type: timeline_event
On March 17, 2026, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued a subpoena requiring Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a sworn deposition on April 14 regarding the Department of Justice's handling of Jeffrey Epstein case files. The subpoena represented a significant escalation by the Republican chairman, who had grown increasingly frustrated with DOJ's refusal to provide transparent accounting of the Epstein-related documents.
The subpoena specifically demanded that Bondi testify under oath about decisions made within DOJ regarding the release, redaction, and handling of Epstein investigation files. Comer's committee had been seeking these materials for months, and DOJ's resistance had become a rare point of bipartisan frustration. The chairman indicated that the deposition format — rather than a public hearing — was chosen to allow for detailed questioning in a setting where evasive answers would carry legal consequences.
The move was notable because it came from a Republican chairman compelling testimony from a Republican administration's attorney general. Comer had publicly expressed frustration with what he characterized as DOJ stonewalling, suggesting that the Epstein file issue had created an unusual breach between congressional Republicans and the Trump DOJ. The April 14 deadline gave Bondi approximately four weeks to either comply or formally challenge the subpoena.
Legal observers noted that the subpoena put Bondi in a difficult position: defying a subpoena from a chairman of her own party would deepen bipartisan criticism, while testifying under oath about politically sensitive decisions carried its own risks. The Epstein files matter had become one of the few issues where significant numbers of Republican lawmakers were willing to publicly challenge the administration.