Democrats call Bondi’s Epstein files interview a ‘sham’
WASHINGTON— On Friday, Democrats called former Atty. He said Gen. Pam Bondi’s interview with the House Oversight Committee about her handling of the Epstein files was “fake” and a “cover-up” and that she refused to answer numerous questions about President Trump in a closed session with lawmakers.
“It’s a lie. They’re not answering any questions,” Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine) told reporters during a break in the interview.
Lawyers from the Department of Justice, including the Deputy Solicitor, also attended Bondi’s interview. Democrats said it was Gen. Harmeet Dhillon who intervened to prevent some questions about Trump from being answered.
“The DOJ is there right now to stop questions about President Trump and what’s going on with the release of these files,” said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), the committee’s top Democrat.
He said Bondi, who was not under oath, refused to answer five questions he asked about the president.
The committee said it would release a transcript of the interview that was not videotaped.
The committee subpoenaed Bondi in March to testify while he was still in office, but Bondi initially did not comply and agreed to a voluntary interview only after Democrats introduced a resolution last month to call him in contempt.
Dhillon, a San Francisco attorney and longtime Republican activist who has been tipped as a potential future attorney general, did not say whether he had publicly blocked Bondi from answering questions about her interactions with the president.
“There were ground rules that the committee had set before we got in there and we just wanted to stick to those,” Dhillon said.
Garcia said Bondi blamed the Deputy Solicitor. His then-deputy, Gen. Todd Blanche, over problems with the release of the files.
Bondi, who did not speak to reporters after her interview, took issue with Garcia’s characterization.
Bondi wrote to
The department has been criticized for not releasing the files as quickly as required under a law passed last year that requires the release of all records from the department’s investigations into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019.
The department has also come under fire for failing to redact the names of some of Epstein’s victims, failing to redact the names of some of Epstein’s alleged accomplices, and removing some files it had initially published.
A group of Epstein victims who spoke to reporters outside the closed doors of the Bondi interview criticized the department’s distribution of the files and the department’s lack of communication with victims.
Dani Bensky, who said she was molested by Epstein when she was a 17-year-old high school student in New York, said, “Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche derailed the lives of many survivors.”
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (DN.M) said Bondi acknowledged in the interview that she had never met any of Epstein’s victims.
In his opening statement reviewed by The Times, Bondi acknowledged problems with the distribution of the files but defended the administration’s handling of the release.
“There were editorial errors,” Bondi said in his opening statement. “But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency.”
Bondi was fired by Trump on April 2 and has faced questions about the department’s investigations into Epstein throughout his tenure.
In February 2025, he claimed on Fox News that he had a copy of Epstein’s purported client list; This list included the names of the financier’s powerful friends with whom he manipulated the girls into having sex.
But in July 2025, when Trump faced questions about his relationship with Epstein, whom he knew socially, the Justice Department closed its investigation into Epstein’s alleged crimes and said no such client list existed.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) soon introduced the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the Justice Department to release all records of its investigation into Epstein. Although he initially opposed it, Trump signed it into law on November 19, 2025.
When asked what Trump knew about Epstein’s crimes, Bondi said he didn’t know, according to Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.).
“I’m not sure the extent of his knowledge,” Bondi said, according to Walkinshaw.
Bondi responded to Walkinshaw’s allegations by writing about
Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, said Democrats will next seek to meet with Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel about their handling of the Epstein files and the department’s investigations into Epstein and his accomplices.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) was the only Republican member of Congress to participate in the interview, and Democrats urged their Republican colleagues not to participate.
“I have a very important election in four days,” said Min, a Democrat from Irvine. “But I’m here instead of in my own district because it’s important.”
