On April 14, 2026, former Attorney General Pam Bondi failed to appear for her scheduled deposition before the House Oversight Committee on the Epstein files — defying a bipartisan subpoena that five Republicans voted for.
The DOJ had argued the previous week that because Trump fired Bondi on April 2, the subpoena no longer applies since she is no longer Attorney General. A telling detail undercut that defense: Bondi's own social media still listed her as Attorney General on the day she refused to appear.
The bipartisan response was immediate. Rep. Robert Garcia (D): “Pam Bondi is evading a lawful congressional subpoena by failing to appear before the Oversight Committee for a deposition about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up.” He said Democrats would move forward with contempt proceedings “immediately.” Rep. Summer Lee (D): “I previously moved to hold her in contempt; there's no reason we cannot try again. Bondi must be held accountable for her handling of the Epstein files, for weaponizing the Department of Justice, and for evading the law.”
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace — who led the subpoena effort — said the subpoena was “for Bondi by name, not by title” and demanded rescheduling “in a timely fashion,” threatening contempt if she continues to refuse.
Chairman Comer's office went silent. The New York Times reported that Bondi and Comer had “been quietly working together to avoid the deposition.” There is a precedent for accountability: when the Clintons refused to testify in January, the committee voted to hold them in contempt, after which they agreed to appear.
The arc is now complete: Bondi received a $25,000 illegal donation from Trump in 2013, dropped her investigation into Trump University, climbed the loyalty ladder to Attorney General, delivered “binders of nothingness” on Epstein, got fired — and is now using the firing to avoid testifying under oath about what she did with the files.
See also: bondi-dodges-epstein-deposition-firing-shield (April 8 — DOJ announces she won't appear), blanche-lies-all-epstein-files-released (Blanche's false claims about file releases)