Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / The Pam Bondi Congressional Oversight Committee Epstein Related Transcript (Part 5) (6/7/26)

Transcript

The Pam Bondi Congressional Oversight Committee Epstein Related Transcript (Part 5) (6/7/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:02
  Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to get right
• 0:06
  back to that Pam Bondi interview with the House Oversight
• 0:09
  Committee question. Before you left your position as Attorney General,
• 0:14
  were there attorneys or other DOJ employees still working torectify
• 0:18
  redaction errors in the files? Answer? I believe so, especially
• 0:23
  if anyone reached out to us saying that there was
• 0:25
  an error, including members of Congress who have the ability
• 0:28
  to look at the unredacted versions. I believe they still
• 0:31
  have that ability. Mister Emmer, we're at the end of
• 0:34
  the majority's hour, so we're going to go off the
• 0:36
  record redacted. We can go back on record before we
• 0:40
  get started. I understand that the witness has a clarification
• 0:43
  that she'd like to make. Bondie, Yeah, I believe one
• 0:47
  of the questions that was posed to me, pretending to
• 0:49
  Gla Maxwell being transferred from a prison was phrased. The
• 0:53
  question was phrased that she was transferred from a maximum
• 0:56
  security prison to a low security prison. And I don't
• 0:59
  believe that she was ever in a maximum security prison.
• 1:02
  I believe it was a lower facility prison that she
• 1:05
  was initially in and when she was transferred it was
• 1:08
  to a comparable prison. But as my answer was, that
• 1:11
  would have to be for the Bureau of Prisons to
• 1:13
  answer that. What she doesn't say, though, is that the
• 1:16
  Attorney General is in charge of all of that. The
• 1:19
  Attorney General is in charge of the BP as well.
• 1:22
  And to help her out a little bit, because you know,
• 1:24
  she doesn't know, Maxwell was not at the same kind
• 1:28
  of facility as Camp Ryan. Maxwell was at a low
• 1:31
  level facility in Tallahassee where she should have stayed, by
• 1:35
  the way, and then she was moved to a federal camp,
• 1:38
  which is a whole last different story question. Good morning,
• 1:41
  miss Bondi. I'll be doing most of the questioning for
• 1:44
  the minority today. Before we get started, I want to
• 1:47
  say that we're aware of your recent health diagnosis. We
• 1:50
  wish you a full and speedy recovery. Bondie, thank you question.
• 1:54
  If you need a break at any point today, please
• 1:56
  let us know. I also want to thank you for
• 1:59
  your long career in public service. Bondi, thank you question.
• 2:04
  As you know, our conversation today is going to focus
• 2:06
  on the DOJ's investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and Glenn Maxwell,
• 2:11
  and on the DOJ's compliance with the Committee subpoena and
• 2:14
  the Epstein File Transparency Act. Just a few things before
• 2:18
  we get started. First, I'll note for the record that
• 2:21
  today's interview is not being videotaped. Committee Democrats strongly disagree
• 2:25
  with that decision. We believe that Jeffrey Epstein's survivors and
• 2:29
  the American people deserve to watch today's interview and to
• 2:32
  reach their own conclusions, and the lack of video here
• 2:35
  today is another failure in transparency and accountability for the
• 2:39
  survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. Redacted. To that end, I'll
• 2:44
  introduce as minority Exhibit A. This is a letter from
• 2:47
  a group of Jeffrey Epstein's survivors to Chairman Comer, dated
• 2:51
  May twentieth, requesting that this interview be videotaped. Bondi. Minority
• 2:57
  Exhibit A was marked for identification in question. Miss Bondie,
• 3:02
  I know you may have discussed today's questions and other forums.
• 3:05
  Our goal here is to create one single record that
• 3:08
  addresses as many of the issues as possible. We appreciate
• 3:12
  your patients, and we'll try to have you repeat yourself
• 3:15
  as little as possible. To the extent that any of
• 3:18
  my questions or your answers involves survivor names or other
• 3:21
  survivor identifying information, we would ask that the majority redacts
• 3:25
  that information prior to releasing the transcript publicly, and with
• 3:29
  that we can get started. And I just had sort
• 3:32
  of a preliminary global question. We will ask everything today
• 3:36
  to the best of your recollection. But the impression I
• 3:38
  got from the last round was that, in a general sense,
• 3:41
  on a day to day basis, then Deputy Attorney General
• 3:44
  Blanche now Acting Attorney General Blanche had a more direct
• 3:48
  day to day supervisory role over the Epstein files and
• 3:51
  related matters. Would you tend to agree with that answer? Yes,
• 3:55
  he supervised the Epstein file release. Question, and with respect
• 4:00
  to Epstein files related matters that link directly to the FBI,
• 4:04
  is it correct that Director Patel would have a more intimate,
• 4:07
  detailed understanding of that, then you probably would answer yes question.
• 4:13
  And I think if I heard correctly, it sounds like
• 4:15
  with respect to this committee subpoena, a DOJ official named
• 4:18
  Stanley Woodward was the person to whom that topic was
• 4:22
  generally delegated. Is that right answer? On a portion of
• 4:25
  the documents being released. Stanley Woodward supervise that release. Question okay,
• 4:30
  I can ask later when we get to it. But
• 4:32
  is there a different official who has sort of been
• 4:35
  the person in charge of the committee subpoena since then
• 4:38
  other than mister Woodward. Answer no, Todd Blanche I believe
• 4:43
  question okay, to the extent that this case for other
• 4:47
  topics we discussed today where you yourself are not sure,
• 4:51
  but there's somebody else what that was, either managing it
• 4:54
  or in charge of it. If you could just let
• 4:56
  us know when that's the case, that's very helpful for us,
• 4:59
  and we'd appreciate, Miss Bondie. Have you ever met Jeffrey Epstein? Bondye,
• 5:04
  not to my knowledge. Question is there any uncertainty on
• 5:08
  your part about whether you may have without knowing? Answer?
• 5:13
  I was Attorney General for the State of Florida for
• 5:15
  eight years and probably met thousands and thousands of individuals
• 5:18
  at events, but to my knowledge, I have never met him.
• 5:21
  Question Have you ever met Glaim Maxwell Bondy to my
• 5:25
  knowledge no, same answer. Question. I'd like to ask you
• 5:29
  about some potential investigative leads linked to the Epstein files
• 5:33
  that the dj released during your tenure at DOJ, were
• 5:37
  you aware of any open investigation into any individual or
• 5:41
  entity related to participation in mister Epstein's crimes. Answer? At
• 5:46
  one point, we asked Jay Clayton in the Southern District
• 5:48
  of New York to open an investigation, and I don't
• 5:51
  know whether that's still open or not. Question what was
• 5:55
  the extent of your knowledge of the status of that
• 5:57
  investigation as your last day as Attorney General? Bondie, I
• 6:02
  don't recall my last day. What was the status of it? Question?
• 6:06
  Was it open as far as you know? Answer? I
• 6:09
  don't recall. Question who would be most likely to know that?
• 6:12
  Would that be mister Clayton? Answer mister Clayton, and we
• 6:16
  very publicly asked him to look into any other crimes
• 6:19
  committed as a result of the Epstein files. I don't
• 6:22
  know the status of that. Question during your tenure as
• 6:25
  Attorney General, did DOJ ever contact any Epstein's survivors to
• 6:29
  follow up on any investigative leads contained in the Epstein files?
• 6:34
  Answer by Bondie. That would be a question for Director
• 6:37
  of Patel and deputy Director excuse me, Deputy Attorney General
• 6:41
  at the time now Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche question,
• 6:45
  to your knowledge, did the Department of Justice ever investigate
• 6:48
  Steve Tish for any potential crimes related to Jeffrey Epstein? BONDI,
• 6:53
  to my knowledge, I don't know. Question, to your knowledge,
• 6:56
  did the DOJ ever investigate Jess Staley for any alleged
• 6:59
  crime related to Jeffrey Epstein? Answer? I don't know. Question,
• 7:04
  to your knowledge has DOJ question Secretary Howard Lutnik, Secretary
• 7:08
  Robert F. Kennedy, former Navy Secretary John Feelin, or any
• 7:12
  other administration official about their ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Answer?
• 7:16
  I don't recall. That would be a question for Deputy
• 7:19
  Attorney General now acting US attorney excuse me, Acting Attorney
• 7:22
  General Todd Blanche. Question, I'm just going to call him
• 7:25
  mister Blanche today. It's no disrespect. I just don't want
• 7:28
  to get tangled up with all the different titles. To
• 7:31
  your understanding or should I say, do you have any
• 7:34
  understanding of DJ's decision to investigate or not investigate Les
• 7:38
  Wexner as a co conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein? Answer not,
• 7:42
  to my knowledge, that would be a question for the FBI.
• 7:47
  Question is Director Patel a reasonable place to start? With
• 7:50
  that type of question, answer yes question. In the twenty
• 7:54
  nineteen SDNY case, FBI officials identified ten alleged co conspirators
• 7:59
  to interview in connection with mister Epstein's crimes. There's an
• 8:04
  email reflecting the fact, which I will introduce now as
• 8:07
  minority Exhibit B, and I'll give you a moment to
• 8:11
  look it over. Bondy, what was the date of that question?
• 8:15
  I'll give you a copy, but the date is July seventh,
• 8:18
  twenty nineteen. Miss Dylan, look at the document. But I'll
• 8:22
  make an objection redacted to your knowledge. Who are these
• 8:25
  ten individuals? Dylan, I'm going to object to this question.
• 8:30
  It's beyond the scope of the witness voluntary interview here today,
• 8:33
  which is concerning the things that she did or is
• 8:35
  responsible for during her tenure as Attorney General. Redacted. Well,
• 8:40
  this goes directly to the Epstein investigation, and I think
• 8:43
  the twenty nineteen investigation was also discussed in the previous round.
• 8:47
  So I'd be hard pressed to understand the nature of
• 8:49
  that objection. Dylan. I don't know what to do to
• 8:52
  help you understand, but it's my objection. Redacted. If you
• 8:56
  could just use the microphone the folks can hear, and
• 8:59
  I think the button there. Dylan, Yeah, I understand your question,
• 9:02
  and it's beyond the scope question. Would it be your
• 9:05
  view that the twenty nineteen Epstein investigation in its totality
• 9:09
  is beyond the scope of today's conversation? Dylan, The scope
• 9:13
  of today's transcribed interview is what the former Attorney General
• 9:16
  sitting next to me did regarding the Epstein transparency files
• 9:20
  and related matters during her tenure, and that's the scope
• 9:23
  of it. Question, So just sort of yes or no.
• 9:26
  Would it be your understanding that, for example, the twenty
• 9:30
  nineteen Epstein investigation in its totality would be outside the
• 9:34
  scope of today's conversation? Dylan, Yes, question okay. Would it
• 9:39
  be your understanding that any Epstein related fact or question
• 9:42
  that does not live inside the witnesses date range as
• 9:45
  attorney general would be outside the scope of today's conversation?
• 9:49
  Dylan generally yes, unless she has personal knowledge that comes
• 9:52
  from that time i e. Post dates that time period redacted.
• 9:58
  Could you I believe we have some confus usion about this,
• 10:01
  Just articulate for us and for the record, the link
• 10:03
  between the objection and the agency's interest because our understanding
• 10:08
  is obviously you're not here as a personal counsel, so
• 10:10
  I would expect to hear something like that from the witness.
• 10:13
  But why is it coming from you, ding bat Dylan,
• 10:16
  because we want clear testimony coming from the Department of
• 10:19
  Justice concerning what any witness from the Department of Justice,
• 10:22
  and that's the basis on which this witness is here,
• 10:25
  concerning her tenure as Attorney General, and so that's the
• 10:28
  scope that we've agreed to redacted. The witness is perfectly capable.
• 10:33
  It sounds like of saying she's not sure. If she's
• 10:36
  not sure, so I'm not following why that would be
• 10:39
  some kind of insurmountable problem. Dylan. Yeah, I can't help
• 10:43
  you follow it. But that's our objection and limitation today. Redacted. Okay,
• 10:48
  it's not even necessarily clear to me that would be
• 10:50
  your place to draw the line. So we'll phrase it
• 10:52
  this way. I'll re ask the question, and if the
• 10:55
  witness does not want to answer, we'll have the witness
• 10:57
  say that she doesn't want to answer and state the
• 10:59
  base for that. Dylan, You're not going to dictate the
• 11:02
  objections that I make, but you can ask your questions
• 11:06
  and I'll instruct the witness to answer or not accordingly
• 11:08
  because she is here on behalf of the United States
• 11:11
  Department of Justice, because her testimony is concerning that time redacted. Yeah,
• 11:17
  it's kind of a non sequitur, but yes, I agree,
• 11:20
  but I'm going to set it up that way that
• 11:22
  it's reflected on the record, just so we get that clarified. So,
• 11:26
  miss Bondi, with respect to Exhibit B that I provided,
• 11:30
  and if you don't mind, it sounds like if you
• 11:32
  could get a little closer to the microphone, there's been
• 11:34
  some problems with respect to Exhibit B. Who are the
• 11:37
  ten individuals co conspirators of mister Epstein reflected in this
• 11:41
  email Dylan, she's not going to answer that redacted, Miss Bondie.
• 11:48
  Are you refusing to answer that question? Bondy may have
• 11:51
  a moment to confer answer. Of course, we can go
• 11:56
  off the record if you need a minute to confer,
• 11:58
  they come back on the record. BONDI. I don't recall
• 12:01
  ever reviewing this document, so I don't know who's in it.
• 12:04
  And that came from the FBI to New York. Question.
• 12:08
  That's helpful, thank you. Would Director of Patel be a
• 12:10
  logical starting point for those of us who might be
• 12:13
  interested in this question, Bondi or someone at the FBI
• 12:17
  New York, because that's who's on the bottom of the
• 12:19
  document question. And so it's correct that not having knowledge
• 12:23
  of who the individuals are, you would not have knowledge
• 12:25
  of which of these folks was interviewed or not interviewed.
• 12:29
  Is that right? Answer? Correct? All right, folks, we're gonna
• 12:32
  wrap up right here, and then the next episode dealing
• 12:35
  with the topic, we're gonna pick up where we left off.
• 12:37
  All the information that goes with this episode can be
• 12:40
  found in the description box.