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Bondi was ordered to appear for a deposition on April 14 by the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after a vote
earlier this month that was supported by five Republicans.
The Justice Department's failure to fend off the subpoena from
the Republican-led committee underscores widespread discontent
among President Donald Trump's own base over Bondi's management
of the review and release of a trove of documents from the
criminal investigation into Epstein.
“The Committee has questions regarding the Department of
Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and
his associates and its compliance with the Epstein Files
Transparency Act,” Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman,
said in a letter to Bondi.
“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,”
he wrote.
The department on Tuesday called the subpoena “completely
unnecessary.” Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche
were expected to provide a private briefing Wednesday to members
of the committee.
“Lawmakers have been invited to view the unredacted files for
themselves at the Department of Justice, and the Attorney
General has always made herself available to speak directly with
members of Congress,” the department said in a statement. The
agency said it looks forward to "continuing to provide
policymakers with the facts.”
The Trump administration has faced constant political headaches
since the rollout of the files began in December, with critics
accusing the department of hiding certain documents and
over-redacting files. In other cases, victims have slammed the
department for sloppy redactions that revealed their sensitive
information.
The Justice Department has fiercely defended its handling of the
Epstein files, saying it worked as quickly and diligently as
possible to review and release millions of documents required
under the law. The department has denied any accusations that it
used redactions to protect certain people or improperly withheld
certain materials. And it has said it immediately worked to fix
any redaction errors raised by victims.
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