Former AG Pam Bondi to testify before Congress over handling of the Epstein files

Pam Bondi is scheduled to testify in a closed-door House Oversight Committee hearing about her role in overseeing the Department of Justice release of millions of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents. Survivors and Democrats criticize the release, alleging contradictory statements, inadequate redactions that exposed victims’ identities and private information, and removal of key files tied to President Trump. Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting federal sex-trafficking trial. Bondi defends the DOJ’s actions, citing a tight congressional timeline for reviewing millions of pages. Critics argue Trump promised a fuller release and that the Epstein Files Transparency Act was violated. Bondi’s tenure also drew broader criticism over alleged weaponization of the department to advance Trump’s agenda.

"The Republican-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Bondi in March to discuss her role in overseeing the Department of Justice's release of millions of documents related to the convicted sex offender. Survivors and Democrats have long criticized Bondi's handling and release of the Epstein files. They say Bondi made contradictory statements about what was in the documents, exposed survivors' names and private information, and removed key files related to President Trump."

"Bondi has defended the department's work and its release; she has argued that some missteps happened because government lawyers faced a tight timeline imposed by Congress to review millions of pages of material. On the campaign trail before his second term, Trump promised to release significant information on Epstein, but some of the president's supporters as well as critics say Bondi did not deliver on that promise."

""We haven't seen the full release of the files, so that's already a violation of the law," said Dani Bensky, referencing the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Bensky, who says Epstein sexually abused her as a young ballerina, says Bondi's release of the files without proper redactions of victims' identities, "sends such a chilling effect to the rest of the survivor community.""

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