Bondi to appear before House Oversight Committee in May

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on May 29, the panel said Wednesday.

This comes after committee Democrats said they filed contempt charges against Ms. Bondi because she failed to appear for her deposition on April 14 — part of the committee’s investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of its public release of files relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She did not comply with a subpoena to sit for a closed-door deposition because the subpoena is essentially moot, the Justice Department previously said, as it sought her testimony as attorney general before President Trump replaced her with her deputy, Todd Blanche.

The committee previously said it would contact Ms. Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.

“Bondi has extensive personal knowledge about the Trump Administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and regardless of her job title, her testimony and cooperation are crucial,” California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement.

Oversight Democrats said the date for her appearance was announced 45 minutes after they filed contempt charges.

Mr. Garcia said Ms. Bondi “illegally defied” the committee and has “refused to cooperate,” prompting the panel’s Democrats to introduce the contempt resolution.

“Oversight Democrats are taking the lead on holding Bondi in contempt because Chairman [James] Comer is trying to run out the clock, and we refuse to let this Administration stop our investigation,” Mr. Garcia said.

In response, the GOP committee members called the contempt charges “all theater and completely unnecessary.”

After being informed of the new date, Mr. Garcia said, “We’re being effective.

“It’s interesting how it’s only when we take action and when we actually have to force Republicans to do anything, to call subpoenas, to get in front of our committee that they actually ever do anything. So I am so glad that Chairman Comer is scared of this group.”

Mr. Garcia did not respond to questions about whether he and his fellow Democrats would pursue the contempt measure anyway.