Summer Lee wants Pam Bondi to answer her Epstein file questions under oath. The Republican Oversight chair used a sexist term in response.
Lee, the only Pennsylvania Democrat who sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, stormed out of a closed-door meeting with the Justice Department on Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee says she’s demanding justice for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims. The Republican oversight committee chair said she’s “bitching.”
Lee, the only Pennsylvania Democrat who sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said she asked U.S. Rep. James Comer, the Republican committee chair from Kentucky, if he would push Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify under oath about the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case.
“Instead of answering as an adult, he said I was ‘bitching’,” Lee, of Pittsburgh, said at a news conference. She said that language wouldn’t have been allowed in a public committee meeting.
“If CSPAN and the public were there, I’d imagine that he would not act that way,” she added.
The exchange happened during a closed-door committee meeting with the Justice Department on Wednesday about the Epstein files that ended with Democrats storming out of the room. Democrats took issue with the meeting format because they want Bondi to answer questions about the files under oath.
Comer confirmed with reporters that he used the term while speaking to Lee.
“She was just complaining about the format, and that was the fourth Democrat to ask questions,” he said. “And they didn’t ask any questions.”
But he later defended himself on social media by saying he was right to accuse Democrats of “bitching and wasting everyone’s time.”
Lee responded on social media by saying he used the term toward a woman in particular because he’s “basic.”
Lee has been critical of the Justice Department’s slow paced release of the Epstein files and has accused Bondi of weaponizing the department. She lead an effort over the summer to subpoena the department for the files and introduced articles of impeachment against Bondi on Tuesday that accuse her of violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Lawmakers have accused the Justice Department of withholding too many files and criticized the agency for haphazard redactions that exposed intimate details about victims.
The Justice Department has sought to assure the public that they haven’t been trying to shied President Donald Trump, who says he cut ties with the financier and sexual abuser years ago but is mentioned in the files repeatedly.
Comer accused Democrats on the committee of political theatrics instead of asking Bondi about the files. He said they’re trying “to create a false narrative that there’s a cover-up.” But five Republicans joined Democrats on the committee earlier this month to vote for the subpoena over how questions about the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Democrats said they will press to enforce the subpoena issued this week for Bondi to appear for a sworn deposition next month.
Comer did not vote for the subpoena and said he doesn’t “see any reason” for Bondi to sit for a deposition.
“I want to bring in the bad guys for the deposition,” he said. “I want to bring in the men who have abused women. I want to bring in anyone who is involved in the prosecution or lack of prosecution of Epstein, Maxwell, and some of these other guys. So that’s where I think our time and energy should be spent.”
Comer said he would try to schedule the deposition but did not say whether he would hold her in contempt of court if she doesn’t follow through, the New York Times reported.
The Justice Department’s failure to fend off the subpoena from the Republican-led committee underscores widespread discontent among Trump’s base over Bondi’s management of the review and release of a trove of documents from the criminal investigation into Epstein.
Asked by reporters after the briefing whether she would comply with the subpoena, Bondi said, “I made it crystal clear I will follow the law.” She also defended the department’s handling of the Epstein files, saying officials are proud of their work to release millions of documents to the public.
Lee said the Democrats on the Oversight Committee will push for Bondi to answer questions on the record.
“We’ll continue to press for justice for survivors, while also keeping them centered in this ... we are still here seeking answers for women, for girls, and for the American public who has demanded justice,” she said.
“And whether or not they will pretend that the documents that they have given us is enough, we already know that they have not complied, and we are asking other people to make sure that we do not let them off the hook right now,” she added.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.