Pam Bondi tells lawmakers ‘redaction errors’ were made in Epstein files release

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee on Friday that the Justice Department made “redaction errors” in its release of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, according to a copy of her opening statement obtained by NBC News. Bondi planned to tell the panel during her closed-door interview on Capitol Hill that she was assured by the team that reviewed the documents that “the only materials that were withheld were either non-responsive, privileged, or duplicative,” according to the opening statement. “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 planned to say in her opening statement. The former attorney general, whom Trump fired in last month, said she didn’t lead every aspect of the review of the Epstein files and delegated oversight of the process to then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who now serves as acting attorney general. “There were redaction errors,” her opening remarks said. “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.” Bondi and Trump’s Justice Department has faced backlash over the release of the documents related to the late convicted sex offender, especially from survivors of his abuse. The documents were heavily redacted, but exposed survivors’ names after assurances that they would be protected. Democratic lawmakers have said that the DOJ, meanwhile, redacted names of men who may have participated in Epstein’s abuse. Bondi also came under fire as attorney general after she said in February 2025 during an interview on Fox News that she had an Epstein client list on her desk, a claim that never came to fruition. Then, last July, the Justice Department and FBI released an unsigned memo saying there was no evidence of such a client list or that Epstein had blackmailed prominent people, and concluding the financier had died by suicide — igniting further backlash among conservatives and others. Before the Oversight panel’s interview with Bondi began on Friday, survivors stood outside the hearing room and asked Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., if the committee will seek answers about why survivors’ identities were made public, but not perpetrators’. “I hope so. Those are questions we’re going to ask,” Comer said. “We want justice for the survivors.”