Bravo to the House Oversight Committee for voting on a tally of 24-19 to issue a subpoena against recalcitrant Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Epstein files. Let’s hope that still means something.
It bears emphasizing that we’ve reached the point where it is extraordinarily rare for partisan legislators to break ranks, particularly Republicans perennially, terrified of Donald Trump‘s influence. So we commend the five Republicans (Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, Michael Cloud, Scott Perry, and Tim Burchett) who voted alongside Democrats to question under oath Bondi, who is fragrantly in defiance of the also bipartisan law forcing the full release of the Epstein files with minimal redactions.
Yet the nation’s top law enforcement official has already signaled that she has no intention of complying with Congress’ order, with Democrats walking out of a meeting with her Wednesday after she indicated that she would not abide by the subpoena.
There seems to be some confusion here; just because she leads the Justice Department does not mean that Bondi gets to decide what the law is or what constitutes compliance with subpoenas. She may be shocked to learn this, but her staff are not the only ones that have the capacity to conduct investigations in our government of checks and balances.
Once again, we must wonder what exactly is in the remaining and unredacted files that Bondi and the rest of the administration are willing to go to immense lengths, including unlawful ones, to prevent their release.
Of course, we all know broadly what this is about: it has to do with the man at the top. Trump was a longtime pal of Epstein’s and features prominently in the files. This is the one story that seems to have really shaken the faith of the MAGA faithful, who once upon a time believed that Trump was a kind of savior that would finally shed light on the trafficking ring.
No matter how Trump tries to spin things now, his followers feel betrayed that he is so clearly attempting to protect his own self interest here. If Trump thinks even that loss of confidence is worth keeping the contents confidential in perpetuity, then all the more reason for lawmakers to zealously pursue full compliance with the law requiring total transparency.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed by Trump, has only limited exceptions and the potential for embarrassment or political damage aren’t among them. Nonetheless, the DOJ so far has failed to redact names, personal information and even explicit photographs of victims, as the law requires, and instead hid information about the pedophiles and abusers at the center of Epstein‘s twisted ring, as the law prohibits.
If Bondi is actually going to attempt to defy the subpoena, then the only reasonable step is for Congress to pursue contempt. It’s not really going to be possible to find an existing federal prosecutor to bring a case against the boss, so Congress should move to appoint a special prosecutor if need be.
And, if Trump chooses to pardon Bondi, just as he pardoned his pal Joe Arpaio for criminal contempt of court, then that will just serve as further evidence that he will go to any length to keep his Epstein ties secret. In any case, the law is the law and we will see those files, one way or another.
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