In closed-door remarks Friday to members of Congress, former Attorney General Pam Bondi punted responsibility for the administration’s handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Now, Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee say they want to hear from Blanche — and they’re prepared to force a vote to subpoena him if necessary.
“The request is, going in today, to Chairman [James] Comer to have Todd Blanche come in,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, told reporters. “If he doesn’t do it, we’re going to force a subpoena and try to get votes — but he’s got to come in.”
Garcia added that Kash Patel, the FBI director, is “number two on the list.”
Bondi was on Capitol Hill for a transcribed interview with the Oversight panel Friday as part of its ongoing investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Epstein files. Bondi, who President Donald Trump fired in April, has faced a torrent of criticism over botched redactions in the millions of pages that were made public during her tenure, when Blanche was then serving as her deputy.
In her prepared opening statement obtained by POLITICO, Bondi defended her agency’s efforts to follow the Epstein Files Transparency Act — legislation passed by Congress in November that compelled the government to release documents and materials in the federal government’s possession related to the Epstein case.
“There were redaction errors,” Bondi acknowledged, according to her prepared opening statement. “But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency.”
She continued, “our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.”
But, she also noted, “as the head of a large Department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review myself. I delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.”
It would be an embarrassing and politically fraught exercise for either Blanche or Patel to be forced to testify as part of the Oversight panel’s ongoing investigation into the late, convicted sex offender. Blanche, Bondi’s former deputy, has not yet been nominated to serve in the attorney general role permanently, giving him career uncertainty. Patel, meanwhile, is already under some public pressure to resign or be terminated for erratic behavior and alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Spokespeople for the DOJ and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Comer also did not immediately provide information about whether he would call in Blanche or Patel or risk enough Republicans joining Democrats to hijack a committee meeting to compel a vote on a motion to subpoena either.
Bondi herself has been under scrutiny since early last year, when she said in a Fox News interview that she had the so-called Epstein client list on her desk. The FBI and DOJ later released a memo saying it did not have such a list nor did it intend to release further information in the Epstein case.
The events sparked outrage among Democrats and Republicans alike, leading to passage in November of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. But bipartisan criticism was reignited once again as the files were rolled out in a haphazard and incomplete fashion, where information about Epstein’s victims were inadvertently revealed while details about potential perpetrators were kept hidden.
In March, the Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Bondi for her testimony in a surprising move initiated by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and backed by four other House Republicans. It was a stunning rebuke of the administration’s handling of the Epstein matter: rarely, if ever, does the party in the majority subpoena a sitting Cabinet member of their own party.
But Bondi was ousted about a month later, and Comer, a Kentucky Republican, downgraded the terms of her appearance to a transcribed interview rather than a formal deposition — meaning she would not have to answer questions under oath and the proceedings would not be videorecorded.
Comer has been criticized for that decision, from Democrats and from Epstein’s victims, several of whom gathered outside the room Friday where Bondi was testifying.
One of the victims, Sharlene Rochard, confronted Comer Friday morning as he addressed reporters before joining for the start of Bondi’s interview, asking him to promise that individuals brought in as part of the congressional Epstein investigation testify under oath.
“If you lie to Congress, it’s a felony,” Comer said in defense of his own panel’s process. “We’re bringing people in that have never been brought in before.”
Liz Stein, another victim, asked Comer to commit to getting answers from the former attorney general about the redaction process, specifically why details about victims were exposed while information about potential perpetrators was withheld.
“Those are questions we’re going to ask, and we’re doing this. We want justice for the survivors,” Comer said, adding that if Epstein’s victims were not satisfied by Bondi’s responses, the committee would work to get them answers.
Garcia told reporters he and his colleagues were “incredibly disappointed” by the majority’s decision not to force Bondi to testify under the parameters of a subpoena.
Bondi was joined by Justice Department staff during the transcribed interview, and Democrats accused DOJ of playing interference. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said that, when Bondi was asked about a conversation she might have had with Trump, one of the lawyers interjected to say that Bondi was not required to answer because the event was a voluntary interview.
“The United States Department of Justice is intervening on behalf of Pam Bondi to stop her from answering questions about what happened in the cover up of this case, and her conversations with Donald Trump, and is asserting that she does not have to answer questions because she is not required to, because she is not being deposed under oath,” Stansbury told reporters.
The DOJ has been accused of withholding portions of the Epstein files linking Trump and Epstein, though Trump has maintained that he broke off his relationship with Epstein years ago. The president has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes in relation to the late, disgraced financier.