American Oversight Heading to Federal Court for High-Stakes Hearing on Records Integral to Bondi’s Congressional Epstein Deposition

On Monday morning, American Oversight will appear in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a hearing on our motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to release records detailing how they reviewed and handled Jeffrey Epstein–related files — including whether that process was influenced by efforts to protect President Donald Trump, with reporting indicating that staff were instructed to flag records referencing him.

The release of these records regarding instructions and training given to FBI and other personnel reviewing Epstein-related investigative materials are urgently needed ahead of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s closed-door deposition before Congress, currently scheduled for April 14. Immediate access to the records will facilitate Bondi’s fulsome testimony and provide the public and Congress with critical information to assess her truthfulness and whether she complied with federal law requiring transparency in the Epstein investigation. We initially filed suit last year seeking these records.

“This hearing is about whether the public will have access to the facts in time for them to matter,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “Congress cannot conduct adequate oversight without the evidence demonstrating how Attorney General Bondi oversaw the review and release of Epstein-related materials. After months of incomplete disclosures, missing documents, and finger-pointing, Congress and the public deserve to understand whether and how the review process was politicized to protect the president before Bondi testifies under oath. Anything less would turn an opportunity for true accountability into another episode of deliberate evasion.”

At Monday’s hearing, the court is expected to consider whether those records should be produced in time to inform Bondi’s testimony or whether their release can be delayed. We argue that the timing is critical: while records may eventually become public, their value in enabling meaningful congressional oversight will be lost if they are withheld until after Bondi’s deposition.

The stakes of the hearing are rooted in a broader pattern surrounding the government’s handling of the Epstein files. During the 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to release the records. After taking office, Bondi stated that relevant materials were “on [her] desk,” and DOJ announced an initial phase of disclosures — including materials distributed in binders to a select group of right-wing influencers — that were later criticized for containing little new information.

In the months that followed, DOJ repeatedly indicated that its review was complete, only for additional tranches of records to emerge, including millions of pages that had not been previously disclosed. Reporting and congressional inquiries also raised concerns that records mentioning Trump or his associates were flagged internally, fueling questions about whether the process was politicized.

Congress ultimately passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, requiring the release of all related records. Yet even after that mandate, lawmakers have raised concerns about withheld documents and redactions that were disclosed months after the legal deadline and only after congressional pressure. Including FBI interview summaries from a woman who alleged Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager.  

Those repeated discrepancies led Congress to compel Bondi’s testimony under oath. Our lawsuit seeks to shed light on the internal decision-making behind the Epstein file review process — information that could directly inform how lawmakers choose to question Bondi about the completeness and integrity of DOJ’s actions, which she oversaw.