Bondi Won’t Testify as Scheduled in House Epstein Probe. Lawmakers Are Threatening to Hold Her in Contempt

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not testify as scheduled next week in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Bondi, who President Donald Trump ousted as the top Justice Department official last week, was subpoenaed last month by the House Oversight Committee Chairman, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky. She was scheduled to appear before the panel for a deposition on April 14. But on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis sent a letter to Comer, in which he said that “the subpoena no longer obligates” Bondi to appear before the panel because it was issued to her in her professional capacity as Attorney General, a role she no longer holds.

“The Committee issued the subpoena to Ms. Bondi in her official capacity as Attorney General, rather than her personal capacity,” Davis wrote in the letter, which was obtained by TIME. “Ms. Bondi no longer holds that office. As a result, because Ms. Bondi no longer can testify in her official capacity as Attorney General, the Department’s position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her to appear on April 14.”

“We kindly ask that you confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn,” Davis continued. “The Department remains committed to working cooperatively with the Committee and continues to believe that additional compulsory process is unnecessary in light of our demonstrated willingness to voluntarily assist your oversight efforts.”

A spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee said in a statement to TIME that the panel “will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”

Several members of the committee rejected the Justice Department’s claim that the subpoena previously issued to Bondi no longer applies. A person familiar with the matter told TIME that a new subpoena does not need to be issued to Bondi.

“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not,” he continued. “She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress. The survivors deserve justice.”

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, also a member of the committee, said in a social media post on Wednesday that she and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California are urging Comer “to publicly reaffirm former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s legal obligation to appear for her deposition.”

“The subpoena requires Pam Bondi to appear for a sworn deposition regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” Mace said on X, referencing the law—co-authored by Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky—that required all government records related to Epstein’s case to be released. “Bondi’s removal as Attorney General doesn’t erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight.”

“The American people deserve to know whether Congress was misled and whether information about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is being withheld,” she continued. “Pam Bondi has answers.”

Prior to her removal by Trump last week, the former Attorney General’s handling of the so-called “Epstein files” drew widespread controversy. The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress in November and quickly signed into law by Trump, required that the Justice Department release the files by Dec. 19. But Bondi’s department didn’t make all the records public by the deadline, sparking outrage from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, voters, and survivors of Epstein’s abuse. The Justice Department also received blowback for redacting the names of several high-profile figures who appeared to be associated with Epstein in the documents it did make public, while leaving potentially identifying information about some victims visible. 

Before she was ousted as Attorney General, Bondi said she would “follow the law” when asked if she would comply with the subpoena to testify before the House Oversight Committee, but she didn’t commit to the deposition on April 14. Last week, The New York Times reported that Bondi and Comer had “been quietly working together to avoid the deposition,” citing people who had knowledge of those conversations.

Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, another member of the Oversight panel, said in a statement on Wednesday that the “subpoena stands, whether Pam Bondi is the Attorney General or not.”

“She must answer our questions under oath about why she broke the law and continued to cover up the Epstein files,” Subramanyam said. “I also have questions about the timing of her firing and whether it was to prevent her from answering our questions. If she doesn’t appear, we should hold her in criminal contempt just like the majority did for the Clintons.”

In January, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton refused to testify in the panel’s Epstein inquiry, even as Republican lawmakers said that they would seek to hold the couple in contempt of Congress. The Clintons’ lawyers called the subpoenas “invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers.”

But weeks later, after the Oversight panel voted to recommend holding the Clintons in contempt, the couple agreed to appear before the committee. The two testified in February, and both said that they had no knowledge of the crimes that Epstein had committed.

Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia, a member of the House Oversight Committee, accused Comer of “shielding Bondi from a bipartisan subpoena she is legally required to honor—even after being fired.” The House Oversight Committee dismissed the allegation in a post on X.

“Dude, relax,” the committee said. “You were fine with the Clintons obstructing their subpoenas for seven months and voted against holding them in contempt. As we’ve stated clearly, we are following up with Pam Bondi’s personal attorney about scheduling her deposition. Go touch grass.”

Maria and Annie Farmer, sisters who are both survivors of Epstein’s abuse, urged the House Oversight Committee to ensure that Bondi’s deposition “happens immediately.”

“Survivors have waited nearly three decades for answers—how much longer must we wait?” they said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Department of Justice’s mishandling of the Epstein files not only betrayed the trust of survivors, but has left us with critical questions unanswered.”

“Until Bondi’s deposition happens and her testimony is given under oath, we will continue asking Congress to use every lever possible to ensure justice is served,” they continued. “Any further delays only deepen survivors’ pain and weakens our confidence in the government’s willingness to hold accountable those who enabled and perpetrated Epstein’s heinous crimes.”