US Congress to Subpoena Attorney General Again Over Epstein Case; DOJ Says "Completely Unnecessary"

This article is reprinted from [Xinhua News Agency];

Beijing, March 18 — The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a subpoena to Attorney General Bondi on the 17th, requesting her to testify behind closed doors regarding the Epstein case. The Department of Justice responded that this is completely unnecessary. Previously, Bondi had attended related hearings but failed to dispel doubts and criticisms from multiple members of Congress from both parties about the Department of Justice.

According to the Associated Press, James Comer, Republican chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote in a letter to Bondi that the committee has questions about how the Department of Justice is investigating the late American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, and whether the department is complying with the Epstein Records Transparency Act. The committee wants to understand Bondi’s role as Attorney General in overseeing the collection, review, and disclosure of related documents. According to the subpoena, Bondi is scheduled to testify before the committee on April 14.

The Department of Justice issued a statement on the same day, saying the subpoena is “completely unnecessary,” and that Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Branch will provide a private briefing to committee members on the 18th. The statement also said that members of Congress “have been invited to review unredacted files at the Department of Justice,” and that Bondi “has always been willing to communicate directly with lawmakers.”

According to The Guardian, on March 4, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted to issue a subpoena to Bondi, with five Republican members voting in favor. On the 17th, Robert Garcia, the highest-ranking Democratic member of the committee, criticized the Department of Justice in a statement, accusing it of “repeatedly exposing victims” and shielding powerful individuals involved in Epstein’s crimes. Garcia stated that, “with the support of the united Democratic members and several Republicans,” Bondi will testify before the committee under oath.

The Associated Press believes that the Department of Justice’s failure to prevent the Republican-led committee from issuing the subpoena highlights the widespread dissatisfaction within President Trump’s support base regarding how Bondi has handled the Epstein case files and their release.

On February 11, Bondi attended a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee to be questioned about how the Department of Justice handled Epstein case files. During the hearing, multiple Democratic and Republican members questioned Bondi about “covering up” related documents. Bondi repeatedly refused to answer questions directly from Democratic members and even made disrespectful remarks.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 for soliciting minors for prostitution and was re-arrested in July 2019 on suspicion of sex crimes. He died in prison in August of the same year, with the ruling being “suicide.”

For years, there has been speculation that Epstein’s connections with prominent figures in politics, finance, academia, and business across Europe and America may have involved criminal activity or deliberate enabling. On January 30, this year, the U.S. Department of Justice released the final batch of Epstein case files, totaling over 3 million pages, more than 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images. The files involve prominent figures from the U.S., Norway, France, the UK, and other countries, some of whom have been forced to resign. Names of Trump, his government officials, allies, and others also appear multiple times in the documents. (Lin Ruizhu)