Bondi to testify behind closed doors in House Epstein probe today

Politics Pam Bondi to testify behind closed doors in House committee's Epstein probe today By Graham Kates Graham Kates Reporter Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com Read Full Bio Graham Kates May 29, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Fifteen months after saying a list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients was "sitting on my desk right now," and four months after overseeing the release of millions of associated documents, former Attorney General Pam Bondi will testify before a House committee on Friday about her handling of the so-called Epstein files.Bondi's closed-door interview in the ongoing congressional investigation into Epstein is likely to have a different focus than previous high-profile sit-downs in the probe. The House Oversight Committee has questioned the likes of former President Bill Clinton and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about their relationships with the deceased former sex abuser, but Bondi was not among Epstein's globetrotting network of powerful friends.Instead, she faced more than a year of withering criticism for her handling of the Department of Justice's Epstein probe, and the rollout of documents after President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act.Bondi initially pledged to release files related to Epstein, telling a Fox News interviewer shortly after she took office in February 2025 that a "client list" was "sitting on my desk right now to review." Bondi later clarified that she meant material related to Epstein was sitting on her desk.In July 2025, the Justice Department published a memo concluding that there was no "client list" and "that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted." The memo sparked bipartisan outrage in Congress and jolted the effort to pass a bill mandating the Justice Department release its files. Days later, Mr. Trump...