Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi has denied questions about President Donald Trump’s involvement in handling records of the Justice Department’s investigation into alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Democratic lawmakers said.
“He refused to answer any questions about President Trump,” congressman Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House panel investigating Epstein, told reporters during a break in Bondi’s secret committee hearing.
Bondi also pushed any blame for the mishandling of documents related to Epstein to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was formerly the deputy attorney general, Garcia said. He added that the Democrats will want to call Blanche to testify before the panel.
Democrats and some Republicans have criticized the Justice Department for being slow to comply with the law that compels the release of files and withholds important information.
The Justice Department released 3.5 million pages of related documents out of more than 6 million pages it identified as relevant, according to a Jan. 30 memo, which indicated documents could be withheld because they were privileged, under protective orders, or duplicates.
“What documents are left? Why haven’t they been turned over?” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, told reporters before Bondi’s testimony.
