Former AG Pam Bondi to testify before Congress over handling of the Epstein files - BERITAJA

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies earlier the House Judiciary Committee successful the Rayburn House Office Building connected Feb. 11, 2026 successful Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to testify earlier House lawmakers Friday successful a closed-door proceeding complete her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Bondi successful March to talk her domiciled successful overseeing the Department of Justice's release of millions of documents related to the convicted activity offender.

Survivors and Democrats person agelong criticized Bondi's handling and merchandise of the Epstein files. They opportunity Bondi made contradictory statements about what was successful the documents, exposed survivors' names and backstage information, and removed cardinal files related to President Trump. Epstein died successful a New York situation compartment successful 2019 while awaiting proceedings connected national sex-trafficking charges.

Bondi has defended the department's activity and its release; she has based on that immoderate missteps happened because authorities lawyers faced a tight timeline imposed by Congress to reappraisal millions of pages of material.

On the run way earlier his 2nd term, Trump promised to merchandise important accusation connected Epstein, but some of the president's supporters arsenic good arsenic critics opportunity Bondi did not present connected that promise.

"We haven't seen the afloat merchandise of the files, truthful that's already a usurpation of the law," said Dani Bensky, referencing the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Bensky, who says Epstein sexually abused her arsenic a young ballerina, says Bondi's merchandise of the files without due redactions of victims' identities, "sends specified a chilling effect to the remainder of the subsister community."

Beyond the Epstein files, Bondi's clip successful agency had been marked by disapproval from immoderate ineligible experts and others who opportunity she oversaw what they word the weaponizing of the department to beforehand Trump's agenda.

In April, Bondi was ousted from the DOJ's apical spot, and successful a social media post Trump called her "a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend." In her ain social media post, Bondi called her clip arsenic lawyer wide "the grant of a lifetime."

In February, earlier the ouster, Bondi testified earlier the House Judiciary Committee successful a contentious hearing that she was "deeply sorry for what immoderate victim, immoderate victim, has been through, particularly arsenic a consequence of that monster." She pushed backmost connected lawmakers' disapproval of her handling of the files and defended her work.

"To reside the Epstein files, much than 500 attorneys and reviewers spent thousands of hours painstakingly reviewing millions of pages to comply pinch Congress' law," Bondi said astatine the hearing. "We've released much than 3 cardinal pages, including 180,000 images, each to the nationalist while doing our very champion successful the clip framework allotted by the authorities to protect victims."

Push for open, videotaped hearing

Friday's proceeding has drawn further scrutiny successful caller weeks because it will beryllium held down closed doors and transcribed, alternatively than videotaped nether oath.

"We're demanding that it beryllium some videotaped nether oath and released to the public," California Rep. Robert Garcia, the apical Democrat connected the committee, told BERITAJA.

The House Oversight Committee has questioned a number of high-profile individuals about Epstein, including his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's erstwhile lawyer and accountant, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. The committee videotaped and released a signaling of the Clintons' deposition to the public. Other transcriptions, for illustration Lutnick's, were released days aft the testimony. Bondi's transcription will beryllium released successful a akin manner, according to the committee.

"It should beryllium transcribed, it should beryllium filmed, and it should beryllium publically released arsenic quickly arsenic possible," said Bensky. She says "context is lost" erstwhile the proceeding is only transcribed.

The survivors person continued to repetition the "same talking points complete and over" to the DOJ, Bensky added. "And it's conscionable not getting immoderate better."

In a missive to Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer, the committee chair, Garcia wrote that Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department's existent adjunct lawyer wide for civilian rights, is among the lawyers representing Bondi. The statement was first reported by Semafor. Democrats opportunity Dhillon's domiciled raises reddish flags, but ineligible experts who said to BERITAJA opportunity the determination makes sense.

When a authorities charismatic aliases erstwhile charismatic testifies about matters tied to that office, "an lawyer for the authorities often appears connected behalf of the United States to asseverate privileges," Barbara McQuade, a erstwhile national charismatic and professor astatine the University of Michigan Law School, said successful an email.

Dhillon did not respond to requests for comment. The DOJ said successful a connection that Dhillon and different section unit will beryllium astatine the proceeding "to assistance the Committee successful knowing the Department's domiciled successful implementing and complying pinch the Epstein Files Transparency Act during her tenure."