Lawmakers vow to force Pam Bondi to testify despite ouster

Andrew Solender

Attorney General Pam Bondi during a meeting in the East Room of the White House on March 16. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Members of the House Oversight Committee said Thursday they will still fight to enforce their panel's subpoena of Pam Bondi after her removal as attorney general.

Why it matters: Bondi has been a target of congressional investigators in both parties over how she has handled the release of the Justice Department's files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Even some Republicans celebrated her departure Thursday, with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) saying in a statement she "handled the Epstein Files in a terrible manner and seriously undermined President Trump."
Mace, who forced the vote on the subpoena last month, also told Axios: "My subpoena still stands ... I did it by name, not as the sitting Attorney General."

What they're saying: Bondi "will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee.

"Oversight Democrats have been leading serious investigations into Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem. If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken," he added.
Several other Democrats on the panel, including Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) and Summer Lee (D-Pa.), made similar statements.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said Bondi "must still answer to Congress about the remaining documents, why we have no new prosecutions, and why she participated in a cover-up."

Yes, but: A spokesperson for Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who opposed the subpoena, was more non-committal on the matter.

"Since Pam Bondi is no longer Attorney General, Chairman Comer will speak with Republican members and the Department of Justice about the status of the deposition subpoena and confer on next steps," they said.
Bondi is scheduled to sit for a deposition on April 14 under the terms of the subpoena.

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Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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Lawmakers vow to force Pam Bondi to testify despite ouster

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