Want to catch up on who has testified in the House Oversight investigation? Learn what we know about depositions from former Epstein assistant Sarah Kellen, prison guard Tova Noel and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi sat for a closed-door interview May 29 over her handling of the federal government's investigation into the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Several of Epstein's survivors stood outside the office where lawmakers spoke with Bondi. The survivors asked Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the committee's chair, to question Bondi about the files' redaction process, which often revealed personal information and images of survivors.

As head of the Justice Department, Bondi faced intense criticism over the agency's release of a trove of documents pertaining to Epstein.

In a transcript released June 4 by the committee of Bondi's interview, the former Attorney General pointed to Todd Blanche, the current acting Attorney General, as being in charge of the Justice Department's handling and release of files related to Epstein. That included the redaction process, she said. Blanche was Deputy Attorney General when the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the Department of justice to release materials related to its investigation into Epstein, was passed in November.

Read the transcript of Bondi's interview by clicking the document below.

Bondi also refused to answer questions related to President Donald Trump's involvement in the administration's handling of the files. Committee members asked Bondi when she and Trump first discussed Epstein investigations, how Trump responded when Bondi mentioned he was named in the files and whether Trump told her he had friends who could be exposed as abusers.

Bondi said the Justice Department owed survivors apologies for releasing their names.

"We absolutely owe an apology to any victim's name any time it's inadvertently released," she said, adding later in the interview that members of Congress should also feel responsible for the redaction errors "because you were pressing us to get 3 million pages out in 30 days, and that was virtually impossible."

Bondi's appearance before the House Oversight Committee came weeks after Trump fired her in April. She told CNN on May 27that she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after her exit from the DOJ.

READ MORE: Who is Howard Lutnick and what's his connection to Jeffrey Epstein?

Bondi spoke to the committee in a voluntary interview and was not sworn under oath. Democrats noted their disagreement with the decision.

"Well, if you lie to Congress, it's a felony," Comer told reporters and survivors who asked him about the decision to not swear Bondi in.

Watch the clip in the player above.

Bondi's recollection is one of several sought by the Republican-controlled House committee. Other notable figures who have provided testimony include former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Epstein's former assistant and a former prison guard who was working the night before the financier was found dead in his cell.

From across the political spectrum and the worlds of finance, entertainment and beyond, a number of powerful figures have emerged in the Epstein documents, pictures and emails released by the DOJ. Inclusion in the files does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing, but the fallout has led to some high-profile resignations and calls for more accountability.

Why does the committee want to talk to Bondi?

In a bipartisan move, the committee voted in March to subpoena Bondi as the DOJ endured mounting pressure, even from conservative Trump supporters, to provide more information about its sex-trafficking investigation into Epstein.

The committee told the attorney general she possessed "valuable insight" into the agency's release of the files, legally mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law established a deadline the agency failed to fully meet.

When Bondi declined to appear for her April 14 deposition, Democrats on the panel filed contempt charges, saying she was obligated to testify despite no longer being the nation's top prosecutor.

More than 120 lawyers filed an ethics complaint against Bondi days before her scheduled May interview with the committee, saying she violated Florida Bar rules in multiple ways, including "her failure to supervise subordinate officers" in the DOJ's review and release of the Epstein files.

What has Bondi previously said about the Epstein files?

The start of the government's investigation into Epstein's crimes far predates Bondi's tenure as attorney general. But after candidate Trump promised to release the files, Bondi was met with growing frustration over her handling of and public statements about the probe.

• January 2024: A New York court released a batch of documents related to Epstein at the start of 2024. Bondi, then a chair at the America First Policy Institute, said in a Fox News interview there was "no legal basis" for keeping names private in Epstein files unless they were that of a survivor or cooperating defendant.
• February 2025: Weeks after she assumed the role of attorney general, Bondi suggested there was an Epstein "client list" sitting on her desk in a Feb. 21 interview with Fox News. Later that month, the DOJ and FBI jointly released the "First Phase of Declassified Epstein Files." The White House gave conservative influencers binders with "The Epstein Files Phase 1" printed on the front cover, though most of these documents were already public.

• July 2025: The FBI and Justice Department released an unsigned memo saying federal investigators did not uncover evidence that would merit an investigation against people who had not been charged. It also said a "systematic review revealed no incriminating 'client list,'" contradicting Bondi's past statements. This development further frustrated Trump's base and allies.
• November 2025: Bondi announced an investigation on Nov. 14, responding to a Trump directive to investigate several prominent Democrats and their Epstein connections, including former President Clinton. Days later, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of all related documents within 30 days. Trump, who long opposed the measure and downplayed his own connections to Epstein, signed it into law amid political pressure within his own party to do more.
• December 2025: Though the DOJ released thousands of heavily redacted documents by the law's deadline, the document dump did not include every file, as required by the law. The department said it would continue releasing documents. A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers considered how to hold Bondi accountable for the rollout.
• January 2026: The DOJ released its final batch of files, including more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, but the agency failed to redact personal information and uncensored photos of survivors. A group of survivors told CNN that the DOJ's carelessness seemed purposeful. Bondi, in a letter to federal judges, attributed the lack of redaction to human and technical errors, "and instances in which the effectiveness of certain quality control measures appears to have been hampered."
• February 2026: Bondi faced lawmakers from the House Judiciary Committee who repeatedly pressed her over the DOJ's handling of the files during a hearing. Early into the hourslong proceedings, Bondi did not offer an apology to the Epstein survivors sitting behind her and lobbed personal attacks at the Democrats on the committee.

Watch the clip in the player above.

• March 2026: The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Bondi to answer questions about her department's handling of the Epstein files. Five Republicans joined Democrats in the committee's move.
• April 2026: Trump fires Bondi. In a Truth Social post on April 2, the president announced his decision, calling Bondi a "Great American Patriot and a loyal friend."

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