The Epstein files case has added yet another chapter to its ever-growing controversy. On Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Democrats left Attorney General Pam Bondi’s closed-door briefing in protest of an ‘outrageous fake hearing,’ according to California Congressman Robert Garcia, citing her failure to provide assurance that she would comply with a subpoena to testify under oath.
Earlier this month, the committee voted to issue a subpoena to Bondi, with five Republican members joining Democrats to demand answers about how the Justice Department improperly released files from federal Epstein investigations.
Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday in an effort to address the bipartisan concern regarding how the Justice Department has handled the millions of files related to the Epstein sex trafficking investigation.
However, less than an hour into the briefing, Democrats walked out of the meeting.
— Harish Chandra (@HarishChan20246) March 19, 2026
Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said that when she asked a committee member about the panel’s next steps if Bondi failed to appear, that member and Republican Chair James Comer insulted her by using a derogatory term for a woman in response. Comer confirmed the interaction and argued that Lee “was just complaining about the format.”
He later posted on X that Democrats were “wasting everyone’s time.”
Following the closed-door briefing, Bondi said she would comply with the subpoena, stating, “I made it crystal clear, I will follow the law.” Congressman Robert Garcia called the statement insufficient. Bondi criticized the Democratic walkout, highlighting a lawmaker’s claim that the absence of C-SPAN prevented questions, despite Democrats posting about their inquiries on social media.
CBS News contacted the Justice Department for comment. The incident illustrated the heightened scrutiny surrounding the Epstein case. The Justice Department has faced years of questions over its handling of the disgraced financier, who avoided federal child sex crime charges until 2019, when he was indicted for sex trafficking but later died by suicide in jail, drawing widespread public attention and conspiracy theories.
Millions of files related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell have been released by the Justice Department in recent months following a law passed by Congress last year. Congress mandated the release late last year through legislation requiring the department to make its files public. Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the department’s handling of the release, saying some documents were withheld inappropriately or overly redacted, while some survivors of abuse have complained that their personal information was exposed.
— Harish Chandra (@HarishChan20246) March 19, 2026
The department defended its procedures, stating that a team of lawyers reviewed documents and removed those containing redaction errors. Democrats have accused Bondi of being part of a “cover-up,” with Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida stating she should be compelled to testify under oath due to a “lack of trust.”
In response, Rep. Comer of Kentucky stated that Republicans remain fully committed to conducting a complete investigation and are willing to cooperate. Comer stated that the Democratic Party is attempting to create the notion that there was a “cover-up.” He added that both Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were present to address questions and review information provided to the committee; however, Democrats did not ask substantive questions at that time.
