{"id":2112,"date":"2026-05-30T19:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T19:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=2112"},"modified":"2026-05-30T19:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T19:04:13","slug":"pam-bondi-refused-to-say-whether-trump-influenced-release-of-epstein-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=2112","title":{"rendered":"Pam Bondi refused to say whether Trump influenced release of Epstein files"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer questions Friday on whether President Donald Trump had any influence in the release of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s case files.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more 4 teens injured after car crashes into Venice Beach Pavilion, police say<\/a><\/p>

Bondi, who was fired by Trump in April in part over her handling of the Epstein files, spent four hours being questioned by lawmakers behind closed doors. Here\u2019s what she said:\u00a0<\/p>

Bondi defends DOJ<\/h2>
<\/div>

Big picture view:<\/p>

Lawmakers hoped Bondi\u2019s testimony would shine more light on the political firestorm sparked by Epstein\u2019s case, but Democrats left disappointed and said Bondi refused to speak about the president. She said she didn\u2019t have to answer questions about Trump because she appeared before the committee voluntarily.\u00a0<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n

FILE: Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p> <\/div><\/div>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

In her opening statement, Bondi defended the Department of Justice\u2019s handling of the case files. She said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, now the acting attorney general, had overseen their release.\u00a0<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>DOJ releases more Epstein files accusing Trump of sexual assault<\/strong><\/p>

“The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” she said, according to her opening statement obtained by The Associated Press.\u00a0<\/p>

The other side:<\/p>

Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Virginia Democrat, said he asked Bondi whether Trump had any knowledge of Epstein\u2019s crimes before they became public. He said Bondi\u2019s response was, “I\u2019m not certain of the extent of his knowledge.”<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>Trump\u2019s $10B Wall Street Journal lawsuit over Epstein ties dismissed by judge<\/strong><\/p>

“It\u2019s a sham in there,” Rep. Dave Min, D-California, said during a break in the interview, AP reported. “They are not answering any questions.”<\/p>

Read more Three dead, one rescued after fall on Alaska\u2019s Mount McKinley<\/a><\/p>

Trump\u2019s Epstein ties<\/h2>

The backstory:<\/p>

Epstein, a wealthy financier, was known for socializing with celebrities, politicians, billionaires and the academic elite, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Epstein was first accused of sexually abusing underage girls in 2005, but he made a secret deal with the U.S. attorney in Florida to avoid federal charges, enabling him to plead guilty in 2008 to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>Epstein victims to get $72.5 million from Bank of America<\/strong><\/p>

In 2019, Manhattan federal prosecutors revived the case and charged Epstein with sex trafficking, alleging he sexually abused dozens of girls. He killed himself in jail a month after his arrest.<\/p>

Epstein\u2019s longtime friend and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping recruit some of his underage victims.<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>Bill Clinton’s hours-long Epstein deposition ends: ‘I did nothing wrong’<\/strong><\/p>

Trump campaigned on a promise to release all the Epstein files, but his administration backtracked and struggled to contain the fallout of the president\u2019s close ties to Epstein. The files were eventually released after Congress passed a law compelling the Justice Department to make them public. According to\u00a0The New York Times<\/u><\/i>, the Epstein case files include more than 38,000 references to Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Mar-a-Lago, and other related terms.\u00a0<\/p>

Among those files is a series of FBI interviews with a woman who claims\u00a0Trump sexually and physically assaulted her<\/u> when she was between 13 and 15 years old.<\/p>

Epstein survivors tried to confront Bondi<\/h2>

Several survivors of Epstein\u2019s abuse gathered outside the Capitol office Friday where Bondi was being questioned. They tried to make their presence known to Bondi as she entered the room, but several said they were shoved aside by police officers.<\/p>

Read more Garbage truck hits, kills woman in St. Pete: SPPD<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was fired by President Trump in part over her handling of the Epstein files, spent four hours being questioned by lawmakers behind closed doors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[138,33],"tags":[139,34],"class_list":["post-2112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donald-j-trump","category-politics","tag-donald-j-trump","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nPam Bondi refused to say whether Trump influenced release of Epstein files - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=2112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pam Bondi refused to say whether Trump influenced release of Epstein files - Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was fired by President Trump in part over her handling of the Epstein files, spent four hours being questioned by lawmakers behind closed doors.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=2112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-30T19:04:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c8dfa891cc15a8bbb3ebd065478273fe.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"524\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2112#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2112\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"headline\":\"Pam Bondi refused to say whether Trump influenced release of Epstein files\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T19:04:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2112\"},\"wordCount\":651,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2112#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/bd505ec2ba0435d5bd899b834cdae784.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Donald J. 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