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Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who spoke before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Friday, stood behind the Trump administration’s work releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a copy of her prepared opening remarks obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Before we start today, I want to reiterate what I have said many times regarding the Department’s handling during my tenure as Attorney General of the voluminous materials that are now commonly known as the Epstein Files,” she told the committee, according to the document.
“I am proud of the Department’s record and commitment to transparency under my leadership. We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department’s search for, collection, and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of material, including thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of images,” Bondi asserted.
Bondi has since departed from the Capitol following her voluntary transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee, Fox News has learned. Friday’s interview was transcribed, though not video recorded.
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“These investigations span FOUR administrations, dating back to the Bush administration and have gone on through the Obama administration, the first Trump administration, and the Biden administration. The only time federal prosecutors were permitted to launch investigations against Epstein and Maxwell was when President Trump occupied the White House. Only under President Trump were 3 million Epstein related documents released,” Bondi said, according to her prepared remarks.
The former attorney general further described “an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process.”
“To the best of my knowledge, the Department produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Our diligent and good faith effort to collect materials ensured that all potentially responsive documents that could be reasonably located would see the light of day,” she noted, according to the copy of her remarks.
“All Department components were directed to submit any potentially responsive records, resulting in a comprehensive review of millions of documents. As the head of a large Department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review myself. I delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” Bondi continue.
Blanche was appointed acting attorney general on April 2 after President Donald Trump announced Bondi’s departure. He is not considered Bondi’s permanent replacement as head of the DOJ.
Bondi told the committee on Friday that “the team of professionals who reviewed all of the materials that we collected assured me the only materials that were withheld were either non-responsive, privileged, or duplicative.”
“Although not required by the Act, the Department has given Congress access to unredacted, duplicative materials in the Reading Room in an effort at maximum transparency,” Bondi said.
“There were redaction errors,” she continued. “But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency. Our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.”
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“I would like to repeat what I shared before the House Judiciary Committee in February: I have spent my entire career fighting for victims and I will continue to do so. I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster. If they have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt them or abused them, the FBI is waiting to hear from them,” Bondi’s opening statement said.
“The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” she asserted.
Bondi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after departing the Department of Justice last month, according to reports this week. Katie Miller, a former White House staffer and podcast host who is married to White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, reposted an Axios report on X on Tuesday.
“Pam has been quietly kicking cancer’s ass the last few weeks,” she wrote.
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