Democrats have vowed to hold Pam Bondi in contempt after the Justice Department said the former attorney general was no longer required to comply with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee to sit for a closed-door deposition next week over her handling of the Epstein files.
In a letter addressed to the committee’s chair, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Assistant Attorney General Patrick D. Davis wrote that since Bondi was removed, she “no longer can testify in her official capacity as attorney general” and, “The Department’s position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her to appear on April 14.”
On Wednesday’s “The Weeknight,” Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., a member of the House Oversight Committee, blasted the Trump administration for blocking Bondi’s deposition and called out her temporary successor, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“Todd Blanche is a lawyer himself. He was Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. He knows that the statement the Department of Justice put out is total B.S.,” Walkinshaw said. “The fact that she was fired doesn’t absolve her of the legal responsibility to comply with the subpoena.”
The Virginia Democrat said Bondi was “still under a legal obligation to appear on April 14” to speak about the department’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Walkinshaw vowed that he and his fellow Democrats would “hold her and Chairman Comer to account to make sure that that happens.”
“We have tools today in this Congress that we could pursue — just as the Republicans attempted to pursue with respect to the Clintons — so we’re not going to take any of that off the table,” he continued.
“I think it’s reasonable for us and the American people to ask why doesn’t she want to come in and answer questions? What does she have to hide?” Walkinshaw added.
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If Bondi were to fail to appear, Walkinshaw said he thought it was “very plausible” that even some Republicans would join Democrats in holding the former attorney general in contempt.
“We had a bipartisan vote on the committee to issue the subpoena,” he noted.
While the congressman noted the committee had several other high-profile depositions and transcribed interviews scheduled, including with Bill Gates and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, he said Bondi’s testimony was key to achieving accountability for Epstein’s victims.
“Right now, we really are going to focus on Pam Bondi and getting her in on the 14th,” he said.
You can watch Walkinshaw’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”