Pam Bondi to skip House Oversight Epstein deposition after being fired as AG

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not sit for a scheduled deposition before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into recently convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the committee’s Republican majority announced Wednesday.

“The Department of Justice has stated that Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” a spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal attorney to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”

The committee did not withdraw the subpoena, meaning Bondi could still be required to sit for a deposition.

Democrats on the committee rejected the Justice Department’s explanation in a statement to Fox News Digital.

EPSTEIN’S ACCOUNTANT AND LAWYER REVEAL Justice Department Never Questioned Them About Disgraced Financier’s Crimes

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not testify before the House Oversight Committee in a deposition scheduled for April 14, according to the Justice Department. However, top leaders in the surveillance system signal that she is not immune. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images; Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she is trying to evade her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” Watchdog Ranking Member Robert Garcia of California countered Wednesday. “Our bipartisan subpoena is for Pam Bondi, whether she is attorney general or not.”

President Donald Trump ousted Bondi from the Justice Department last week after she faced bipartisan scrutiny over her handling of the Epstein cases.

Garcia added that he would decide whether to convict Bondi of contempt of Congress if she did not comply with the subpoena to appear before the panel.

The House Oversight Committee could recommend criminal charges against Bondi for defying a subpoena, but the measure would be subject to a chamber-wide vote and it would ultimately be up to the DOJ whether to bring charges.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to comment on whether Bondi must comply with the subpoena during a news conference Tuesday.

“What happens now that she’s the former attorney general and there’s a subpoena, I think I’ll leave it to President Comer and others to find out. I don’t have an answer to that question,” the country’s new attorney general said.

The brewing legal battle comes after five Republicans voted with the Democrats to subpoena Bondi as part of the committee’s Epstein investigation over Comer’s objections in March. The GOP lawmakers included Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas.

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United States Attorney General Pam Bondi (left) speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, October 15, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

Mace and Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, another member of the powerful committee, sent Comer a letter Wednesday asking him to “publicly reaffirm” Bondi’s “legal obligation” to testify before the committee during the April 14 deposition.

“Bondi’s removal as Attorney General does not erase her obligation to testify,” the bipartisan duo wrote. “If anything, it makes his testimony under oath even more critical. Congressional oversight does not end when an official leaves office.”

“Pam Bondi was subpoenaed by name and not by title,” Mace added in a separate statement.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for governor of South Carolina during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, August 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service)

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Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Acosta, who served in Trump’s Cabinet during his first term, testified before the Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Epstein.

Fox News Digital has contacted the DOJ for comment.