A bunch of Home Democrats walked out of a closed-door briefing with Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi on the Jeffrey Epstein probe late Wednesday, as tensions over the Justice Division’s dealing with of the Epstein case proceed to simmer.
The faceoff came about in the future after the chair of the Home Oversight Committee, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, subpoenaed Bondi to testify about Epstein subsequent month.
Bondi and Deputy Legal professional Normal Todd Blanche went to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to fulfill with members of the panel. Lower than an hour later, Democrats left the room.
The committee’s high Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, advised reporters that Bondi didn’t decide to honoring the panel’s subpoena. He referred to as Wednesday’s session a “faux listening to,” including that Bondi wasn’t below oath and didn’t give a gap assertion.
“It is outrageous, it is infuriating and it continues this White Home coverup of the Epstein information,” Garcia mentioned. “We’re not going to take that anymore.”
One other Democrat, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, referred to as it a “faux deposition the place nobody can see what is going on on,” noting the shortage of C-SPAN cameras for the closed-door assembly.
Comer, in the meantime, advised the walkout was “premeditated” and a part of a “political recreation.”
“They got here out, clutching their pearls, complaining that she wasn’t answering questions,” he mentioned. “The primary three folks to ask questions, all they did was complain.”
At one level through the listening to, there was a verbal argument between Comer and Democratic Rep. Summer season Lee of Pennsylvania, each lawmakers acknowledged.
Lee advised reporters she requested Comer if he’ll compel Bondi to adjust to the subpoena and provoke proceedings to carry her in contempt of Congress if she would not present up, and, “as a substitute of answering as an grownup, he mentioned that I used to be ‘bitching.'”
Comer confirmed that interplay, saying Lee “was simply complaining in regards to the format.”
He later wrote on X: “I mentioned Democrats had been bitching and losing everybody’s time as a result of Democrats had been bitching and losing everybody’s time.”
Requested whether or not she is going to adjust to the subpoena, Bondi mentioned after the briefing that she “made it crystal clear, I’ll observe the regulation” — a response that Garcia referred to as insufficient. Bondi additionally criticized Democrats’ walkout.
“One congresswoman screamed: ‘C-SPAN wasn’t in there, so she did not wish to ask questions.’ But all day lengthy, they have been on social media saying that they had all these questions,” Bondi mentioned.
CBS Information has reached out to the Justice Division for remark.
The incident underscored how caustic the Epstein situation has grow to be. The Justice Division has confronted years of intense questions over its dealing with of the disgraced financier, who averted federal fees for little one intercourse crimes till 2019, when he was indicted for intercourse trafficking however died by suicide in jail — drawing public fascination and conspiracy theories.
The division has launched hundreds of thousands of presidency information on Epstein in current months — spanning a number of federal investigations into him and his convicted affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell — after Congress handed a regulation late final yr requiring it to publish its information on Epstein.
Members of each events have criticized the Justice Division’s dealing with of the information’ launch, arguing that some information had been inappropriately withheld or excessively redacted. Some sexual abuse survivors additionally say their private data was uncovered. The division has defended its launch course of, saying that lots of of attorneys pored via the information to verify for survivors’ names and have taken paperwork down when there are redaction errors.
Democrats have accused Bondi of participating in a “cowl up.”
“We wish her below oath as a result of we do not belief her,” Frost mentioned Wednesday night.
Comer mentioned that Republicans are dedicated to finishing up a severe investigation and wish to work with the Justice Division to get solutions.
“Does it appear like a canopy up?” he mentioned. “The legal professional common, Blanche and all the highest brass on the DOJ [were] in right here to reply questions, and but, they do not ask a single query.”
