Democrats Walk Out Of Pam Bondi Briefing On Epstein Files Over Subpoena Compliance

House Democrats walked retired of a closed-door proceeding pinch Attorney General Pam Bondi Wednesday while she was briefing lawmakers connected the Epstein files a time aft being subpoenaed to attest successful mid-April.

Democratic members of nan Republican-led House Oversight Committee told reporters that Bondi, who was joined by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, would not perpetrate to complying pinch nan lawsuit for her sworn grounds connected April 14 to reply questions astir nan DOJ's handling of records related to nan precocious activity offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., nan apical Democrat connected nan panel, said Bondi "refused connected aggregate occasions to perpetrate to pursuing nan subpoena."

After nan briefing, Bondi told reporters that she "made it crystal clear I will travel nan law," erstwhile asked astir whether she would comply pinch nan subpoena.

The X relationship for Republicans connected nan committee said successful a station that "Bondi stated she would travel nan rule regarding her subpoena."

The committee voted 24-19 this period to lawsuit Bondi, pinch 5 Republicans joining Democrats successful favour of nan move.

Committee chair James Comer, who voted against nan effort, announced Tuesday that nan lawsuit had been sent. He sidestepped Wednesday erstwhile asked if nan committee would clasp Bondi successful contempt of Congress if she didn't comply.

"Well, we'll person to, we'll person to talk astir that," Comer, R-Ky., said, earlier criticizing Democrats.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., told reporters that she asked Comer whether he would compel Bondi to be nan April deposition and move to clasp her successful contempt if she refuses.

“Instead of answering arsenic an adult, he said that I was bitching, which is again, thing that would not beryllium allowed if we were operating nether nan rules of this committee, because engaging successful personalities is really thing that we are not capable to do,” Lee said.

Comer confirmed Lee's characterization of their exchange.

"I've ne'er seen members large wind retired of a briefing pinch nan lawyer general, and nan full leaders of nan Department of Justice are location to reply questions, and they don't inquire a azygous question," Comer added.

A DOJ spokesperson connected Tuesday called nan Bondi lawsuit “completely unnecessary” and said nan lawyer wide “continues to person calls and meetings pinch members of Congress connected nan Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is why nan Department offered to little nan committee.”

At a House Oversight Committee proceeding past month, Bondi praised nan Justice Department’s efforts to comply pinch nan Epstein Files Transparency Act, which ordered nan nationalist merchandise of astir accusation from millions of pages of files from nan Epstein investigation.

Many Epstein survivors and members of Congress person denounced nan Justice Department’s handling of nan files, immoderate of which person included galore redactions erstwhile released. Survivors pointed retired that immoderate accusation of imaginable accomplices was redacted, while different accusation astir victims was near untouched erstwhile it should person been blacked out.

"We’re proud of nan activity we’ve done connected this," Bondi said Wednesday.