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By Dan Gooding and Amanda Castro
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The House Oversight Committee said Wednesday that Pam Bondi will not appear for her April 14 deposition, with a spokesperson saying that the Justice Department’s position was that Bondi was subpoenaed only in her capacity as attorney general—a role she no longer holds.
Bondi was scheduled to testify to the committee over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, following a bipartisan vote to call her to the Hill. President Donald Trump then removed Bondi as Attorney General on Friday, handing the role, temporarily, to her deputy, Todd Blanche.
According to the House Oversight spokesperson, cited by journalist Nicholas Wu, Bondi would no longer appear due to leaving her role at the DOJ.
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A Department of Justice spokesperson told Newsweek that, "The Department of Justice remains committed to working cooperatively with the Committee, but its subpoena to former AG Bondi was in her official capacity as Attorney General. Because of the leadership transition at the Department, the subpoena no longer applies.”
Why Was Bondi Subpoenaed?
Bondi, who is transitioning away from her role as U.S. Attorney General, has been under constant scrutiny after she backtracked on promises to release the Epstein Files last summer.
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle pressured the DOJ into releasing investigation documents by passing the Epstein Transparency Act, but Bondi missed the December 19 deadline to release all the files. When documents were made public, large swaths were redacted, and Representatives complained they were being watched by the DOJ when viewing the files.
The Oversight Committee, which has been scrutinizing the DOJ's handling of the case, called Bondi to answer questions on the concerns around transparency and accountability. The DOJ called the move "unnecessary" at the time.
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Members of Congress React
The announcement Wednesday that Bondi would no longer testify to the House Oversight Committee immediately sparked backlash from those in Congress, including Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican who has been vocal in her wishes for transparency.
In a post on X, Mace shared a joint letter she signed with California Democrat Ro Khanna, asking Chair James Comer to uphold the subpoena.
"Bondi’s removal as Attorney General doesn’t erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight," Mace said. "The American people deserve to know whether Congress was misled and whether information about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is being withheld. Pam Bondi has answers. Hold the Line."
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, another California Democrat, said in a statement that the subpoena applied to Bondi, "whether she is the Attorney General or not".
"She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress," Garcia said.
Update 4/8/26, 11:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 4/8/26, 1:11 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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