Ousted AG Bondi declines Epstein deposition, but lawmakers say subpoena still holds

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not sit for a planned deposition before the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the panel’s Republican majority 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 House Oversight Committee spokeswoman told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition."

The committee has not withdrawn the subpoena, meaning Bondi could still be required to sit for a deposition.

Democrats on the committee pushed back on the Justice Department’s explanation in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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"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," Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., fired back Wednesday. "Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not."

President Donald Trump ousted Bondi from the Justice Department last week after she faced bipartisan scrutiny of her handling of the Epstein files. 

Garcia added that he would move to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress if she does not comply with the subpoena to appear before the panel. 

The House Oversight Committee could recommend criminal charges against Bondi for defying a subpoena, but the measure would be subject to a chamber-wide vote and would ultimately be up to the DOJ whether to file charges.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to weigh in on whether Bondi should comply with the subpoena during a news conference Tuesday.

"What happens now that she’s the former attorney general and there’s the subpoena out there is, I think I’ll leave to Chairman Comer and others to figure out. I don’t have an answer to that," the nation’s new top prosecutor said.

The brewing legal battle comes after five Republicans voted with Democrats to subpoena Bondi as part of the committee’s Epstein probe over Comer’s objections in March. The GOP lawmakers included Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas.

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Mace and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., another member of the powerful committee, sent Comer a letter Wednesday asking him to "publicly reaffirm" Bondi’s "legal obligation" to testify before the committee in the April 14 deposition.

"Bondi’s removal as Attorney General doesn’t erase her obligation to testify," the bipartisan duo wrote. "If anything, it makes her sworn testimony even more critical. Congress’s oversight doesn’t stop when an official leaves office."

"Pam Bondi was subpoenaed by name, not by title," Mace added in a separate statement.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Acosta, who served in Trump’s cabinet during his first term, have testified before the Oversight Committee as part of its Epstein probe.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.