Trump DOJ Fires Back at GOP Firebrand James Comer Over Pam Bondi-Epstein Files Subpoena

The Department of Justice fired back at House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on Tuesday after Comer issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding that she testify about the Epstein files in front his committee.

“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Committee) is reviewing the
possible mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and
Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell, the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Mr. Epstein’s death,
the operation of sex-trafficking rings and ways for the federal government to effectively combat
them, the ways in which Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell sought to curry favor and exercise
influence to protect their illegal activities, and potential violations of ethics rules related to
elected officials,” wrote Comer in a letter addressed to Bondi. “The Committee has questions regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”

A DOJ spokesperson fired back at Comer in a statement given to Semafor’s Shelby Talcott:

This subpoena is completely unnecessary. Lawmakers have been invited to view the unredacted files for themselves at the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General has always made herself available to speak directly with members of Congress. She continues to have calls and meetings with members of Congress on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is why the Department offered to brief the committee tomorrow. As always, we look forward to continuing to provide policymakers with the facts.

Bondi has faced bipartisan criticism over her handling of the Epstein case, and reportedly moved into housing on a military base after facing threats related to both it and the Trump administration’s crackdown on Latin American drug cartels.

In January, Comer remarked that “nobody” on the Republican side of aisle was “defending” Bondi during an Oversight Committee hearing after a Democratic colleague asked why she hadn’t been held in contempt over the delayed release of the Epstein files.

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