U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and five Democratic colleagues on Tuesday introduced articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of files related to the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and what the lawmakers described as the politicization of the Justice Department.
Separately Tuesday, the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee, of which Lee is a member, issued a subpoena for Bondi to testify next month on the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein investigation and related files. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are scheduled to provide a private briefing to the committee on Wednesday.
The impeachment resolution accuses Bondi of defying a previous Oversight Committee subpoena to release the full, unredacted Epstein files and refusing to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on Nov. 19. Last July, an Oversight subcommittee passed a motion by Lee to subpoena the Justice Department for the full release of the Epstein files.
The resolution also accuses Bondi of abusing her investigatory and prosecutorial powers, defying court orders and lying in congressional testimony for political purposes.
“The attorney general of the United States is entrusted with one of the most solemn responsibilities in our democracy: to enforce the law fairly, impartially and without political influence,” Lee, a Democrat from Swissvale, said in a statement.
“Instead, Pam Bondi is breaking the law to protect pedophiles and prosecute Trump’s political opponents,” Lee added. “We deserve a justice system that serves the people, not one that is weaponized for political gain.”
When questioned about the impeachment resolution, the White House lauded the job Bondi has done as attorney general.
“Attorney General Pam Bondi has worked tirelessly to successfully implement the president’s law-and-order agenda. Attorney General Bondi is doing a great job,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to TribLive.
Jackson also pointed to remarks Trump made about Bondi when he introduced her at a White House event earlier this month.
Calling her “a terrific person,” Trump said, “She’s proving how tough she is, and I think the next three years she’s going to really prove it.”