Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi has defended her handling of the release of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi, who in April was removed from her post as America's top law enforcement officer by US President Donald Trump, testified behind closed doors on Friday in Washington DC.
"We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department's search for, collection, and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of material," she said in opening remarks to the US House Oversight Committee.
Bondi was formally summoned by the panel in March, just before Trump announced her ouster as his administration's top prosecutor.
As attorney general, Bondi was tasked with implementing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation signed into law by Trump that mandated the US Department of Justice publicly release unclassified records.
But Bondi and the US Justice Department have been widely criticised, with accusations that documents were withheld and files were published that made victims of Epstein's crimes publicly identifiable.
"I am proud of the Department's record and commitment to transparency under my leadership," she said. "This was an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process. To the best of my knowledge, the Department produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act."
The committee's Republican chairman, James Comer, wrote in a subpoena letter that they are investigating the "possible mismanagement" of the Epstein investigation and compliance with the act.
Ahead of today's meeting, Comer told reporters that successive governments had failed Epstein's victims and that Bondi will be pressed about her handling of the release of the documents.
"We're going to try to determine whether or not there could be more documents legally turned over," Comer said. "I want every document. I don't want anything held back, and I think the majority of the committee's the same way."
But three hours into the congressional interview, Democrats emerged accusing Bondi of being evasive in her answers and said government lawyers stepped in to prevent her from answering questions.
"She said she would not speak or respond to any questions that had anything to do with President Trump," said Robert Garcia, the committee's leading Democrat. Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico also said there were no other Republicans at the interview besides the chairman and described the process as a cover-up.
"The United States Department of Justice is intervening on behalf of Pam Bondi to stop her from answering questions about what happened in the cover-up of this case and her conversations with Donald Trump," Stansbury said.
Maria Farmer, an Epstein survivor, was also critical of Bondi's appearance.
"At every turn, Bondi has ignored and disregarded the will of Epstein survivors who have waited for justice for decades and even now, as a private citizen, she refuses responsibility for her missteps and failures," she said in a statement.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who also appeared before the committee, rebuffed criticism that Bondi deferred other questions to her former deputy, Todd Blanche, now acting attorney general.
"The former attorney general had thousands of responsibilities, and it is common for many components of her job to be delegated to other senior officials, myself in some cases, and many others."
Bondi's summons came weeks after Nancy Mace, a Republican lawmaker, accused the justice department of a "cover-up" in releasing the files and introduced a motion to subpoena Bondi – the former attorney general of Florida and who served on Trump's 2020 impeachment defence team.
The Trump administration and Bondi have faced enormous bipartisan pressure to release all documents related to the probe of the sex-trafficking financier and faced criticism over its handling of the files, including its failure to redact the names of Epstein's victims. Epstein died in prison while awaiting trial in 2019.
In February 2025, Bondi declared during a Fox News interview that she had a list of Epstein's high-profile clients "sitting on my desk right now", only to have the justice department walk back the statement that July when it said there was no "client list" and that Bondi had meant the overall case file was on her desk.
While her tenure as the country's top law enforcement official was dogged by the Epstein files, Bondi also came under fire by Democrats for weaponising the justice department after Trump called on her to more aggressively investigate his political adversaries.
She was replaced on an interim basis by Blanche, formerly Trump's personal lawyer.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Bondi, 60, had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She told the BBC's US media partner CBS News that she is undergoing treatment, which included surgery a few weeks ago.
Bondi is set to join the White House's new advisory council on AI, the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
When Bondi was ousted from the Department of Justice at the beginning of April, she said she was excited to be entering a role in the private sector. Bondi's inclusion on the president's council, known as PCAST, is the first news of her work beyond the department.
The former attorney general is the latest high-profile personality to appear before the committee for questioning. The congressional panel has previously interviewed former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, the current Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and the convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Philanthropist Bill Gates is set to make an appearance in the coming weeks, Comer said.
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