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Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, was responsible for overseeing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, former Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a closed-door interview with lawmakers last month.
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According to a transcript of her interview with the House Oversight Committee released Thursday, Bondi sought to distance herself from how her department handled the Epstein files as the Trump administration continues to deal with the political fallout.
“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” Bondi said when asked for her role in the department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. DOJ has released approximately 3 million files compelled by Congress, but Bondi was pushed to explain why another 3 million still have not been released.
She argued the department is not withholding any documents and that the remaining files are either duplicates or privileged materials, despite bipartisan criticism that Trump’s Justice Department has withheld or overreacted documents, while accidentally sharing information of Epstein’s victims.
“To my knowledge, they’ve all been released” Bondi said.
She also deferred to FBI Director Kash Patel on whether the bureau had turned over all relevant documents to the Justice Department.
Bondi came under heavy criticism after claiming in a television interview in 2025 that the Epstein client list was sitting on her desk, only to later state that she was referring to the entire case file. That misstep caused distrust to build. It was after repeated missteps and misstatements, the White House put Blanche in charge of handling the sensitive case.
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Trump is expected to formally nominate Blanche to be attorney general and the transcript is a reminder that Blanche was the point person for the Justice Department’s widely criticized handling of the files. Democrats have seized on her testimony to argue that Blanche now needs to testify to explain his work. It’s also a topic certain to be raised at his confirmation hearing.
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Appearing voluntarily last week, Bondi refused to disclose any conversations she had with Trump even before he was elected, citing privilege, while her attorney argued those questions were outside the scope of the terms for the interview.
“I’m not going to discuss any conversations that I’ve had with the President on any matter” Bondi said.
Bondi was fired in early April. Last month, she began treatment for thyroid cancer.
There was also key information Bondi said she didn’t know, like the critical document where Epstein’s 10 co-conspirators are listed but the majority are blacked out.
“I don’t recall ever reviewing this document, so I don’t know who’s in it, and that came from the FBI New York” Bondi said, adding that Patel could address that.
It took months for lawmakers to secure Bondi’s testimony. She was subpoenaed on a bipartisan basis in March, which was complicated by her informal meeting with lawmakers that Democrats walked out of because she would not commit to testifying under oath.
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This story is breaking and will be updated.