OAN Staff Lillian Mann
7:18 PM – Tuesday, April 7, 2026
The Department of Justice informed the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that former Attorney General Pam Bondi will no longer testify regarding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, effectively canceling her deposition scheduled for April 14th.
The DOJ maintains that because Bondi was removed from her post on April 2nd, she is no longer compelled to appear under a subpoena issued to her in an official capacity.
However, the move has sparked frustration among lawmakers who have long criticized the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files. Many committee members viewed Bondi’s testimony as a vital opportunity to gain transparency into the months-long investigation and resolve lingering questions about the case’s management.
Bondi was ousted from her position as attorney general on April 2nd, but previously told reporters that she will “follow the law” in responding to a subpoena from the panel.
“The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14th for a deposition since she is no longer attorney general and was subpoenaed in her capacity as attorney general,” a committee spokesperson said. “The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”
On Tuesday, interim Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters at the DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C., that he and Bondi had already “answered every single question asked” by Oversight Committee “for a couple hours” last month.
“What happens now that she’s the former attorney general, and there’s the subpoena out there is I think I’ll leave it to Chairman Comer and others to figure out,” Blanche said.
“As Attorney General, you are directly responsible for overseeing the Department’s collection, review, and determinations regarding the release of files pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the Committee therefore believes that you possess valuable insight into these efforts,” Comer said last month, referring to Bondi.
The Oversight Committee has been examining the DOJ’s investigations of Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, issuing summons who held senior federal law enforcement roles. The top Democrat on the panel, Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), accused Bondi in a statement on Wednesday stating, “If Pam Bondi doesn’t testify, we will hold her in contempt.”
However, such a move would require support from at least three Republicans on the panel and a vote from the whole House.
HOC Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters in early March that the committee would “talk about” how to hold the then-Attorney General Bondi accountable if she failed to provide the requested information. The committee later formally subpoenaed Bondi on March 17th.
Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) wrote on X on Wednesday that Bondi “will still have to appear before the Oversight Committee for a sworn deposition.” She further argued that Bondi no longer being the attorney general does not “erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight.”
“The American people deserve to know whether Congress was misled and whether information about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is being withheld,” Mace wrote.
More than 3 million files on convicted pedophile sex offender Jefferey Epstein have been released by the DOJ outlining details on FBI memos, draft prosecution documents, and victim interviews. The 66-year-old was allegedly found dead by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell a month before his trail on sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
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