Pam Bondi spent months resisting public scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. When House lawmakers finally forced the issue, the former attorney general managed to secure a closed-door interview shielded from public view. But what happened behind that door di dn’t stay there. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi is expected to face questions on her department’s handling of the files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump’s investigations into political foes and the handing of the two fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) According to details that later emerged from the May 29 interview, Bondi repeatedly shifted blame onto acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, her former deputy, as lawmakers pressed her over the Justice Department’s handling and release of Epstein-related records. The interview unfolded against the backdrop of Bondi’s dramatic fall from favor. President Donald Trump fired Bondi in early April as his frustration over her handling of the Epstein files increased and so did his anger over the delays in prosecuting his political enemies, which raised questions about enforcing the committee subpoena. Pam Bondi Spent Years Doing Trump’s Dirty Work — Now the Lawyers Coming for Her Throat Aren’t Stopping Until They Get the One Thing She Thought Was Untouchable Bondi, faced with a civil contempt of Congress resolution, eventually agreed to a transcribed interview, which meant she again managed to avoid a sworn deposition or a recorded meeting. At the meeting Friday, Bondi insisted she followed the law in how she released the files, which she first promised to release shortly after taking office then repeatedly dodged and delayed until finally an act of Congress forced her hand late last year. Bondi has remained defiant about the files, which includes Trump’s name thousands of times over, and told lawmakers Blanche oversaw the chaotic release, which included nude photos of survivors, redacted names of perpetrators and unredacted names of victims. PBS reported in her opening stating, she said the release was “an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process” and admitted DOJ made some errors, but she continued insisting the agency had followed the law with “an unprecedented commitment to transparency.” The top Democrat on the committee, California Rep. Robert Garcia, immediately expressed frustration after the Bondi meeting, contending there should have been a video recording of it. He also went on to detail how Bondi kept shifting the blame. BREAKING: Lawmakers just stepped out of Pam Bondi's closed-door Epstein files interview FURIOUS.She blamed almost everything on the now-acting Todd Blanche.Refused to answer a single question about Trump.DOJ's Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon is inside the room… pic.twitter.com/4AdwQkhAxj— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) May 29, 2026 “It is clear in just this part of the interview that she continues to push all of the investigation and the blame on acting AG Todd Blanche. She said, and I quote, “Acting AG Blanche was managing the entire investigation,” end quote. Garcia went on to describe how Bondi repeatedly said “it was Todd Blanche, the currently acting AG, that was leading the Epstein investigation and, quite frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions, not protecting survivors, she continues to push that back onto the acting AG Todd Blanche, who by the way was Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer,” Garcia added. A furious Bondi quickly denied Garcia’s claims in a post on social media above a clip of the congressman’s remarks. “NOT TRUE. I praised Acting AG Blanche’s management of this Herculean task. I said his ethics are beyond reproach and that he is an incredible Attorney General,” she insisted in a post on X. An adamant Garcia almost immediately shot back, “Ms. Bondi, you said ‘Blanche was managing the entire investigation’ and you said he was responsible for redactions that exposed survivors.” But he wasn’t done. “You deflected to him over 30 times. We think Chairman Comer should have videotaped this, don’t you agree?” Ms. Bondi, you said “Blanche was managing the entire investigation” and you said he was responsible for redactions that exposed survivors. You deflected to him over 30 times.We think Chairman Comer should have videotaped this, don’t you agree?— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) May 29, 2026 Social media piled on. “How is his or your ethics intact – if the files are STILL not fully released and what is released has redacted the criminals and released the victims information. BACKWARDS,” X user Ketan Thakker pointed out. Others agreed. “More lies. Solidifying this image as your legacy,” an X poster wrote above a photo of Bondi at an earlier Congressional hearing with Epstein victims standing behind her, whom she completely ignored that day. ‘He’s Covering Up’: Trump Official Who Was Epstein’s Neighbor Sweats, Mumbles Through Questions About Ties to Scandal. Now, He Could be on the Chopping Block This furious poster had a message for Bondi. “You know what could have cleared this up? If you weren’t such a disgraceful b-tch and actually agreed to be under oath and have it recorded. Thats your legacy and the fact you have cancer doesn’t change that. Sh-tty deal you were handed but god works in mysterious ways.” Bondi revealed this week she’s undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer. Convicted sex trafficker and one of Trump’s best friends for several decades through the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, Jeffrey Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in 2019. His close associate British socialite Ghislane Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping recruit young girls and women for Epstein. Maxwell was transferred from a Florida prison to a minimum security facility in Texas last summer after a series of interviews with then Deputy Attorney General Blanche, whom Trump moved into Bondi’s role immediately after he fired her. Wealthy men, tech bros and even royalty are among the names in the files released so far including Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and former Harvard President Larry Summers, to name a few. ‘NOT TRUE!’: Pam Bondi Thought What She Said Behind That Closed Door Was Safe — Until She Got Dragged Into the Open for Throwing Her Deputy Under the Bus and the Panic Posting Started ...read more read less