Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of Epstein matter, Bondi told lawmakers, according to new transcript
By Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, Paula Reid, Marshall Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, was responsible for overseeing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, former Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a closed-door interview with lawmakers last month.
According to a transcript of her interview with the House Oversight Committee released Thursday, Bondi sought to distance herself from how her department handled the Epstein files as the Trump administration continues to deal with the political fallout.
“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” Bondi said when asked for her role in the department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. DOJ has released approximately 3 million files compelled by Congress, but Bondi was pushed to explain why another 3 million still have not been released.
She argued the department is not withholding any documents and that the remaining files are either duplicates or privileged materials, despite bipartisan criticism that Trump’s Justice Department has withheld or over-redacted documents, while accidentally sharing information about Epstein’s victims.
“To my knowledge, they’ve all been released” Bondi said.
She also deferred to FBI Director Kash Patel on whether the bureau had turned over all relevant documents to the Justice Department.
Bondi came under heavy criticism after claiming in a television interview in 2025 that the Epstein client list was sitting on her desk, only to later state that she was referring to the entire case file. That misstep caused distrust to build. After repeated missteps and misstatements, the White House put Blanche in charge of handling the sensitive case.
Trump is expected to formally nominate Blanche to be attorney general, and the transcript is a reminder that Blanche was the point person for the Justice Department’s widely criticized handling of the files. Democrats have seized on Bondi’s testimony to argue that Blanche now needs to testify to explain his work.
Blanche is already expected to face a challenging confirmation process amid bipartisan concerns about his controversial settlement with the president which gave him and his family and businesses protection from IRS audits and established a $1.8 billion fund for victims of “weaponization.” It’s also a topic certain to be raised at his confirmation hearing.
Two of the biggest controversies of Trump’s second term — the Epstein matters and the “anti-weaponization” fund — both have Blanche’s name attached to them.
Appearing voluntarily last week, Bondi refused to disclose any conversations she had with Trump even before he was elected, citing privilege, while her attorney argued those questions were outside the scope of the terms for the interview.
“I’m not going to discuss any conversations that I’ve had with the president on any matter” Bondi said.
Bondi was fired in early April. Last month, she began treatment for thyroid cancer.
There was also key information Bondi said she didn’t know, like the critical document where Epstein’s 10 co-conspirators are listed but with the majority are blacked out.
“I don’t recall ever reviewing this document, so I don’t know who’s in it, and that came from the FBI New York” Bondi said, adding that Patel could address that.
It took months for lawmakers to secure Bondi’s testimony. She was subpoenaed on a bipartisan basis in March, which was complicated by her informal meeting with lawmakers that Democrats walked out of because she would not commit to testifying under oath.
Denies knowledge of Maxwell prison transfer
Bondi told the committee that she had “nothing to do with” the controversial decision last year to transfer Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, to a minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas — an unusual move for someone convicted of Maxwell’s crimes.
“I read about it in the newspaper, or online, after it happened. I had nothing to do with that,” Bondi said, repeating that such a decision would have been made by the Bureau of Prisons.
CNN has previously reported on Maxwell receiving special perks since arriving at the Bryan, Texas, prison camp, infuriating fellow inmates.
The transfer, however, came just after Blanche conducted a two-day interview with Maxwell at a higher-security Florida prison. Asked if it was related, Bondi responded: “I have no knowledge of that.”
Describing Maxwell as “a monster, just like Jeffrey Epstein,” Bondi unequivocally said she believes the felon should “die in prison” and not receive a presidential pardon. Trump has not ruled out offering Maxwell clemency.
Botched redactions
The Justice Department has been heavily criticized for its botched redactions of the files — including erroneously publishing numerous Epstein victims’ information. DOJ has previously blamed any mistakes on the immense volume of the Epstein files and the speed with which it was reviewing documents, and it vowed to correct any errors brought to the department’s attention as quickly as possible.
In her testimony last week, Bondi made clear that the redactions efforts also fell squarely under Blanche’s purview.
“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” Bondi said of Blanche when asked about the DOJ’s redactions process.
She was also asked whether she had ever met with any Epstein victims. Bondi said she did not.
“I spoke to one attorney. I cannot recall her name. She was a former prosecutor,” Bondi said. She added that lawyers at the DOJ also spoke with other attorneys representing Epstein survivors, but on this subject, too, directed lawmakers to Blanche and Patel.
Epstein victims and their advocates have told CNN they have not been successful in their efforts to get face time with Bondi.
Bondi attempts to explain ‘client list’ quip
In her interview with lawmakers, Bondi sought to walk back a comment she made last year that ginned up speculation that the DOJ would finally release Epstein’s supposed “client list.”
Bondi infamously said in February 2025 – just a few weeks into her tenure as attorney general – that Epstein’s much-discussed client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.”
By July, the Justice Department publicly acknowledged there was no list, but the political damage had been done.
On Capitol Hill last month, Bondi tried to clean up these comments, telling lawmakers that she was referring more broadly to Epstein-related documents in DOJ’s possession.
“If you listen to the entire interview, I was referring to the file … and I said, ‘It’s sitting on my desk to review, along with JFK files, MLK files,’” Bondi said. “I meant the files, to review. I had not reviewed them at that time. And I made that clear.”
Prison guard rejects Epstein death conspiracies
The prison guard believed to be the last person who saw Epstein alive pushed back against conspiracy theories surrounding his death, according to a transcript of her interview with lawmakers, which also was released Thursday.
While awaiting trial, Epstein killed himself in August 2019 at a federal facility in New York City. This happened only about one month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges.
The guard, Tova Noel, was charged in 2019 with falsifying federal records about how closely she watched Epstein while he was in solitary confinement. The criminal case was dropped as part of a deal where she admitted wrongdoing and did community service.
“The only connection I have to the death of Mr. Epstein is that I happened to be mandated for overtime when he died … I didn’t conspire to cause Mr. Epstein’s death,” Noel said, referring to unproven claims that Epstein was murdered in prison.
She told lawmakers that she believes Epstein did, in fact, kill himself, “because he was the only one in his cell,” adding, “nobody else was in there.”
This story has been updated with additional details from the transcripts.
CNN’s Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
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