WASHINGTON(National Times)- Former US attorney general Pam Bondi began closed-door testimony before lawmakers on Friday on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation in a downgraded appearance that frustrated Democrats and survivors, who accuse the Trump administration of withholding details in the sex offender\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bondi was giving evidence to the House Oversight Committee in a transcribed interview rather than a sworn, videotaped deposition, despite bipartisan demands for answers over her handling of the Justice Department files on the disgraced financier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wider controversy has dogged President Donald Trump for much of his second term, with Democrats, Epstein survivors and some Republicans accusing officials of covering up the full record of the case, despite the Justice Department\u2019s insistence that it has released everything it is legally obliged to make public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo more lies. No more cover-ups. It\u2019s time for Pam Bondi to answer our questions,\u201d Democrat Robert Garcia posted on social media ahead of the hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bondi became a central figure in the Epstein saga after saying last year that the late financier\u2019s client list was on her desk for review. The Justice Department and FBI later said there was no such list and no plans to release further information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump fired Bondi last month as frustration mounted over her handling of the controversy, although she was later named to a presidential science and technology council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawmakers on the oversight committee voted in March to subpoena Bondi as part of their Epstein investigation, an unusual rebuke of a sitting Trump administration official by members of the president\u2019s own party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the committee\u2019s Republican chairman, James Comer, later shifted her appearance from a deposition to a transcribed interview \u2014 meaning it will not be videotaped or conducted under oath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garcia has argued that the change violates the spirit of the subpoena and denies the public a clear view of Bondi\u2019s testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also questioned the role of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who was expected to accompany Bondi despite still serving at the Justice Department, saying her participation raised \u201cserious ethical concerns and conflicts of interest\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comer defended the format, saying Bondi had cooperated more quickly than other witnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s coming in. She didn\u2019t do like the Clintons and take seven months to come in. I mean, she could have fought it,\u201d he told reporters as Bondi\u2019s testimony was about to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Epstein survivors \u2014 wearing t-shirts partially blacked out to represent the many redacted pages of the Epstein files \u2014 gathered outside the hearing room, calling for transparency and demanding that Bondi answer questions publicly and under oath.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National Times)- Former US attorney general Pam Bondi began closed-door testimony before lawmakers on Friday on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation in a downgraded appearance that frustrated Democrats and survivors, who accuse the Trump administration of withholding details in the sex offender\u2019s case. Bondi was giving evidence to the House Oversight Committee in a transcribed interview […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n