Bondi refuses to answer lawmakers’ questions about Trump’s involvement in Epstein files release

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer questions Friday on President Donald Trump’s involvement in the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files as she defended the Trump administration’s actions before House lawmakers scrutinizing a process that was delayed and included personal information of potential victims.

Bondi, who arrived Friday morning on Capitol Hill for her closed-door interview, was defiant in previous public testimony when she was confronted by lawmakers about the Epstein investigation. In her opening statement, she kept to the same tack and said that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, now the acting attorney general, had overseen the process to release the Epstein case files as mandated by a law passed by Congress and signed by Trump last year.

“The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” she said, according to a written copy of her opening statement.

The transcribed Bondi interview gave lawmakers a chance to dig for information on the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files and other related matters, including the prison sentence of Epstein’s former girlfriend and confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell.

But Democratic lawmakers said that Bondi told them she would not speak about the president in the interview and, consulting with a lawyer from the Department of Justice, cited her ability to decline questions because she agreed to appear before the committee voluntarily.

“It’s a sham in there. They are not answering any questions,” said Democratic Rep. Dave Min of California during a break in the interview.

Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia said that he asked Bondi whether Trump had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes before they became public. Reading from his notes of the exchange, Walkinshaw told reporters that Bondi’s response was, “I’m not certain of the extent of his knowledge.”

Epstein killed himself in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in 2021 of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein but has insisted she’s innocent, arguing she never should have been prosecuted. The Justice Department moved Maxwell from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas last August.

Lawmakers are trying to find out what decisions prosecutors have made about investigating Epstein associates, how the Justice Department handled the congressional mandate to release the Epstein case files and whether President Donald Trump was involved in the process.

Bondi told lawmakers in her opening statement that releasing the Epstein case files was “an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process” and conceded that the department had made redaction errors. But she mostly defended the Justice Department’s work, saying that it had complied with the law and demonstrated “an unprecedented commitment to transparency.”

Several survivors of Epstein’s abuse also gathered outside the Capitol office where the interview was taking place. They tried to make their presence known to Bondi as she entered the room, but several said they were shoved aside by police officers.

“I just hope that she does have a moment where she remembers her own humanity and our humanity and finds her compassion and remembers that this is a bigger story than political rhetoric,” said Danielle Bensky, one of the survivors.

The survivors also implored lawmakers to hold Bondi accountable for the handling of the Epstein case files’ release, which included the personal information of potential victims.

They confronted the committee chair, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, and he told them that he would press for the complete release of case files mandated by law.

“We want justice for the survivors, we do,” Comer added.

Bondi, who revealed this week that she is being treated for thyroid cancer, has stayed within the Republican president’s orbit even after being ousted from her job in early April.

Trump appointed Bondi to a White House panel on artificial intelligence this week, and she will be accompanied Friday by Justice Department officials, including Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the department’s Civil Rights Division, acting as her counsel.

Democrats say that arrangement is a conflict of interest.

Bondi was central to the Epstein saga

Bondi has been central to the political firestorm over Epstein, initially raising expectations for the full release of what’s known as the Epstein files, only to later backtrack. That reversal prompted Congress to step in and pass a law requiring the release.

Bondi faced even more backlash when the Justice Department’s release of the files was delayed and then included personal information and nude photos of several potential victims. She has insisted in congressional hearings that she was trying to follow the law.

The House Oversight Committee, meanwhile, has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into Epstein that spans multiple presidential administrations.

The interview format is already contentious

Bondi was subpoenaed by the committee in March in a bipartisan vote, but she tried to head off that demand by holding a closed-door meeting with lawmakers that month. The maneuver only added to the enmity between Bondi and Democrats on the committee.

Bondi’s departure from the Justice Department also raised doubts about the enforcement of the congressional subpoena. After the committee’s Democrats maneuvered to press for a civil contempt of Congress resolution against Bondi, she agreed to sit for a transcribed interview rather than a sworn deposition.

Democrats on the Oversight panel have criticized that arrangement, saying that it allowed Bondi to decline to answer questions. They also objected to Comer’s decision not to video the interview.

“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, the top Democrat on the panel.

Comer has said he is allowing Bondi to sit for a transcribed interview rather than a deposition as an incentive to cooperate. Previously, he had enforced a subpoena on former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after they resisted the demand. Both of their depositions were video-recorded.

Still, Comer said Bondi could face prosecution if she lies to Congress. He said the committee would also release a transcript of the interview.

___

Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein case at https://apnews.com/hub/jeffrey-epstein.

Stephen Groves, The Associated Press