WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared in public for the first time Friday since being diagnosed with thyroid cancer as she arrived on Capitol Hill for a transcribed interview with House lawmakers about the release of investigative files on deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi, 60, ignored reporter questions as she entered the House Oversight Committee’s hearing room, wearing a white bandage on the front of her neck.
“I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster. If they have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt them or abused them, the FBI is waiting to hear from them,” the ex-AG said in her opening statement, according to a copy obtained by The Post.
“The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration.”
Bondi had claimed in February 2025 that a potential “client list” of Epstein’s associates was “sitting” on her desk awaiting review, months before a DOJ-FBI memo denied that the documents contained explosive details about any co-conspirators.
“This case hasn’t been thoroughly investigated,” said Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) ahead of the interview, touting his committee’s work obtaining documents from Epstein’s estate as well as the Department of Justice while securing multiple interviews with ex-associates of the sex offender.
“What documents remain? Why haven’t they been turned over?” he asked. “I want every document. I don’t want anything held back.”
“The government has failed the survivors,” continued Comer, mentioning that “some names” had recently been named by former Epstein assistant Sarah Kellen as potentially implicated in the financier’s crimes.
Bondi in her opening statement defended the DOJ’s record regarding the Epstein files, citing the “nearly 3 million pages of material” released.
The former AG added that she had delegated the disclosures to her deputy, current acting attorney general Todd Blanche, and noted that the investigative materials spanning four presidential administrations had been released with limited redactions.
The releases had been mandated by the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed by President Trump on Nov. 19.
The July 6, 2025, memo also stated that no evidence pointed to third parties who could be charged in connection with Epstein’s sickening crimes, that the financier had not blackmailed associates, and that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
The memo prompted bipartisan backlash, with the House Oversight Committee also launching an investigation into the DOJ’s handling of Epstein investigative materials.
Oversight lawmakers issued a subpoena in March for Bondi to appear and answer questions about her potential “mismanagement” of the Epstein files.
After her departure, the former AG agreed to voluntarily appear — the second Trump Cabinet official to do so after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s sitdown with the Oversight panel earlier this month.
