Feds Ask House Panel to Pull Bondi Subpoena

Pam Bondi is out of her old job—and, for now, out of the witness chair. On Wednesday, the Justice Department told House Oversight Chair James Comer that Bondi will not sit for an April 14 deposition in the committee's Jeffrey Epstein probe, arguing the subpoena targeted her in her former official role as US attorney general, not as a private citizen. "Ms. Bondi no longer holds that office," Assistant Attorney General Patrick D. Davis wrote, saying the subpoena no longer compels her appearance, according to a letter obtained by CNN. "We kindly ask that you confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn," he wrote.

A spokesperson for the GOP-led Oversight Committee said Bondi will not appear as scheduled on April 14 because "she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General," CNBC reports. The spokesperson said the committee will now contact Bondi's personal lawyer "to discuss next steps" and reschedule her testimony. The subpoena, issued last month with support from both parties, seeks Bondi's account of how the Justice Department handled the public release of its investigative files on Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in federal custody in 2019.

Not so fast, say some committee members. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said Bondi's exit from the Trump administration doesn't change her obligation to testify as scheduled. "Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not," he said, warning that if she refuses, lawmakers will move toward contempt proceedings. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who spearheaded the subpoena alongside Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, echoed that view on X.

• "Pam Bondi cannot escape accountability simply because she no longer holds the office of Attorney General," she wrote. "Our motion to subpoena Pam Bondi, which was passed by the Oversight Committee, was for Bondi by name, not by title. She will still have to appear before the Oversight Committee for a sworn deposition. The American people deserve answers, and we expect her to appear as soon as a new date is set." Mace added: "A Department of Justice with nothing to hide doesn't avoid a subpoena."