US House panel subpoenas Attorney General Bondi in Epstein probe

WASHINGTON - A U.S. congressional committee said on Tuesday it has issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify behind closed doors in its probe of the ​late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Under the subpoena, Bondi would give a sworn deposition to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on ⁠April 14.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Bondi ‌faces accusations that the Justice Department has ​concealed the names of powerful associates of Epstein in its release of millions of documents related to the late financier, who cultivated close ties to powerful political and business leaders ⁠before and after he was convicted in ‌2008 of soliciting prostitution ‌from a minor. Epstein was arrested again in 2019 and died in jail while facing federal sex-trafficking ⁠charges. His death was ruled a suicide.

Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, are due to give the committee ‌a separate private briefing on ‌Wednesday.

Lawmakers have complained that redactions in the Justice Department’s files appear to go beyond the limited exemptions allowed in a ⁠law Congress passed nearly unanimously in November. The ​department has also declined ⁠to ​publish a large volume of material, citing legal privileges.

Bondi said more than 500 Justice Department lawyers worked on a compressed timeline to review reams of material.

The Epstein ⁠files have dogged Bondi throughout her tenure as Trump’s attorney general. Some of Trump’s supporters accused her of a coverup last year ⁠when the Justice Department said it would initially not release material related to its investigations of Epstein, drawing new scrutiny of Trump’s past friendship with him.

Trump says he ⁠broke off ties with Epstein ‌years before his 2008 conviction and has ​repeatedly said ‌he did not see any evidence of sex trafficking. ​He has not been accused by law enforcement authorities of criminal activity related to Epstein.