Even Republicans on House Oversight Panel Insist on Testimony from Fired AG Bondi
Not so fast
It appears that members of the House Oversight Committee, including some Republicans, are not going to let ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi skip her deposition now that she is no longer attorney general.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) subpoenaed Bondi for an April 14 deposition before the committee to answer questions about the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and the release of the department’s investigative files on the wealthy financier who was accused of sex trafficking before dying in prison. Bondi had not yet officially confirmed the date of her testimony when she was unceremoniously fired by Trump last week, apparently due to her apparent inability to secure timely indictments and investigations of Trump’s alleged political enemies. The panel said in a statement today that it plans to continue seeking a date for her to testify.
The DOJ reportedly sent Comer a letter this week requesting that Bondi be removed from her deposition duties since she was fired from the DOJ. Per Politico, which obtained a copy of the letter to Comer:
“We ask that you please confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn,” Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis wrote, adding that the DOJ “continues to believe that additional mandatory proceedings are not necessary in light of our demonstrated willingness to voluntarily assist in your surveillance efforts.”
Democrats on the panel have already indicated they believe Bondi should still answer questions from the committee, despite his ouster.
“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,” the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), said Wednesday. “Our bipartisan subpoena is for Pam Bondi, whether she is attorney general or not. She must come to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will issue contempt of Congress charges. Survivors deserve justice.”
It seems that the Republicans are on the same page:
“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 spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee said in a statement to Politico on Wednesday. “The committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal attorney to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”
It remains an open question whether members of the Republican Oversight Committee could still enforce the subpoena after Bondi leaves office. But Comer broke with the other Republican members of the panel, alongside four other Republicans on the committee, to join Democrats in voting to subpoena Bondi in March, indicating he might still be interested in hearing from her despite her ouster from the DOJ.
Iran’s war powers vote ahead
Democratic leaders in Congress are planning a handful of actions to at least make some noise about President Trump’s ongoing, unauthorized and increasingly hysterical war in Iran, which may or may not be underway. While leaders did not join the chorus of calls from Democratic members of Congress yesterday to invoke the 25th Amendment and/or impeach Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to force a vote on a war powers resolution in the upper chamber next week.
“Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment. No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country into war alone. Not now. Not ever,” Schumer said at a news conference Wednesday. “Republicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice. The public must demand that Republicans join us in approving the War Powers Act.”
Although similar measures have repeatedly failed in the Senate, it appears that Republicans may try to fit the authorization of Trump’s military operation in Iran into an impending budget reconciliation plan that they are expected to use to give Trump billions more to finance his war.
Meanwhile, in the House:
Americans against data centers
A small Wisconsin town just outside of Milwaukee — currently home to a Trump-backed data center AI project — has voted to block future data center development in the city. Advocates say their efforts could serve as a model for residents seeking to fight the development of AI data centers in communities across the country.
More details, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The referendum was won with 66% of voters answering “yes” to the ballot question, asking whether to approve an ordinance that would add a public checkpoint to the approval process for TIF districts over $10 million. The ordinance was proposed by residents who are part of a local anti-data center group, called Great Lakes Neighbors United, which opposed the $15 billion AI data center for Oracle, OpenAI and Vantage on the city’s north side.
Along the same lines, a new piece in TPM Café today: Trump wants to build massive new detention centers. States are blocking their construction.
In case you missed it
New piece just released by Layla A. Jones: New Department of Labor rule is Trump’s latest favor to the crypto industry
Morning memo: Declaring victory and walking away cannot hide the extent of Trump’s madness
John Light: “Open” is in the eye of the beholder
In case you missed it last night: Democratic-backed judge wins Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, expanding liberal majority
Yesterday’s most read story
Trump: “An entire civilization will die tonight”… maybe
What we read
Trump administration personnel agency requests medical records of federal employees
How Trump dragged the United States into war with Iran
RFK Jr launches podcast to expose ‘lies’ that have made Americans sick
