Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (C) arrives to testify at a closed session of the House Oversight Committee at the Capitol on May 29, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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Former Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the Justice Department’s response to the release of files on notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in her opening statement to a House committee Friday.
Bondi said that “to my knowledge” the Justice Department has released all documents and other evidence required by the Epstein File Transparency Act, according to a transcript of her statement obtained by MS NOW.
Her statement about the Epstein file came as Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee criticized the Republican majority for not videotaping Bondi’s interview with the committee.
“Pam Bondi is at the center of the White House cover-up, and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is trying to hide her testimony from the American people,” said Sara Guerrero, a Democratic spokeswoman for the committee.
“Survivors and the American public have a right to see her answer real questions about her mismanagement and cover-up of the Epstein file,” Guerrero said.
A source who was present during Bondi’s interview told MS NOW that Bondi sometimes lost his temper and became irritated when asked about President Donald Trump.
In his opening statement, Bondi acknowledged that there had been an “editorial error” in releasing the Epstein documents.
Bondi also said he “did not lead every aspect of this effort nor did I personally review the documents.”
“I have delegated oversight of this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” Bondi said.
Bondi was fired in early April by President Trump, who was dissatisfied with her handling of matters related to the file on his longtime friend Epstein.
Mr. Blanche currently serves as Acting Attorney General. He is President Trump’s former criminal defense attorney.
“I am proud of the department’s performance and commitment to transparency under my leadership,” Bondi said.
“We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the department’s search, collection, and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of materials including thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of images.”
“The bottom line is that justice and transparency in this matter came at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” she said.
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