Former Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Friday as part of a hearing on the Jeffrey Epstein files
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi dodged several questions about President Donald Trump during a hearing linked to the Jeffrey Epstein files, Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia revealed on Friday.
The California lawmaker spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill, discussing Bondi’s appearance before Congress. Bondi reportedly testified that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had led the investigation into the disgraced financier, according to Garcia.
“And quite frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions, not protecting survivors, she continues to push that back onto the acting AG Todd Blanche,” he said, adding that he personally questioned Bondi about conversations with Trump regarding Epstein.
“Whether he directed her at any given time on the Epstein files, what he knew, what he asked her to redact or not, and she refused to answer any questions about President Trump,” said Garcia.
“In fact, she said she would not speak or respond to any question that had anything to do with President Trump,” reports the Mirror US.
Fellow Democratic lawmakers rounded on Bondi for her refusal to address questions about the president. “It’s a sham in there. They are not answering any questions,” said California Rep. Dave Min.
Virginia Rep. James Walkinshaw revealed he had questioned Bondi over whether Trump had any prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes before they became public. “I’m not certain of the extent of his knowledge,” was her response, according to notes Walkinshaw read aloud to reporters.
Epstein was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
While giving testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Bondi acknowledged there had been “redaction errors” in the release of the Epstein files. “But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency.”
She went on to say: “Our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.”
In her opening statement, Bondi described releasing the files as “an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process”, while conceding that the Justice Department had acted within the law.
A number of survivors of Epstein’s crimes had gathered outside the Capitol office where the interview was being held. They attempted to make their presence known to Bondi, but many reported being pushed aside by police officers.
The survivors also urged legislators to hold Bondi responsible for the way the files were released, which included the personal details of potential victims. They confronted the committee chair, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, a Republican, who pledged to push for the full release of the files as required by law.
“We want justice for the survivors, we do,” he said.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein case, has not been accused of any crimes by law enforcement, and has never been identified as the subject of any investigation.
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