By Nolan D. McCaskill and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi does not plan to appear for a planned interview with a House of Representatives committee on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files following her firing by President Donald Trump, the Justice Department told Congress on Wednesday.
Bondi was subpoenaed last month to testify in her formal role as attorney general, rendering the demand invalid now that she no longer holds that title, a Justice
Department official wrote in a letter to the House Oversight chairman, Republican Representative James Comer of Kentucky. Trump fired Bondi last week, in part over discontent with her management of the release of records related to Epstein, the late financier and sex offender who died in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
"The Department's position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her to appear on April 14. We kindly ask that you confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn," Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis, the DOJ's top liaison with Congress, wrote in the letter, which was seen by Reuters.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Bondi for questioning on the Justice Department's compliance with a bipartisan law passed in November that required DOJ to release nearly all of its files on Epstein. Lawmakers have complained that redactions in the files appear to exceed what is allowed in the law and that the Justice Department publicly released names of victims in some documents.
A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said the panel will contact Bondi's personal lawyer to "discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition."
A Justice Department spokesperson said the DOJ "remains committed to working cooperatively" with the committee but the subpoena to Bondi "no longer applies."
The panel's top Democrat, Representative Robert Garcia of California, threatened to begin contempt proceedings against Bondi if she did not appear before the panel, a move that would require Republican support to advance.
“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," Garcia said in a statement.
The House Oversight Committee has been conducting a wide-ranging probe into Epstein's ties with wealthy and powerful individuals and the Justice Department's handling of criminal investigations into Epstein and his former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Bondi and her then-top deputy, Todd Blanche, who is now acting attorney general, appeared last month to privately brief the committee on the Epstein files. Democrats walked out during the session, demanding that officials answer questions under oath.
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill and Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
