Pam Bondi testifies behind closed doors in House committee's Epstein probe

Fifteen months after saying a list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients was "sitting on my desk right now," and four months after overseeing the release of millions of associated documents, former Attorney General Pam Bondi testified before a House committee on Friday about her handling of the so-called Epstein files.

Bondi's closed-door interview in the ongoing congressional investigation into Epstein had a different focus than previous high-profile sit-downs in the probe. The House Oversight Committee has questioned the likes of former President Bill Clinton and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about their relationships with the deceased former sex abuser, but Bondi was not among Epstein's globetrotting network of powerful friends.

Instead, she faced more than a year of withering criticism for her handling of the Department of Justice's Epstein probe, and the rollout of documents after President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Bondi made no comment to gathered press and others as she arrived for her transcribed interview Friday morning. As she walked in, Epstein survivors yelled, "tell the truth."

In her opening statement, Bondi acknowledged "there were redaction errors" in the released files, but said, "I am proud of the Department's record and commitment to transparency under my leadership. We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department's search for, collection, and review of the Epstein files."

Bondi called the effort to release some 3 million files "an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process." 

"To the best of my knowledge, the Department produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act," she said.

The committee will release a transcript of the interview, but not a video recording. GOP Rep. James Comer, the Oversight Committee's chairman, said before entering the interview that Bondi would face questions about "what documents remain, why they haven't been turned over." 

"We're going to try to determine whether or not there can be more documents legally turned over. I want every document, I don't want anything held back, and I think the majority of the committee's the same way," said Comer, who represents Kentucky's 1st Congressional District.

Soon after Comer spoke, the Committee's top Democrat criticized the circumstances of Friday's appearance by Bondi.

"We continue to be incredibly disappointed of the decision to not have this interview videotaped and then released to the American public," said Rep. Robert Garcia of California.

Garcia later said Bondi "refused" to answer any questions about Mr. Trump. 

"She said that she would not speak or respond to any questions that had anything to do with President Trump," Garcia said. "It's also interesting that sitting next to her is DOJ counsel, somebody who currently works for the Department of Justice, who on multiple occasions stepped in and told the former attorney general that she was not going to answer those questions."

In a letter to the House Oversight Committee, the Department of Justice said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Guynn were accompanying Bondi in the testimony "as agency counsel, not as her personal counsel."

A spokesperson for the Justice Department said they were attending "to assist the Committee in understanding the Department's role in implementing and complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act during her tenure."

"Because former Attorney General Bondi oversaw the Department at the time the Act was enacted and carried out, DOJ's presence is solely to ensure accurate representation of Department processes, facilitate any necessary clarifications, and support a complete factual record for the Committee," the spokesperson said.

Garcia said the committee's Democrats planned to ask Comer to call on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to appear before the committee, and that FBI Director Kash Patel is "number two" on their list.

Bondi initially pledged to release files related to Epstein, telling a Fox News interviewer shortly after she took office in February 2025 that a "client list" was "sitting on my desk right now to review." Bondi later clarified that she meant material related to Epstein was sitting on her desk.

In July 2025, the Justice Department published a memo concluding that there was no "client list" and "that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted." The memo sparked bipartisan outrage in Congress and jolted the effort to pass a bill mandating the Justice Department release its files. Days later, Mr. Trump ordered Bondi to seek the release of grand jury transcripts related to Epstein cases.

She had faced months of heated criticism from members of Congress in both parties over the Justice Department's efforts to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. It required the release of the Justice Department's records related to federal investigations into Epstein and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days, a deadline the department did not meet.

About 3 million pages of documents were ultimately published, but that total is only about half of the files kept by the Justice Department. It said the remaining were withheld for a variety of reasons, including efforts to protect survivors' personal information and to avoid jeopardizing active federal investigations.

The president fired Bondi in April. In announcing the move, he called her a "great American patriot" despite his behind-the-scenes frustration with her performance on the job. 

She was originally scheduled to appear before the Oversight Committee under subpoena on April 14, but the Justice Department canceled her interview because she had been removed from her post as attorney general. 

Bondi's testimony comes just days after revealing to CBS News that she is undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer. She said she was diagnosed after leaving the Justice Department and recently underwent surgery as part of her treatment.

Her appearance also came on the heels of a slew of prominent interviews conducted by the committee in recent months. In addition to Clinton and Lutnick, the committee deposed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, billionaire Les Wexner and Epstein's lawyer and accountant Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn. All denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes, and denounced his behavior.