The House Oversight Committee formally subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions about her department’s handling of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
House Oversight Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, issued the subpoena on Tuesday requiring Bondi to appear for a deposition on April 14.
In the subpoena cover letter, Comer wrote that the panel was “reviewing the possible mismanagement” of the government’s investigation into Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted on sex trafficking charges in 2021.
“The Committee has questions regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” Comer wrote.
Comer added that Bondi is “directly responsible” for overseeing the review and release of the related files.
The committee indicated it could use the results of the probe “to inform legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations.”
A Department of Justice spokesperson slammed the subpoena as “completely unnecessary” in a statement to The Independent.
“Lawmakers have been invited to view the unredacted files for themselves at the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General has always made herself available to speak directly with members of Congress,” the spokesperson said.
“She continues to have calls and meetings with members of Congress on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is why the Department offered to brief the committee tomorrow. As always, we look forward to continuing to provide policymakers with the facts,” the spokesperson continued.
The House Oversight Committee voted earlier this month to subpoena Bondi to testify about her role in the release of the files, with five Republicans crossing the aisle to join Democrats in favor.
Bondi has received months of mounting backlash over her handling of the release of a cache of documents related to Epstein, for not only failing to release all of the files, but also for failing to properly redact the files that were released. She was forced to remove thousands of published Epstein documents because they contained names and other identifying information about victims.
She also recently made headlines over her recent appearance in front of the House Judiciary Committee, during which she faced intense questioning about her handling of the records — and refused to look Epstein’s survivors in the eye or apologize to them.
The release of the files has been a thorn in Bondi’s side ever since she took office last year. Bondi told Fox News in February 2025 that the Epstein files were sitting on her desk. But by July, the DOJ withheld additional Epstein-related material and issued a memo denying any proof of a client list and saying there was insufficient evidence to charge third parties.
Bondi’s backtracking later led Congress to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing the Department of Justice to release all files related to Epstein.
Under the law, the Justice Department is mandated to release millions of files, including emails, court documents, photos and videos related to Epstein. Many of those files include images or references to high profile individuals, including President Donald Trump.
Millions of files have since been released. During the first phase in February of last year, a group of right-wing influencers received binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” from Bondi — though there was little new information provided in the binders.
The initial release of the files consisted of more than 3 million pages, though that figure is now roughly 2.7 million, according to an analysis of the files by CBS News and The Wall Street Journal.
However, the DOJ withheld nearly 48,000 files related to their investigations into Epstein from the public. A spokesperson for the department said earlier this month that “47,635 files were offline for further review” but were expected to become online.
Those offline files include materials connected to unverified allegations against Trump, whose name appears thousands of times in the files. The DOJ told The Independent last month that it is “currently reviewing” documents that detail unverified allegations against the president.
Trump has repeated denied wrongdoing, insisting that he and Epstein stopped being friends years before the financier was under investigation. Trump has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In the past weeks the committee has interviewed former president Bill Clinton, who spent time with Epstein but insists he was never aware of his criminality, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who never met Epstein.
The House Oversight Committee also announced Tuesday that Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are expected to brief members of the panel behind closed doors on Wednesday.
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