Furious Dems threaten Bondi impeachment, contempt after briefing
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Rep. Robert Garcia and other Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee speak to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on March 18. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee stormed out midway through a briefing from Attorney General Pam Bondi enraged and raising the threat of an impeachment or contempt of Congress effort against her.
Why it matters: Bondi has emerged as Democrats' top target for Democrats after the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a status that was further solidified on Wednesday.
- "She is building a record," Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), an Oversight Committee member, told Axios outside the hearing.
- "She basically set up a fake hearing under the guise of a briefing, she has defied subpoenas that we've put out already and then she has continued to be evasive and combative with us."
Driving the news: Bondi briefed House Oversight Committee members in both parties Wednesday evening on the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files.
- The briefing came after the panel voted along bipartisan lines earlier this month to subpoena Bondi under oath as part of the Epstein investigation.
- But Democrats complained that the briefing was not under oath and that Bondi was combative and not forthcoming.
What they're saying: "We have been frustrated since the second this thing started," Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) told reporters.
- Bondi "refused, on multiple occasions, to commit to following the subpoena," he said. "It's outrageous and infuriating and it continues this White House coverup of the Epstein files."
- Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) said Democrats expected Bondi to be"confrontational" and "not offer us much information," which she said is "why I introduced impeachment articles, because she has already been obstructing justice."
Zoom out: Lee is the second Democrat this month to introduce articles of impeachment against Bondi, after Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.).
- Reps. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) noted they are co-sponsors of the measure.
- Asked by Axios if any other panel members support the effort, Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.) indicated she does as well.
- Garcia said Democrats are focused on making sure Bondi shows up for her deposition and that, if she doesn't, "everything after that, whether it's contempt or anything else, all follows."
The intrigue: Lee said she pressed Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on whether he would enforce the subpoena, and that "instead of answering as an adult, he said that I was 'bitching.'"
- Comer confirmed to reporters that he used that language, saying Lee was "just complaining about the format."
- Lee "was the fourth Democrat to 'ask questions,' and they didn't ask any questions," Comer said.
The other side: Pressed if she will comply with the subpoena, Bondi said she "will follow the law," which Democrats said is how she responded to the same question during the briefing.
- Bondi also pushed back on the notion that her DOJ has lacked transparency on the Epstein matter, claiming the 3 million documents released are "the height of the Eiffel Tower."
- Comer and other Republicans said Democrats were the combative ones, not Bondi, with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) telling reporters Democrats' frustration was "all staged — we knew that was going to happen.
What to watch: Comer didn't rule out still enforcing the subpoena against Bondi, telling reporters, "We'll have to talk about it as a committee."
Axios' Kate Santaliz contributed reporting for this story.
