Pam Bondi throws performing AG Todd Blanche underneath the bus over Epstein information in Congress testimony

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told members of Congress that her successor Todd Blanche was responsible for the chaotic release of millions of documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein, according to Democratic lawmakers.

Bondi, who Donald Trump fired last month, told members of the House Oversight Committee during a close-door deposition that she delegated oversight of the so-called Epstein files and the federal government’s investigations into the dead sex offender to her now-former deputy.

“She continues to push all of the investigation and the blame on Acting AG Todd Blanche,” the committee’s top Democrat Robert Garcia told reporters on Friday. “It was Todd Blanche, the current 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 personal lawyer.”

Lawmakers asked her five times about her conversations with Trump concerning the case, and “she refused to answer any questions” about him, according to Garcia. “In fact, she said she would not speak or respond to any questions that had anything to do with President Trump,” he said.

And when it came to questions about a controversial prison transfer for Epstein’s convicted trafficker associate Ghislaine Maxwell, “Bondi claims to have no knowledge of the actual transfer, no knowledge that it was a less secure prison, and didn’t know about it until she found out after the fact, and then refused to answer additional questions,” according to Garcia.

When asked whether the president knew about Epstein’s crimes before they became public, Bondi told the panel “I don’t know” and “I’m not certain of the extent of his knowledge,” according to Rep. James Walkinshaw.

“I think that’s a perfect example as to why we need Pam Bondi, under oath, in a real deposition, for the camera, so the American people can see and hear her answers to our questions,” he said.

After leaving the interview, Bondi denied that she blamed Blanche.

“NOT TRUE,” she wrote on X. “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.”

A transcript of the interview — which has not been filmed — will be published at a later date. Democrats on the committee demanded that the interview be filmed, but the Office of the Assistant Attorney General said “the interview will be transcribed but not videotaped” and the Department of Justice “will have the opportunity to review the transcript for errata prior to any public release,” according to a letter sent to members.

In her prepared remarks to the committee, Bondi admitted “there were redaction errors” during the release of the Epstein files. Those errors “outed” roughly 100 survivors, according to a federal lawsuit.

“But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency,” Bondi continued. “Our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.”

Under legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump in November, the Department of Justice was ordered to release all files connected to investigations into Epstein by December 19.

The administration has since published millions of pages of documents but has been accused of withholding records related to Trump, who socialized with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s. The president has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, and one’s appearance in the Epstein files does not suggest otherwise.

Those document dumps included thousands of pages of unredacted files, victim statements, witness interviews and other materials that included victim-identifying information.

In February, federal prosecutors told judges overseeing the cases against Epstein and his associate and convicted trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell that the Justice Department was still “in the process” of removing and correcting those documents.

Bondi, meanwhile, has faced intense bipartisan scrutiny over her handling of the release of documents and the Justice Department’s approach to investigations into the wealthy sex offender and his alleged co-conspirators.

A much-anticipated release of Epstein documents handed out to far-right influencers at the White House last year contained information that was largely already public. In July, the Justice Department and FBI declared there was “no basis” to release any more Epstein-related documents, sparking allegations of a government-wide cover up to protect powerful public figures accused of exploiting and abusing young women and girls.

During her sworn testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in February, Bondi repeatedly deflected questions about Epstein to talk about the stock market and chastised Democrats who questioned her.

“The Dow is over 50,000 right now,” she said after she was questioned about potential indictments against Epstein’s co-conspirators.

The Nasdaq is “smashing records” and Americans’ retirement accounts are “booming,” she said. “That’s what we should be talking about.”

Before Friday’s interview, survivors asked the committee’s Republican chair James Comer whether lawmakers will ask why survivors’ identities were revealed in the files but not the names of alleged abusers.

“Those are questions we’re going to ask,” Comer said. “We want justice for the survivors.”

He said the government has “failed” them.

“What documents remain? Why haven’t they been turned over? We’re going to try to determine whether or not there can be more documents,” he said.

Source: independent.co.uk