‘Not true’: Pam Bondi denies blaming Todd Blanche for Epstein files mishandling

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly denied accusations that she blamed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for mistakes tied to the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy.

The clash exploded after Rep Robert Garcia accused Bondi of repeatedly shifting responsibility onto Blanche during her closed-door House Oversight Committee hearing. Bondi shot back on X with a blunt response: “NOT TRUE.”

Robert Garcia accuses Bondi of blaming Todd Blanche 

Rep Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, spoke to reporters after the first portion of Bondi’s testimony about the Justice Department’s handling of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

“It is clear, in just this part of the interview, that she continues to push all of the investigation—and the blame—on acting AG Todd Blanche,” Garcia said.

He added that Bondi repeatedly pointed to Blanche as the official overseeing the Epstein investigation.

“She said, and I quote, ‘Acting AG Blanche was managing the entire investigation,’” Garcia told reporters.

Garcia then escalated the criticism further, saying Bondi was tying key failures directly to Blanche.

“And, quite frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions, not protecting survivors, she continues to push that back onto the acting AG Todd Blanche — who, by the way, was Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer,” he said.

The remarks quickly pushed the Epstein files controversy beyond the closed-door hearing room and into a public dispute between figures tied to President Donald Trump’s DOJ circle.

Bondi denies reports she threw Todd Blanche under the bus 

Bondi responded directly to a clip of Garcia’s comments on X. “NOT TRUE. I praised Acting AG Blanche’s management of this Herculean task,” Bondi wrote. “I said his ethics are beyond reproach and that he is an incredible Attorney General.”

Garcia answered back hours later, accusing Bondi of trying to rewrite what happened during testimony.

“Ms Bondi, you said ‘Blanche was managing the entire investigation,’ and you said he was responsible for redactions that exposed survivors,” Garcia wrote on X. “You deflected to him over 30 times.”

Garcia also challenged House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer over transparency surrounding the hearing.

“We think Chairman Comer should have videotaped this, don’t you agree?” Garcia added.

In another post, Garcia claimed Bondi “refused to answer ANY questions” about Trump.

The fight added new scrutiny to Bondi’s testimony after background concerns emerged over who was actually directing the DOJ’s Epstein-related document review process.

During her opening statement, Bondi reportedly said the department had shown “unprecedented transparency” and produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act while also saying she delegated the review process to Blanche.

MS NOW correspondent Ken Dilanian described Bondi’s testimony as throwing Blanche “under the bus,” arguing Blanche effectively handled much of the DOJ’s operations during her tenure.