Donald Trump’s former attorney general has refused to answer questions about the president’s connections with Jeffrey Epstein.
The full transcript of an interview Pam Bondi had with members of Congress was released today.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has said Todd Blanche was responsible for handling the Epstein files. AP Photo/Manuel Ceneta
“Did President Trump ever tell you that he had friends who could be exposed as abusers by the Epstein files release?” Bondi was asked.
“I’m not going to discuss any conversations that I’ve had with the President on any matter,” she replied.
Bondi was cagey when asked about Trump’s name in the Epstein files.
“There’s rumours of an effort potentially to look through the files for President Trump’s name in particular,” Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam asked.
“Are you aware of any sort of effort at the Department or anywhere else in the administration of doing that?”
Bondi replied: “I am not going to discuss anything within the Department or discussions that did or did not take place.”
When asked directly if there was an effort to find Trump’s name in the Epstein files before they were released, Bondi said she could not recall.
She was also asked about why documents of a series of interviews with one Epstein victim were taken down from the public release before being uploaded again.
The victim alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Trump when she was 13-years-old.
“Do you have any understanding of the extent to which this woman’s allegations were investigated by the FBI or DOJ?” Bondi was asked.
“No,” she replied.
Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife), former model Melania Knauss, financier Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000. Getty
Bondi was also quizzed on the decision to move Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to a lower security prison.
When asked to acknowledge Maxwell was moved to a less secure facility, Bondi said she had “no knowledge of that”.
When asked if she spoke to Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche about the move, she said she did not recall.
She refused to answer if Trump knew of Maxwell’s transfer before it took place.
“I read about it in the newspaper, or online, after it happened,” Bondi said.
“I had nothing to do with that.”
Bondi told the committee that Blanche was in charge of the Department of Justice’s handling of the case.
Blanche, who was Trump’s personal lawyer before his election, is now serving as acting attorney-general.
Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal issued a statement overnight on Blanche.
“I met with Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche after the Bondi hearing. It was and still is abundantly clear that Blanche is still acting as Trump’s personal attorney,” she said.
“Someone who covers up for predators should not head the Department of Justice.”
Bondi was ousted as attorney-general in April in an announcement from Trump.