Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not appear before the House Oversight Committee for her scheduled April 14 deposition on the Epstein files. The Justice Department says Bondi was subpoenaed in her capacity as attorney general and doesn’t have to testify because she no longer holds that office. Trump removed Bondi from her role last week over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. Last month, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared for a closed-door briefing with the House Oversight Committee, prompting a walkout by Democrats who demanded that Bondi testify under oath. Democratic Congressmember Robert Garcia said in a statement that the congressional subpoena is binding regardless of her firing, saying, “Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not. She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges.” Republican Congressmember Nancy Mace said, “Pam Bondi was subpoenaed by name, not by title.”

Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will voluntarily meet with the committee next month to answer questions about his connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein files show Lutnick remained in contact with him for years even after Lutnick claimed to have cut off ties. Lutnick and his family visited Epstein’s island in 2012, four years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.