NO SHOW: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with the subpoena she was issued to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for its Jeffrey Epstein investigation, raising questions about next steps.
The committee’s Republican leadership said in a statement that the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated Bondi won’t appear for the deposition scheduled for Tuesday because she is no longer attorney general and was subpoenaed in that capacity. But Democrats on the panel have rejected that argument, noting that Bondi was mentioned by name in the subpoena.
They also pointed to other former attorneys general who have testified.
“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, said in a statement.
A committee spokesperson said the panel will contact Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss the next steps concerning rescheduling her deposition.
The DOJ asked Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) in a letter obtained by The Hill to “confirm the subpoena is withdrawn.” The department also argued a “compulsory process is unnecessary in light of our demonstrated willingness to voluntarily assist your oversight efforts.”
Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has taken over Bondi’s role in an acting capacity, met with lawmakers behind closed doors last month to discuss the Epstein files. Democrats stormed out of the meeting, noting that Bondi wasn’t speaking under oath and accusing her of trying to get out of having to comply with the subpoena.
The committee’s Democrats argue only a vote by the panel can withdraw the subpoena. Every Democrat and four Republicans on the panel voted to issue it.
If Bondi refuses to comply, the committee and then the full House could vote to hold her in contempt and call for her to face charges. But the decision to prosecute would ultimately come down to Trump’s DOJ, which is now led by Blanche.
▪ WCIV: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) holding firm on Bondi testifying
▪ Miami Herald: Epstein’s ties to Arab royals
WAR POWERS PRO FORMA: Democrats will attempt to pass a resolution restricting Trump’s war authority by unanimous consent on the House floor today.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced the plan Wednesday to push the war powers vote during a pro forma session Thursday. Pro forma sessions typically only last a few minutes and feature a member gaveling in and gaveling out of session.
The attempt will almost certainly fail as Republican leadership will likely object to the unanimous request. Jeffries said a two-week ceasefire is “woefully insufficient” and the House should return from recess immediately to “permanently” end the war.
The Senate is expected to hold its own war powers vote next week once the upper chamber returns, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday. Similar votes have previously failed in the body. Still, some Republicans have expressed growing impatience with a war that never received congressional approval.
AIPAC ON BLAST: A key meeting for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in New Orleans starting today may reignite tensions within the party over Israel and the role that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is playing in U.S. politics.
Members are expected to consider a resolution denouncing AIPAC’s large spending in congressional races, which has drawn increased scrutiny in recent years. Most recently, it received attention for the millions its associated super PACs played in a New Jersey special election and Illinois primaries.
The groups’ involvement has led several prominent Democrats who were once supportive of AIPAC to turn against the pro-Israel lobbying organization. It also comes as polls show Democrats, and Americans overall, have become less sympathetic to Israel compared with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.
The DNC will also hold debate on various other resolutions, including whether to recognize a Palestinian state or back conditions on military aid to Israel, Semafor reported.
A dozen states will also lobby members as they seek to gain an early spot in the next nominating process for the 2028 presidential race. The meeting will run from today through Saturday.
▪ FOX13: DNC backing GOP official opposing DOJ on voter information
GILGO BEACH GUILT: The man accused of torturing and killing seven women and leaving most of their remains near Gilgo Beach on Long Island has pleaded guilty.
The reversal from 62-year-old Rex Heuermann ends decades of questions as police searched for a serial killer. The women who Heuermann admitted to kidnapping were killed between 1993 and 2010.
If the judge accepts his plea, Heuermann will spend the rest of his life in prison. His sentencing has been scheduled for June 17.
Heuermann also agreed to admit to intentionally killing an eighth woman, Karen Vergata, in 1996. Police tracked down Heuermann and arrested him in 2023 after more than a decade of searching.
▪ The Associated Press: ‘Ketamine Queen’ sentenced to 15 years over Matthew Perry death.
AI BATTLE: A federal appeals court has rejected a bid from the AI company Anthropic to immediately block the Pentagon's labeling of it as a supply chain risk but granted a request to move the case along on an expedited schedule.
The decision overturns a federal judge's ruling that had temporarily blocked the supply chain risk designation late last month. Oral arguments in the case are set for May 19.
Anthropic and the Pentagon have been locked in a dispute over the use of the company's AI model Claude and whether the company can impose safety guardrails on how it's deployed.
Anthropic has insisted on its model not be used for mass surveillance on Americans or fully autonomous lethal weapons, while the Pentagon has said it should be allowed to use it for "all lawful uses."
DEFENSE LEAKS: A former Army employee who had top-secret clearance has been charged with leaking classified information, the DOJ said Wednesday.
A grand jury indicted 40-year-old Courtney Williams of Wagram, N.C., on charges tied to allegedly transmitting classified national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist. Williams was arrested Tuesday.
The DOJ said in a release that Williams worked for a Special Military Unit from 2010 to 2016, during which she "had daily access to a broad range of classified information." The indictment alleges she repeatedly communicated with a journalist between 2022 and 2025, sharing classified national defense information.
The department also alleges Williams disclosed unauthorized national defense information on her social media accounts.
Reuters reported journalist Seth Harp published a book last year called "The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces" and an accompanying article naming Williams as a source.
Harp released a statement following the indictment calling Williams a "courageous whistleblower who exposed rampant gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the U.S. Army's Delta Force," the outlet reported.
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