Donald Trump dismissed Pam Bondi as attorney general, according to multiple reports. One of Trump's motivations for dismissing Bondi reportedly related to her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files, though Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche insisted he had never heard Trump say that anything that happened to Bondi had to do with the Epstein files. Trump had repeatedly vowed his administration would release all Epstein documents, but the full Epstein dossier was not released by Bondi, as promised.
Bondi's Justice Department repeatedly missed the Epstein Files Transparency Act's disclosure deadlines and faced accusations that some documents were withheld. Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act despite complaining that the Epstein controversy was a hoax. Pressure on Trump to release the full files ratcheted up last year, culminating in the Epstein Transparency Act, a bipartisan bill that forced the Justice Department to publish the remaining files.
A congressional subpoena required Bondi to testify on 14 April about the handling of Epstein files. Pam Bondi could be charged with contempt of Congress after failing to appear for a scheduled deposition for testimony on the Epstein investigation. Bondi was issued a bipartisan subpoena for testimony to the House Oversight Committee while serving as attorney general and was scheduled to appear on a Tuesday. The Department of Justice claimed the subpoena no longer applies, but Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Ro Khanna sent a letter stressing that Bondi remains obligated to appear before the committee. Contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $100,000.
Pam Bondi has moved into a secure military base due to an increase in threats over the Jeffrey Epstein case and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Bondi left her apartment in Washington DC to an unknown military base in the region within the past month. A spokesperson for Bondi confirmed the arrangement but asked the media not to publish her location. A senior official said threats from drug cartels and criticism of her job performance led her to move to a military base.
Hardline conservative Republicans Tim Burchett, Lauren Boebert, Michael Cloud, Nancy Mace, and Scott Perry voted with Democrats to compel Bondi to appear before the committee. The Republican-majority Oversight Committee is investigating the Epstein files and the Justice Department's handling of the case. Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis wrote to the committee's chair to ask that the subpoena be withdrawn, stating the Department remains committed to working cooperatively.
Bondi has faced fury over her botched release of the Epstein files, including leaving victims' names unredacted while keeping secret the names of alleged abusers. Bondi promised to release the files shortly after taking up leadership of the DOJ but the first tranche of documents she disclosed were already widely circulated. The Justice Department has released millions of heavily redacted files to the public. Rep. Thomas Massie pressed Bondi on Epstein, demanding accountability from the DOJ for sharing survivor information and accusing officials of over-redacting potentially incriminating information.
More than 3 million Epstein-related documents were finally released at the end of January, including new mentions. Despite a Dec. 10 court order requiring the release of all grand jury records in the Epstein case in accordance with the 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act, CNN reported that about 2.5 million files have yet to be released.
Attorney General Pam Bondi sparred with Democrats about her tenure at the Department of Justice in a combative, hours-long hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Republicans on the panel largely defended Bondi and avoided tough lines of questioning. Democrats zeroed in on the agency's targeting of President Trump's political foes and its oversight surrounding files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi defended the DOJ's handling of the files, touting the release of millions of documents. Bondi repeatedly pushed back on Democrats' questions about the DOJ's handling of the Epstein investigation, sometimes with personal attacks directed at lawmakers.
Prior to becoming the nation's top prosecutor, Bondi vocally criticized a lack of transparency in the federal government's case against Epstein. At a February 2025 White House event, Bondi gave MAGA influencers binders containing what she called the 'first phase' of the files, but the binders were largely made up of already publicly available documents. In a February 2025 letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Bondi requested all withheld Epstein documents and demanded an investigation into why they had not been delivered to her office.
During her tenure, Bondi opened investigations into several people Trump has described as his political opponents.
Contradictions exist regarding Bondi's commitment to Epstein victims: Bondi vowed to continue fighting for survivors and expressed sorrow for victims, but she refused to acknowledge Epstein's victims during a hearing.
The specific threats that led Pam Bondi to move to a military base have not been verified, and it remains unknown whether she will face contempt of Congress charges for failing to appear, with no clear timeline for potential legal action. How many Epstein-related documents remain unreleased is unclear, and what is preventing their disclosure has not been specified. The current status of the congressional subpoena for Bondi's testimony is disputed, as the Department of Justice claims it no longer applies while lawmakers insist it is active, and it is unknown if it has been formally withdrawn or rescheduled. What investigations into Trump's political opponents Bondi opened, and their statuses, have not been detailed.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's denial of Trump's alleged motivations stands in contrast to reports linking the dismissal to the Epstein files. Bondi has been fact-checked since 2010, during her Florida attorney general run, a seat she held from 2011 to 2019.