House Democrats press GOP to reschedule Bondi deposition in Epstein probe

WASHINGTON (CN) — The House Oversight Committee’s top Democrat on Friday pressured its Republican chairman to divulge more details about efforts to reschedule a closed-door deposition with former Attorney General Pam Bondi, after the ousted Justice Department official sidestepped a date set forth in a congressional subpoena.

But the oversight panel’s GOP majority blasted the Democratic scrutiny as “performative,” adding they were working to reschedule Bondi’s appearance — and offered few new details.

The former attorney general, removed from her post earlier this month by President Donald Trump, has in recent months been a central figure in Congress’ probe into the late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Under Bondi’s watch, the Justice Department has haltingly published documents related to its own probe into Epstein, prompted largely by a congressional directive signed into law last year.

Following her pugilistic testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the lower chamber’s oversight panel in March issued a subpoena to the then-attorney general, demanding that she sit for a deposition with lawmakers initially set for Tuesday.

After Bondi was fired, however, the Justice Department informed Oversight Committee chairman and Kentucky Representative James Comer that the ousted Trump official was no longer bound by the subpoena because she was summoned “in her capacity as attorney general.”

Comer has said that he is working to find a new date for Bondi’s deposition. But the Justice Department’s rationale has proved unsatisfying for Democrats, who have accused the former attorney general of trying to dodge a lawful subpoena.

And now, Democrats have suggested Republicans are intentionally slow walking the process to help Bondi avoid congressional scrutiny entirely.

In a letter to Comer dated Friday, California Representative Robert Garcia said the committee minority was concerned that the GOP was “unwilling to take the actions needed” to bring the former attorney general in for a deposition.

“Since her termination, Committee Democrats have received no information about the status of Ms. Bondi’s deposition beyond broad, nonspecific statements from Committee Republicans that her deposition is being ‘rescheduled’ to some unspecified date in the future,” said Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee.

The California congressman argued that Republicans’ public statements on Bondi’s deposition “do not deny” that her committee subpoena remains legally binding but that the majority has given “zero indication” that they’ve taken steps toward setting a new date for her appearance.

“Oversight Democrats are not aware of any communication with Ms. Bondi of any kind,” said Garcia. He added that Democratic staff had repeatedly sought the identity and contact information of the former attorney general’s personal attorney — with whom Republicans have said they are working to reschedule the deposition — but they have received “no responsive information” to that effect.

In a statement to Courthouse News, a spokesperson for Oversight Committee Republicans called Garcia a “hypocrite,” claiming that he had been silent when former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton resisted committee subpoenas in the Epstein probe, though they eventually relented.

“Last week, the Department of Justice indicated that Pam Bondi would not appear for the April 14 deposition because she is no longer attorney general,” said the spokesperson. “We are working to reschedule the deposition.”

The Republican statement tracks closely to one provided to Courthouse News after Bondi failed to appear for the deposition Tuesday. Notably, however, the committee’s comments earlier this week said lawmakers would work with Bondi’s “personal attorney” to reschedule her deposition. The Friday statement omitted any mention of the former attorney general’s legal team.

It remains unclear when Bondi might sit for a deposition with Oversight Committee lawmakers, or if she will at all. But members of Congress from both parties have long urged the ousted attorney general to testify behind closed doors about her handling of the Epstein files.

Bondi in March traveled to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on the Justice Department’s Epstein probe. But frustrated Democrats walked out of that meeting before it ended, complaining that the then-attorney general had been disrespectful and refused to speak to members of Congress under oath.

That meeting came just a month after an acrimonious House Judiciary Committee hearing, where Bondi duked it out with both Democrats and Republicans demanding she explain her handling of the Epstein files. Hurling personal insults and reading out of a “burn book” of opposition research on Democrats, the attorney general accused lawmakers of using the Epstein investigation as a distraction from the Trump administration’s accomplishments.

The ousted Bondi departed the agency early this month, despite her claim that she’d remain on longer to assist with the transition. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, was tapped by the president to lead the Justice Department as its acting head.

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