The Republican-led House Oversight Committee approved a subpoena for Attorney General Pam Bondi in a 24-19 vote, after five Republicans joined Democrats to back a motion offered by Rep. Nancy Mace. The panel is seeking Bondi’s testimony on the Justice Department’s handling of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein and on problems that emerged during the government’s staged release of those materials.
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted 24-19 to authorize a subpoena compelling Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about the Justice Department’s handling of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The motion was offered by Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican. According to The Daily Wire, Mace was joined by Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Michael Cloud of Texas and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, along with all Democrats present.
Mace said in a statement posted on X that Bondi “will testify about missing Epstein evidence,” including “the videos, the audio, the documents the DOJ is hiding,” and argued that the public and survivors “deserve transparency” and “justice.”
Bondi has faced sustained scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein-related releases. She appeared before the House Judiciary Committee in February, where multiple outlets reported a tense hearing focused in part on the department’s production and redaction of Epstein records; Bondi also rejected comparisons to a political spectacle, saying at one point, “This isn’t a circus, this is a hearing.”
The Justice Department’s rollout of the records has been criticized by lawmakers and outside observers after material was released in batches and then some of it was pulled back for additional redactions. The Daily Wire reported that after a late-January release, the department removed unredacted nude images of young women and took down files that exposed personal information such as names and addresses. It also reported that more than 47,000 files—about 65,000 pages—were taken offline while the department worked to apply redactions.
Oversight Committee Democrats said Bondi should explain the department’s process and how it is balancing transparency with victim protection. The Daily Wire quoted Oversight ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, as saying the public has “significant questions” about the Justice Department’s release process and that Bondi should appear before the committee to answer questions about “transparency” and “ensuring that victims and survivors are protected.”
The subpoena vote comes as the committee widens a broader review of Epstein-related records and connections to public figures. The committee has previously sought testimony from Bill and Hillary Clinton as part of its inquiry, and Committee Chair James Comer said this week that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview about his past ties to Epstein.
Some Democrats have argued the panel should also subpoena President Donald Trump. The Daily Wire reported that Bill Clinton told lawmakers during his testimony that he had “no information” that Trump “did anything wrong” in connection to Epstein’s crimes.
The Justice Department has separately said it found no evidence to support longstanding public claims about an Epstein “client list,” a conclusion that has fueled continued political disputes over what additional records, if any, remain unreleased and why.
