U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice to testify at the Capitol on February 11, 2026 in Washington.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters
The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi for a deposition regarding the handling of the Justice Department’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and compliance with laws requiring the release of all documents related to the notorious sex offender.
The committee’s 24-19 vote came after growing criticism of the Justice Department for not releasing all of the Epstein files, with the department reportedly removing tens of thousands of previously released documents from public view.
The motion to subpoena Bondi was filed by South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who earlier Wednesday accused the Justice Department of covering up many of the Epstein files.
“AG Bondi claims the Justice Department has released the entire Epstein file. The record is clear: They haven’t released it,” Mace said in a post on X.
“The Epstein affair is one of the biggest cover-ups in American history,” Mace wrote.
Mace also posted a YouTube video of himself entering a motion before the Oversight Committee.
In addition to Mace, four other Republicans also joined most of the committee’s Democrats in voting in favor of subpoenaing Bondi, a Republican. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania; Tim Burchett of Tennessee; and Michael Cloud of Texas.
CNBC has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Under the Epstein Transparency Act, which Congress passed almost unanimously last year, the Justice Department is required to release all files on Epstein and his convicted co-defendant, Ghislaine Maxwell.
After releasing more than 3 million documents in late January, the Justice Department announced it would not release the remaining Epstein files (more than 2.5 million documents in total).
Media outlets have since reported that the Justice Department has removed the file from public view.
Among the files withheld were notes and notes related to FBI interviews, including one from a woman who claims she was sexually abused by President Donald Trump when she was a minor.
Trump has never been charged with any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said he had no knowledge of his former friend’s criminal activities.
CBS News reported on Tuesday that “as of the end of February, the Justice Department had deleted more than 47,000 files comprising approximately 65,500 pages.”
