Bondi refuses to answer Trump questions at tense

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi declined to reply to a number of questions regarding President Donald Trump during a listening to linked to the Jeffrey Epstein information, according to Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia on Friday.

The California congressman briefed reporters on Capitol Hill following Bondi’s congressional look. According to Garcia, Bondi testified that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had overseen the investigation into the disgraced financier.

“And fairly frankly, all of the errors that we noticed, the redactions, not defending survivors, she continues to push that back onto the performing AG Todd Blanche,” he said, noting that he instantly questioned Bondi about her discussions with Trump relating to Epstein.

“Whether he directed her at any given time on the Epstein files, what he knew, what he asked her to redact or not, and she refused to answer any questions about President Trump,” Garcia explained.

“In fact, she said she would not speak or respond to any question that had anything to do with President Trump.”

Fellow Democratic lawmakers criticized Bondi for her unwillingness to handle questions about the president. “It’s a sham in there. They are not answering any questions,” California Rep. Dave Min remarked. Virginia Representative James Walkinshaw revealed he had questioned Bondi about whether or not Trump had any prior data of Epstein’s crimes before they turned public. “I’m not certain of the extent of his knowledge,” she responded, according to notes Walkinshaw shared with reporters.

Epstein was found useless in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking costs. His death was formally ruled a suicide.

During her testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Bondi acknowledged that there have been “redaction errors” in the release of the Epstein information. “But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency.”

She added, “Our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.”

In her opening remarks, Bondi described releasing the information as “an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process,” while acknowledging that the Justice Department had adopted the law.

Multiple survivors of Epstein’s crimes had assembled outdoors the Capitol workplace where the interview was being carried out. They tried to make their presence identified to Bondi, but many reported being pushed apart by police officers. “I just hope that she does have a moment where she remembers her own humanity and our humanity and finds her compassion and remembers that this is a bigger story than political rhetoric,” said Danielle Bensky, one of the survivors.

The survivors moreover urged legislators to guarantee Bondi faces penalties for her management of the information’ disclosure, which uncovered the non-public particulars of doable victims. They challenged committee chair, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, a Republican, who assured them he would push for full publication of the paperwork as required by statute.

“We want justice for the survivors, we do,” he said.

Trump has always denied any wrongdoing relating to the Epstein case, has not been accused of any crimes by law enforcement and has never been recognized as the subject of any investigation.