Updated on: April 8, 2026 / 3:50 PM EDT/ CBS News
Washington— Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next week to answer questions about the Justice Department's handling of the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the panel said Wednesday.
"The Department of Justice has stated 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 Oversight Committee said. "The Committee will contact Pam Bondi's personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition."
In a letter to Comer that was obtained by CBS News, Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis wrote that the subpoena was issued to Bondi in her official capacity as attorney general, not in her personal capacity. Because she doesn't hold that office anymore, she can no longer testify in her role as attorney general, he said. Davis, who leads the Justice Department's Office of Legislative Affairs, asked Comer to confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn.
"The Department remains committed to working cooperatively with the Committee and continues to believe that additional compulsory process is unnecessary in light of our demonstrated willingness to voluntarily assist your oversight efforts," he wrote.
The subpoena,issuedby Oversight Committee chairman James Comer last month, required Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition on Tuesday. The full Oversight panel hadapproved a motionon March 4 to subpoena Bondi, who was then serving as attorney general. Five Republicans voted with all Democrats in support of the move.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Committee, said the subpoena issued by the committee is binding and demanded she appear.
"Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she's trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up," he said in a statement. "Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not. She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress. The survivors deserve justice."
Two Epstein survivors, Maria and Annie Farmer, in a statement urged the House Oversight Committee to make sure that Bondi's deposition "happens immediately."
"Until Bondi's deposition happens and her testimony is given under oath, we will continue asking Congress to use every lever possible to ensure justice is served," the Farmers said, adding that further delay "weakens our confidence in the government's willingness to hold accountable those who enabled and perpetrated Epstein's heinous crimes."
As attorney general, Bondi oversaw the Justice Department's review and release of files related to the federal investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his longtime associate who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking crimes. The material was made public after Congress approved a measure, called the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The Justice Departmentultimately releasedroughly 3 million pages of documents related to Epstein out of more than 6 million pages. Top department officials said roughly half of the material was withheld for various reasons, including because some of the records contained survivors' personal information or risked jeopardizing an active federal investigation.
Bondi wasousted from her postas attorney general last week.
After Mr. Trump announced Bondi's deputy, Todd Blanche, would serve as acting attorney general, Bondi initially said she would stay on the job for a month to help him with the transition. But Blancheheld a press conferenceon Tuesday as the acting head of the Justice Department, and the department has referred to him as such, an indication that he has officially taken over.
Earlier Wednesday, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California sent Comer a letter urging him to reaffirm Bondi's obligation to testify before the panel. Mace offered the motion to subpoena Bondi, and Khanna introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
