Bondi defends handling of Epstein files to House panel
Former U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi (C) arrives to testify in a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2026.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the Justice Department’s handling of the release of files on notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in her opening statement to a House panel on Friday.
Bondi said that “to the best of my knowledge,” the Justice Department has made public all documents and other evidence required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, according to a transcript of his affidavit obtained by MS NOW.
The statement came as Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee criticized the Republican majority for not videotaping Bondi’s interview with the panel.
“Pam Bondi was at the center of a White House cover-up, and Oversight Director James Comer is attempting to conceal her testimony from the American people.”ISara Guerrero, spokeswoman for the Democrats on the panel.
“Survivors and the American people deserve to see him answer real questions about his mismanagement and cover-up of the Epstein files,” Guerrero said.
In his opening statement, Bondi acknowledged there were “editorial errors” in the release of the Epstein documents.
Bondi also said he “did not direct every aspect of this effort or conduct the document review.”
“I have turned over oversight of this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” Bondi said.
Bondi was fired in early April by President Donald Trump, who was unhappy with her handling of matters related to the files on his longtime friend Epstein.
Blanche currently serves as acting attorney general. He is Trump’s former criminal defense attorney.
“I am proud of the Department’s commitment and track record of transparency under my leadership,” Bondi said.
“We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department’s search, collection and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of material, including thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of images.”
“The bottom line is this: Fairness and transparency in this matter were carried out at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” he said.
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