testify by name, not by title.

At the core of the issue is the legally mandated release of all documents in the federal government's possession related to Epstein. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was approved by Congress and signed into law last year by President Donald Trump, all of the files were to have been released by Dec. 19, 2025.

That deadline came and went, with the Justice Department saying on Jan. 30 that it had released all of the relevant files. But it published another tranche in March that included some missing files releated to Trump, including notes from FBI interviews with a woman who claimed he sexually abused her.

An investigation by National Public Radio earlier found that some documents appeared to be missing from the document database the deparment posted online.

Exceptions are allowed under the law for documents that identify victims, contain images of child sexual abuse, or concern ongoing investigations or national security.

The Government Accountability Office, an independent watchdog, has opened an investigation into the department's compliance with the law, multiple US news outlets reported Tuesday. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In 2008, he pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida to procuring a minor for prostitution, but critics call the relatively minor conviction a “sweetheart deal.”

His victims have alleged that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network that was used by members of the wealthy and political elite.