Former Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected responsibility onto Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel during a closed-door interview with House Oversight Committee investigators Friday, while refusing to answer any questions about President Trump’s involvement in the handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related files.
Bondi’s appearance, which took place under voluntary terms rather than a formal deposition, drew sharp criticism from Democrats on the panel. She was not under oath, the session was not video recorded, and she declined to respond to numerous questions, citing guidance from Justice Department lawyers who accompanied her—an unusual arrangement for a former DOJ official.
“What you are going to hear in that interview, and what she’s saying here in her words and remarks is that it was Todd Blanche, the current acting AG, that was leading the Epstein investigation, and quite frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions not protecting survivors, she continues to push that back on to the acting AG, Todd Blanche,” said Representative Robert García (D-Calif.), the panel’s top Democrat.
García added that he personally asked Bondi five separate questions about her conversations with President Trump regarding the Epstein files, including whether he directed any redactions. “She refused to answer any questions about President Trump. In fact, she said that she would not speak or respond to any questions that had anything to do with President Trump,” he told reporters.
The interview, held during a congressional recess, was attended by only one Republican—Chair James Comer (R-Ky.)—and eight Democrats. This despite the fact that Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who is campaigning for governor ahead of the June 9 South Carolina GOP primary, had led the motion to compel Bondi’s testimony, backed by four other Republicans.
Bondi was accompanied by Justice Department attorneys, including Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, and another DOJ lawyer. Democrats accused the department of orchestrating a cover-up by providing Bondi with legal representation typically reserved for current employees. “Every single one of our questions got one of three responses: No. 1, ‘Not to my recollection,’ or ‘I don’t know.’ No. 2, ‘Talk with Todd Blanche; I don’t know anything about it,’ and No. 3, ‘I am not talking about Donald Trump,’” recounted Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.).
Because Bondi participated in a transcribed interview rather than a sworn deposition, she was not required to formally assert any legal privilege when declining to answer. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) noted that when a DOJ attorney intervened to block a question about Bondi’s conversation with Trump, the attorney stated, “We don’t even have to assert privilege because of that” and “We refuse to provide answers.” Stansbury argued this demonstrated that “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.”
Epstein survivors who waited outside the committee room expressed frustration with the proceedings. Danielle Bensky, who says she was abused by Epstein at age 17, pointed to reports that the DOJ has opened a probe into E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused Trump of sexual assault and won a civil lawsuit. “What Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche have done is criminal. They have broken the law, and yet they decide to use government funds and taxpayer dollars to criminally investigate our survivor sister, E. Jean Carroll, instead of pursuing a single investigative lead from the 3.5 million files of documents from the US’s largest sex trafficking ring,” Bensky said. She called for a proper, under-oath deposition that is filmed and released, stating, “We deserve to hear every inflection, see every reaction and digest this information in real time.”
Following Bondi’s repeated deflection to Blanche and Patel, García announced that committee Democrats would move to subpoena both officials. Dhillon defended her presence, saying she was there “to represent the interests of the Department of Justice” and that it was Bondi’s choice whether to hire a personal attorney. For more on the broader political context, see how Bondi deflected on Epstein files while Trump headed to the Situation Room for an Iran deal call. Meanwhile, Epstein survivors have expressed skepticism that Bondi will deliver answers.
