South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace has warned Pam Bondi she will have to answer for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files despite being fired as attorney general.
Mace, a member of the House Oversight Committee, told CNN’s News Central on Friday morning that the congressional subpoena issued to Bondi in March is “by name and not by the title,” meaning she is still “compelled” to answer questions under oath about the botched release of the Epstein files.
“At this juncture, I’m not backing away from that or backing down from that,” Mace added.
“I do believe the handling of the Epstein files was done in a very poor manner by her and her office, and there are still questions that she has answers to that are very serious, and she has information that will be important to the committee.”
President Donald Trump unceremoniously fired Bondi as attorney general on Thursday, in part because of her widely condemned handling of the Department of Justice’s release of the Epstein files.
Bondi helped fuel accusations of a cover-up surrounding the late pedophile by telling Fox News in February 2025 that an alleged Epstein “client list” was “sitting on my desk right now” for review. She later said such a list does not exist and that there was no evidence Epstein used compromising material to blackmail his high-profile associates.
Last month, Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted to summon Bondi to answer questions about the Epstein files by April 14.
Mace, who introduced the motion to subpoena Bondi, was highly critical of the former attorney general and alleged that the DOJ has yet to release all the documents as required by law.
“The DOJ still hasn’t complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is why we had no choice but to subpoena her, and because of our push, she will be appearing before the Oversight Committee in two weeks,” Mace said in a Thursday statement just prior to confirmation that Bondi had been fired.
“Whether it’s spying on the search history of members of Congress who are simply seeking answers, claiming all files have been released while key evidence remains hidden, or stonewalling every effort to hold the guilty accountable, the American people deserve an attorney general who is transparent and delivers real accountability.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, issued a similar warning, saying Bondi “will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath,” even though she is no longer attorney general.
“She must answer for her mishandling of the Epstein files and the special treatment she has given Ghislaine Maxwell,” Garcia said.
