Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) provided further details about former Attorney General Pam Bondi's highly anticipated appearance before the House Oversight Committee on Friday, describing her as 'combative throughout' and defending her decision not to meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi's Refusal to Meet Survivors
Subramanyam told CNN's Boris Sanchez that Bondi claimed meeting with survivors 'made no sense' and used the phrase 'it wouldn't be appropriate.' He added that Bondi 'didn't seem to have any awareness of the survivors reaching out to her wanting to meet, or reaching out to her about wanting their own files, their own statements that they made to the DOJ.'
Context of the Hearing
Bondi, who has been a private citizen since leaving the Department of Justice in April, appeared on Capitol Hill following a bipartisan subpoena from the Oversight Committee. Critics argued the interview should have been a sworn, videotaped deposition. Subramanyam noted that Republicans wanted witnesses 'in the best situation possible, not having to answer certain questions, not being on tape.'
Survivors' Frustrations
Several survivors, including Dani Bensky, traveled to Washington to voice their frustrations. Bensky claimed that 'so far the DOJ has done everything they possibly can to intimidate survivors.' Bondi had previously angered survivors during a February hearing after the DOJ's botched release of Epstein files, which redacted many alleged co-conspirators but named some survivors. At that time, Bondi refused to apologize or acknowledge survivors standing behind her when urged by Democratic lawmakers.
Sanchez asked Subramanyam about Bondi's shifting explanations, to which Subramanyam replied: 'At one point, she said she didn't think it was appropriate to meet with survivors. At another point, she seemed not to recall their outreach to her office, and she didn't seem to recall a lot of things, even things that happened very recently.'
