Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton made a pointed allegation on MSNBC Thursday. He claimed President Trump didn’t fire Attorney General Pam Bondi because of her job performance, but to stop her from testifying before Congress about how the DOJ handled the Jeffrey Epstein files. The deposition was set for just twelve days after Trump let her go. On her way out, Trump praised Bondi and said she was leaving for the private sector. Democrats aren’t buying that story, though. Right now, nobody knows for sure if Bondi still has to testify.
On March 17, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Bondi, ordering her to give a deposition about how the Justice Department handled the Epstein files on April 14. That move came after lawmakers from both parties got annoyed with the DOJ’s slow and chaotic release of the files.
By law, all the files were supposed to come out last December, but the department only released some. And instead of just redacting victims’ names, they blacked out names that didn’t belong to victims, too.
Later, Moulton went on MSNBC’s MS NOW with Chris Jansing to talk about the firing, connecting it directly to the botched release of those files.
On air, Moulton said, “Let’s be clear about what’s happening. She was about to be deposed in the Epstein case. That’s why Trump got rid of her 12 days before that was supposed to happen.”
Then he called out Trump’s pick for acting AG, Todd Blanche, who used to be Trump’s personal lawyer. According to Moulton, Blanche had already helped Trump out with the Epstein situation. Back in July, Blanche interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, and right after, the DOJ moved Maxwell to a lower security facility where she gets custom meals and can play with dogs.
Moulton basically called Blanche’s appointment another part of a cover-up. He pointed out that Trump’s name shows up in the Epstein files more than almost anyone else, saying, “It’s actually the one thing that’s hurting his base.”
Locals react to Massachusetts Congressman’s Claim That Bondi Was Fired to Stop the Epstein Deposition
Legal questions dominated much of the discussion. “Why can’t she still be deposed? She might not be AG anymore but she’d still be the person to question,” one person wrote. Another offered a pointed answer: “Surprise! Getting fired doesn’t protect you. In this case, it probably is more akin to throwing you under the bus.”
Some focused on what Bondi’s next move might look like. “Because now that she no longer works for the government, she doesn’t have qualified immunity. This means she will most likely plead the fifth,” one commenter noted, adding: “So the not-so-secret secret is still safe.” Another took a wait-and-see approach: “I hope she turns, but depends how good of a new job in the private sector she is set up with.”
One reply leaned into familiar Trump patterns: “Waiting for Trump to say he doesn’t really know her.”
People are paying attention to this story for one obvious reason: timing. Bondi was supposed to testify on April 14, according to the subpoena, but she got fired on April 2, just 12 days before. It doesn’t matter if Moulton’s take on her firing is spot on or not; that gap alone has fueled accusations on both sides.
Even some Republicans who backed Bondi before are stepping away from her, especially after the mess with the Epstein files turned into such a headache. The frustration over those files led to the subpoena in the first place, so it’s not just one party making noise.
With the deposition date still on the calendar and no one quite sure what the committee will do next, it’s anyone’s guess if Bondi will show up to testify, or what she would say if she did.
