House Republicans tore into Democrats on Wednesday evening over what several GOP members described as squandering an opportunity to question Attorney General Pam Bondi about her handling of the Epstein files.
What was intended to be a productive closed-door meeting with top Department of Justice leaders Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche turned into a standoff over whether Bondi would commit to appearing for an April 14 deposition subpoenaed by the House oversight committee.
đš BREAKING: House Democrats just STORMED OUT of the room despite AG Pam Bondi and DAG Todd Blanche showing up to a closed-door briefing to answer “any and all questions” about the Epstein Files
IMAGINE THAT. Democrats don’t actually care!
REP. LAUREN BOEBERT: “Democrats all⊠pic.twitter.com/j5d106F6qI
â Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 18, 2026
Instead of pressing DOJ leaders on the substance of the Jeffrey Epstein-related records controversy, Republicans accused Democrats of being fixated on getting Bondi to promise she would return under oath.
âI made it crystal clear: I will follow the law,â Bondi told reporters afterward when asked whether she would comply with the subpoena.
Democrats said that the answer was not enough and emphasized that they did not want to speak to the attorney general until she is under oath.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) wrote on X that âPam Bondi refused to say she would show up for her under oath deposition,â calling the session a âfake hearingâ because it was not under oath and not transcribed.
âThis has been completely set up in a way thatâs been irresponsible, and quite frankly, we believe a way from the Attorney General to get out of her answering questions under oath to the public, which we will not accept,â Garcia added in a statement to the press.
Republicans countered that Democrats had just walked away from the very access they had demanded.
âThis was clearly the Democratsâ plan all along: to walk out of the briefing the DOJ offered to provide,â the Oversight GOP account posted on X. âBoth Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche were answering substantive questions.â
This was clearly the Democratsâ plan all along: to walk out of the briefing the DOJ offered to provide.
Both Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche were answering substantive questions, and Attorney General Bondi stated she would follow the law regarding her⊠https://t.co/gfCQTJrYAP
â Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) March 18, 2026
A source familiar with the committee meeting said the attorney general is an âopen book,â adding Democrats âtalked all day on social media about what they were going to ask her, but decided not to ask anything.â
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who was one of the Republican members who voted to subpoena Bondi last week, also torched her Democratic colleagues for their handling of the closed-door meeting.
âDemocrats all just stormed out after refusing to ask questions because the cameras are off. Nothing is ever good enough for these theatrical fools,â she said.
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said Democrats wasted a chance to press Bondi and Blanche directly.
âThis was a voluntary briefing, and at least the majority got to ask a lot of substantive questions,â Comer told reporters. âThe first three people to ask questions, all they did was complain. They didnât ask any questions.â
âThe only questions they asked were, âWill you commit to coming in for a deposition?ââ Comer said. âThey didnât ask a single pertinent question.â
He said Democrats seemed more interested in creating a public spectacle than getting answers. When asked if the committee would hold Bondi in contempt if she did not show up for the deposition, Comer said, âWeâll have to talk about itâ as a committee if that happened.
The standoff carries extra political weight because Bondi is the nationâs top law enforcement official and the person ultimately responsible for enforcing congressional subpoenas, even as she remains publicly noncommittal about complying with one herself.
Democrats saw the meeting as an opportunity to call attention to the fact that Bondi has yet to explicitly commit to showing up on April 14.
BONDI SUBPOENAED FOR APRIL 14 HOUSE DEPOSITION ON EPSTEIN FILES HANDLING
Republicans, meanwhile, saw the walkout as a massive undercutting of Democratsâ claims that they are sincerely concerned about Epstein and his victims and understanding the internal process of how the DOJ handled the release of files related to the disgraced financier.
The committee is scheduled to hold additional interviews in its sprawling Epstein investigation on Thursday, including the deposition of his former attorney, Darren Indyke.
















