Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month in its investigation into the Justice Department's handling of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein after Democrats moved to hold her in contempt for failing to appear under subpoena.
The committee confirmed Wednesday that Bondi will appear for a closed-door deposition on May 29. The announcement came shortly after Oversight Democrats said they had filed a civil contempt resolution against Bondi, accusing her of refusing to cooperate with the panel's Epstein inquiry.
This is all theater and completely unnecessary. They were happy giving the Clintons a free pass for months.
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) April 29, 2026
We have secured Bondi's appearance for May 29.
Today, we're marking up legislation to tackle fraud at the federal level and all Democrats can talk about is Epstein. https://t.co/rfNaUA64A8
"Pam Bondi has illegally defied our committee, skipped her deposition, and has refused to cooperate," Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the panel's ranking Democrat, said in a statement. "We have introduced a contempt resolution to hold her accountable." Garcia said Bondi has "extensive personal knowledge" of the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files and said survivors "deserve answers."
Pam Bondi has illegally defied our committee, skipped her deposition, and refused to cooperate. Today, we have filed contempt charges. Read Ranking Member @RepRobertGarcia’s statement. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/G2kXkZSzaI
— Oversight Dems (@OversightDems) April 29, 2026
Republicans on the committee pushed back, calling the contempt effort "theater and completely unnecessary." In a post announcing the May 29 date, Oversight Republicans said Democrats were focused on Epstein while the committee was marking up legislation on federal fraud. Bondi had been subpoenaed last month as part of the committee's probe into the release, redaction, and handling of Epstein-related records by the Justice Department.
This is all theater and completely unnecessary. They were happy giving the Clintons a free pass for months.
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) April 29, 2026
We have secured Bondi's appearance for May 29.
Today, we're marking up legislation to tackle fraud at the federal level and all Democrats can talk about is Epstein. https://t.co/rfNaUA64A8
She had been expected to appear for an April 14 deposition, but the department said she would not appear after President Donald Trump removed her as attorney general on April 2. Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis said the subpoena "no longer obligates" Bondi because it had been issued to her in her official capacity.
That argument drew resistance from both Democrats and some Republicans. Garcia wrote in a statement, "Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she's trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up." Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina wrote that "Bondi's removal as Attorney General doesn't erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight."
JUST IN: We're asking Chairman Comer urging him to publicly reaffirm former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s legal obligation to appear for her deposition.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) April 8, 2026
The subpoena requires Pam Bondi to appear for a sworn deposition regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the… pic.twitter.com/xxNkyirNTe
The dispute is the latest turn in Congress's broader fight over the Epstein files, a politically explosive collection of records connected to the late financier and convicted sex offender, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Lawmakers have scrutinized whether the Justice Department complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of unclassified DOJ records related to Epstein while protecting victims' identities and other sensitive information.
The Justice Department's inspector general recently opened an audit of the department's compliance with the law, including how officials identified, redacted, and released Epstein records. The audit followed criticism over missed deadlines, heavy redactions, and concerns from survivors about sensitive personal information appearing in released materials.
