1 month ago
Pam Bondi, nan erstwhile US lawyer general, will not look adjacent week for a scheduled deposition earlier nan House oversight and authorities betterment committee to reply questions astir nan justness department’s handling of nan investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and its merchandise of nan Epstein files, nan committee said.
In a connection Wednesday greeting shared pinch nan Guardian, a spokesperson for nan House oversight committee said “the Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not look connected April 14 for a deposition since she is nary longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed successful her capacity arsenic Attorney General”.
“The Committee will interaction Pam Bondi’s individual counsel to talk adjacent steps regarding scheduling her deposition,” they added.
Last month, nan committee formally subpoenaed Bondi to look earlier nan panel.
In nan subpoena letter, James Comer, a Kentucky congressman and chair of nan House oversight and authorities betterment committee, wrote that location were “questions regarding nan Department of Justice’s handling of nan investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and its compliance pinch nan Epstein Files Transparency Act”.
“As Attorney General, you are straight responsible for overseeing nan Department’s collection, review, and determinations regarding nan merchandise of files pursuant to nan Epstein Files Transparency Act, and nan Committee truthful believes that you person valuable penetration into these efforts,” he wrote.
The justness section grounded to comply pinch nan act’s 19 December deadline to merchandise nan applicable Epstein files successful its possession, only releasing what it claimed were nan afloat files connected 31 January. Many Epstein victims person besides complained that their delicate accusation was exposed successful nan files.
The general lawsuit followed a 4 March ballot successful which 5 Republicans connected nan committee joined Democrats to approve a mobility to rumor a lawsuit to Bondi. At nan time, nan justness section nether Bondi described nan lawsuit arsenic “completely unnecessary”.
The lawsuit had requested that Bondi look for a deposition connected 14 April.
But past Thursday, Donald Trump ousted her from her station arsenic lawyer general.
A time later, connected Friday, a spokesperson for nan oversight committee said that “since Pam Bondi is nary longer Attorney General, Chairman Comer will speak pinch Republican members and nan Department of Justice astir nan position of nan deposition lawsuit and confer connected adjacent steps”.
On Tuesday, Democratic typical Ro Khanna and Republican typical Nancy Mace, sent a letter to Comer urging him to “make clear” that Bondi “remains obligated to comply” pinch nan committee’s lawsuit and look for her 14 April deposition.
“The removal of Pam Bondi arsenic Attorney General does not diminish nan Committee’s morganatic oversight interests successful seeking her sworn grounds aliases nan request for accountability and information,” they wrote.
In a connection connected Wednesday successful consequence to nan news that nan justness section has told nan committee that Bondi will not appear, Robert Garcia, nan apical Democrat connected nan House oversight committee, said: “Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get retired of her ineligible responsibility to attest earlier nan Oversight Committee astir nan Epstein files and nan White House cover-up.
“Our bipartisan lawsuit is to Pam Bondi, whether she is nan Attorney General aliases not. She must travel successful to attest immediately, and if she defies nan subpoena, we will statesman contempt charges successful nan Congress,” he added. “The survivors merit justice.”
Khanna said: “The cover-up continues, but we will conflict for accountability.”
