Former attorney general Pam Bondi has told lawmakers that Todd Blanche, the man Donald Trump plans to nominate as her permanent replacement, was “in charge” of the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Bondi made the remarks during a House oversight committee hearing on 29 May, according to a transcript released on Thursday.
Blanche, who served as Bondi’s deputy at the Department of Justice, was responsible for the “entire release of the Epstein files”, Bondi claimed. She said she delegated oversight of the process to Blanche and did not conduct the document review herself. Bondi acknowledged “there were redaction errors” but insisted the department was committed to accountability and transparency.
During a break in the hearing, several Democratic lawmakers said Bondi had told them that Blanche was leading the Epstein investigation and that mistakes, including redactions and failure to protect survivors, were his responsibility. Bondi later pushed back on that characterisation in a social media post, calling it “NOT TRUE”, and praised Blanche’s management of what she called a “Herculean task”.
Bondi also told lawmakers she was “not certain of the extent” that Trump knew about Epstein’s crimes before they became public. A White House spokesperson claimed Trump had been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein”. Bondi declined to discuss conversations with Trump, saying she would not comment on discussions with the president.
On the prison transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell, Bondi said she learned of it through news reports “after it happened” and had “nothing to do with that”. When asked if Maxwell should receive a pardon, Bondi replied “no”, calling her a “monster” who should “die in prison”.
