Former US attorney general Pam Bondi testifies in congressional Epstein probe

Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi has defended her handling of the release of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi, who was removed from her post as America's top law enforcement officer by US President Donald Trump in April, testified behind closed doors on Friday in Washington DC. "We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department's search for, collection and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly three million pages of material," she said in opening remarks to the US House Oversight Committee. Bondi was formally summoned by the panel in March, just before Trump announced her ouster as his administration's top prosecutor. As attorney general, Bondi was tasked with implementing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation signed into law by Trump that mandated the US Department of Justice publicly release unclassified records. But Bondi and the US Justice Department have been widely criticised, with accusations that documents were withheld and files were published that made victims of Epstein's crimes publicly identifiable. "I am proud of the department's record and commitment to transparency under my leade