Pam Bondi admits to 'redaction errors' in Epstein files, blames successor

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi admitted the Department of Justice made "redaction errors" in the Epstein files and told lawmakers she wasn't the only one responsible for the agency's much-scrutinized document dump.

She made the comments in her opening statement, obtained by USA TODAY, to members of Congress on Friday, May 29, in a scheduled closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee.

The panel arranged the sit-down as it continues to probe alleged mismanagement of an investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

In her remarks to lawmakers, Bondi said complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act was "an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process." She also said that, to the best of her knowledge, the Justice Department "produced everything required."

"As the head of a large department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review myself. I delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche," she said.

"There were redaction errors," she later said. "But since day one of this process, this department has been committed to accountability and transparency."

President Donald Trump fired Bondi on April 2, reportedly in part out of frustration with her handling of the Epstein files, an issue that has become a political thorn in the president's side. Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump, is now the acting attorney general.

Though the May 29 interview was not televised, the committee has said it will release a transcript as quickly as possible, and both Bondi and lawmakers may choose to discuss it publicly.

"You'll know everything that's been asked," Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, the chairman of the panel, told reporters outside the hearing room before the interview began.

Pam Bondi not testifyng under oath

Bondi is being allowed to sit for a transcribed interview, rather than a sworn deposition, even though the committee denied a similar request from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee. A transcribed interview, unlike a deposition, allows Bondi to refuse to answer questions without providing a legal justification, Garcia said in a letter.

"We continue to be incredibly disappointed of the decision to not have this interview videotaped and then released to the American public," Garcia said. "It should be under oath and it should be videotaped."

Epstein survivors who gathered outside Bondi's interview said though they were happy to see some accountability for the former attorney general, they shared the concern about a need for a videotaped proceeding.

"We just wish that more Republicans would get on the same page with us," said Danielle Bensky. "There's something called subtext."

Bondi, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the weeks since her firing, was originally scheduled to answer questions in mid-April. But after her departure, the Justice Department said she no longer had to comply with a subpoena for her to be deposed. Democrats have said her failure to appear for that deposition constituted noncompliance with the subpoena.

The committee later worked out arrangements for the May 29 interview.

Before Bondi was ousted from the Justice Department, multiple impeachment measures introduced by Democratic members of Congress accused her of failing Epstein's victims.

Shielding Epstein's circle from accountability?

Bondi has faced scrutiny over whether the DOJ shielded Epstein associates from accountability.

So far, only Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, have faced federal criminal charges in connection with Epstein's alleged sex trafficking scheme. The financier, who was convicted in 2008 of a Florida prostitution offense involving minors, died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 before his scheduled trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking a minor and is now serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Bondi's DOJ released a memo in July saying Epstein had more than 1,000 victims, but a systematic internal review of the Epstein files failed to turn up any incriminating list of Epstein clients. Since then, Bondi has been accused by some of engaging in a cover-up to protect wealthy and politically connected individuals.

"This is bigger than Watergate. This, this goes over four administrations," Thomas Massie, R–Kentucky, told Bondi at a Feb. 11 hearing. "This cover-up spans decades, and you are responsible for this portion of it."

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pennsylvania, who serves on the Oversight Committee, told USA TODAY in March that the Bondi DOJ's failure to take new action against Epstein associates, even as the United Kingdom made arrests based on information in DOJ releases of files, shows U.S. elites enjoy protections that working-class Americans don't get.

"People in America are tired of seeing that two-tiered system of justice," Lee said.

"If we had information ... about men who abused women, we would prosecute them," Blanche said Jan. 30 while serving as Bondi's deputy.

Stop-and-go on file release

In February 2025, Bondi stoked expectations that her Justice Department would be releasing incriminating information about Epstein and his associates, telling Fox News: "You're going to see some Epstein information being released by my office."

But Bondi's DOJ released a memo months later saying "no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."

Since then, several Republicans and Democrats in Congress have accused the Justice Department of illegally withholding documents in the face of a congressional subpoena, and later, a bipartisan transparency law. Bondi previously defended the DOJ's record, saying it missed a legal deadline to release documents because reviewing and redacting the files was a huge task.

"We had 30 days to redact and release, under the law that was passed, 3 million documents," Bondi told reporters on March 18. "If you stack those up, that's the height of the Eiffel Tower."

The Justice Department ultimately released about 3.5 million pages of files by late January, but it withheld another 2.5 million pages and heavily redacted much of what it did release.

Blanche said many documents were withheld to protect victim privacy, which is permitted under the transparency law. But he has also said the Justice Department withheld documents for some reasons the law didn't permit, such as to shield internal department deliberations related to Epstein.

White House involvement?

Bondi has also faced questions about whether the White House, potentially including Trump personally, influenced the DOJ's decisions on what to release, whom to investigate, and whether any additional Epstein associates should face charges.

For years, members of Trump's inner circle have called on federal officials to release their files on Epstein. After Trump returned to office, administration officials propelled that campaign forward, suggesting new names from Epstein's purported client list and new accountability were in store.

"Absolutely," Alina Habba said when asked by British journalist Piers Morgan in February 2025 if "we are likely to see criminal actions being taken" related to Epstein. Habba served as a counselor to the president at the time. "To hide lists, to protect political friends, all of that, we don't have time for that."

"It's a new day, it's a new administration, and everything's going to come out to the public," Bondi told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a March 2025 interview.

But in May of that year, Bondi reportedly told Trump that his name appeared multiple times in the files. In July, the Justice Department announced it was essentially closing the case on Epstein after a "systematic review" of the files.

"We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties," the DOJ said in a memo. No "further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."

Trump, who was a personal friend of Epstein's until the 2000s and has always denied wrongdoing, later urged his followers to move on, saying Democrats were pumping out lies.

"Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax," the president posted on Truth Social July 16.

Releasing names, images of alleged victims

In previous congressional hearings, Bondi was met with frustration from some lawmakers over the Justice Department's failure to initially redact all the names and images of potential victims when it released files.

The transparency law that forced disclosures also empowered the DOJ to protect victims' identities and personal records, as well as shield child sexual abuse material from the public. Bondi personally repeatedly expressed a commitment to protecting victims.

But when a trove of files was released in late January, the names of some Epstein accusers were initially disclosed, and even some nude images were released to the public. Bondi told Congress Feb. 11 that department staffers did "our very best in the time frame allotted by the legislation to protect victims."

"If you brought us a victim's name that was inadvertently released, we immediately redacted it," Bondi said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pam Bondi admits to 'redaction errors' in Epstein files, blames successor

Reporting by Aysha Bagchi and Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 12:54 PM.