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Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to reply questions from Congress connected whether President Donald Trump was alert of the precocious enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein’s activities that led to his transgression indictments oregon whether helium directed her to redact Justice Department files that were made public, Democratic lawmakers said connected Friday (May 29, 2026).
In a closed-door interrogation earlier the House of Representatives Oversight Committee connected Friday (May 29, 2026), Ms. Bondi besides said Todd Blanche, who present serves arsenic acting Attorney General, had been liable for the documents’ release.
“I did not pb each facet of this effort oregon behaviour that papers reappraisal myself. I delegated oversight implicit this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” Ms. Bondi said in a prepared connection obtained by Reuters.
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the apical Democrat connected the committee, told reporters Ms. Bondi refused to reply questions pertaining to Mr. Trump, saying a Justice Department lawyer sitting adjacent to her “stepped successful and told the erstwhile Attorney General that she was not going to reply those questions.”
Under her tenure, the Justice Department said it would not merchandise accusation that exposed victims oregon compromised ongoing investigations.
Ms. Bondi faced crisp disapproval from Democrats and immoderate Republicans during her tenure for her handling of the merchandise of millions of documents related to Epstein.
Democrats and immoderate Republicans accused Ms. Bondi of trying to shield Mr. Trump from scrutiny. Mr. Trump opposed the merchandise of the accusation until soon earlier Congress overwhelmingly passed a instrumentality ordering its release.
Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico said Ms. Bondi told the committee that the Justice Department has released 3 cardinal retired of 6 million Epstein-related documents. “This is simply a cover-up,” she said.
In her opening connection to the panel, Ms. Bondi acknowledged “redaction errors” but did not item those mistakes. She besides defended the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein lawsuit and the merchandise of the documents.
“To the champion of my knowledge, the section produced everything required,” she said successful her statement, which was obtained by Reuters.
The interrogation with Ms. Bondi concluded without her speaking to reporters gathered extracurricular the committee room.
Before Ms. Bondi’s grounds began, Chairman James Comer of Kentucky told reporters: “We volition beryllium asking contiguous astir wherefore documents inactive are not released...what documents stay and wherefore they haven’t been turned over.”
Mr. Trump fired Ms. Bondi connected April 2, successful portion owed to her handling of the Epstein files.
Mr. Trump and Epstein socialised successful the 1990s and aboriginal 2000s, but Mr. Trump has repeatedly said helium ended the narration earlier Epstein pleaded blameworthy successful 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. Epstein was arrested again successful 2019 and charged with enactment trafficking of minors, accused of recruiting and abusing underage girls successful New York and Florida. His decease that twelvemonth successful a New York jailhouse compartment was ruled a suicide. The Epstein files revealed the financier’s ties to almighty people, including Mr. Trump, erstwhile President Bill Clinton and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the erstwhile Duke of York. All person said they had no cognition of Epstein’s alleged enactment trafficking.
Mr. Garcia criticised Comer’s determination to not videotape Ms. Bondi’s interview, which helium said would person allowed the nationalist to gauge her demeanour.
One subsister of Epstein’s abuse was besides connected manus to criticise Ms. Bondi’s handling of the material.
“It boggles my caput that the Department of Justice released uncensored photos... the Department of Justice released pornography. That is unacceptable,” a subsister told reporters extracurricular the committee proceeding room.
