Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with a subpoena to appear before the House oversight committee as part of its investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a statement from the panel’s Republican leadership.
“The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” a committee spokeswoman told the Washington Examiner.
“The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition,” the statement added.
The dispute sets up a possible legal clash between the committee and President Donald Trump’s former attorney general, as Democrats on the panel have rejected the argument that Bondi’s departure from office nullifies the subpoena. They have pointed out that Bondi was subpoenaed by name, similar to other former attorneys general who have been compelled to testify.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday declined to weigh in on whether Bondi would ultimately comply.
“What happens now that she’s the former attorney general and there’s the subpoena out there is, I think I’ll leave to Chairman [James] Comer and others to figure out. I don’t have an answer to that,” Blanche said, adding he would not rule out the possibility of invoking privileges that could complicate her testimony.
The subpoena was approved in March following a push led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), with support from four Republicans and all Democrats on the committee.
One of Bondi’s more notable moments during her final weeks as attorney general was her open testimony before Congress, where, amid pressure to acknowledge mistakes in her handling of the Epstein files, she exclaimed, “The Dow is at 50,000!” in an attempt to throw off her detractors.
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It remains unclear how aggressively the panel will pursue enforcement of the subpoena, given the GOP’s control of the committee, and whether those same four Republicans plan to push the issue. Lawmakers could vote to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress for defying the subpoena, a step that would require approval from the full House and referral to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
Even then, any decision to bring charges would ultimately rest with a DOJ led by Trump’s appointees, raising further questions about how the standoff may unfold given the reality that this administration would be unlikely to threaten its former attorney general with contempt.