House Democrats slam DOJ lawyers coaching Bondi in Epstein files interview

WASHINGTON (CN) — House Democrats on Friday cried foul over the Justice Department's participation in a closed-doors interview between former Attorney General Pam Bondi and members of Congress in which lawmakers gained little new information on her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Democrats accused the agency of engaging in a cover-up of the Epstein documents and President Donald Trump's involvement, claiming Justice Department officials repeatedly stepped in to stop the former attorney general from answering questions about her conversations with the president on the subject.

Bondi, who was fired from the Justice Department in April, traveled to Capitol Hill Friday morning for a long-awaited interview with the House Oversight Committee in which members of Congress were expected to grill her over the agency's release of millions of files related to Epstein, the late New York financier and convicted sex offender.

The former attorney general was not under oath as she began answering questions from lawmakers about her handling of the Epstein files. She was joined by two top Justice Department officials: Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, and Jonathan Guynn, deputy assistant attorney general for the agency's torts branch.

According to House Democrats who were inside the room, Dhillon intervened on several occasions as members of Congress attempted to press Bondi on how much Trump knew about the Epstein files.

"She stopped Ms. Bondi multiple times from answering questions and interjected multiple times — especially as related to President Trump," California Representative Robert Garcia told Courthouse News.

Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said it was concerning the panel's Republican leadership allowed the Justice Department to block Bondi from answering questions from lawmakers.

New Mexico Representative Melanie Stansbury said the agency's participation in the panel interview was evidence of a "cover-up and a smoke screen" aimed at helping Bondi avoid testifying under oath about her involvement in the Epstein files publication.

Stansbury told reporters that at one point during their meeting with Bondi, Justice Department officials said she did not have to answer some questions because she was participating in a "voluntary" interview. The agency attorneys further contended they did not need to assert executive privilege to sidestep lawmakers' questions because Bondi was not under oath.

"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," said Stansbury. "It is clear that this interview is a smoke screen to try to show the American people that they are complying when they are not."

Garcia said Dhillon and Guynn had effectively acted as Bondi's "personal counsel" during her interview despite attending in their official capacity.

In a letter sent to Comer on Thursday evening, the Justice Department said the agency officials would attend Bondi's meeting consistent with "longstanding protocol" at the agency regarding congressional interviews of former department officials.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether agency ethics officials approved their participation. Dhillon similarly did not return a request for comment.

Aside from Comer, no Republicans on the Oversight Committee attended Friday's interview with Bondi. Ahead of the meeting, the Kentucky Republican said lawmakers are taking their Epstein files investigation "seriously" and that they want to "get the truth to the American people."

The Oversight Committee in March authorized a subpoena ordering Bondi to appear for a deposition, to be given under oath, on April 14. But following her dismissal as attorney general, she refused to attend claiming the subpoena had been issued in her capacity as a Trump administration official.

Comer announced last month he'd reached a deal for Bondi to sit for a transcribed interview — not a deposition — with his committee. He told Courthouse News at the time he had not consulted with Democrats on the new agreement.

Sources close to negotiations said that while Bondi would not be under oath she would still be bound by federal law about making false statements.

Meanwhile, Democrats told reporters Friday that their meeting with Bondi yielded little new information about the Epstein files release and that she largely deferred to current acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

"What you're going to hear in that interview, and what she's saying in here in her own words and remarks, is that it was Todd Blanche — the current acting attorney general — that was leading the Epstein investigation," said Garcia. "All the mistakes we saw, the redactions, not protecting survivors, she continues to push that back onto the acting attorney general."

Representative Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia called Bondi's appearance "a really unimpressive, disappointing interview. It's not surprising to us. We're not going to stop our investigation."

During her tenure as attorney general, Bondi faced scrutiny for her handling of the Epstein files publication, which came following bipartisan legislation directing the Justice Department to release all of its documents related to the late sex trafficker. The agency's initial release contained several redaction mistakes, some of which revealed names and photos of some of Epstein's victims.

But in her opening statement to the Oversight Committee, Bondi reportedly defended the Justice Department, saying she was "proud" of the agency's transparency under her leadership.

"The bottom line is, justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration," she said.