2026-06-04T20:00:30.125Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/04/politics/pam-bondi-epstein-testimony-todd-blanche-transcript
- 前司法部长帕姆·邦迪告诉众议院议员，托德·布兰奇负责监督杰弗里·爱泼斯坦相关文件的公开。
- 布兰奇是特朗普提名的司法部部长人选，目前因多起争议面临艰难的确认程序。
- 民主党人认为，布兰奇现在必须作证，解释他处理备受批评的爱泼斯坦文件问题的情况。
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美国总统唐纳德·特朗普提名的司法部部长人选托德·布兰奇，负责监督杰弗里·爱泼斯坦相关文件的公开，前司法部长帕姆·邦迪上个月在与议员的闭门采访中如此表示。
根据周四公布的她接受众议院监督委员会采访的 transcript，邦迪试图将自己与司法部处理爱泼斯坦文件的方式切割，而特朗普政府仍在应对这一事件带来的政治余波。
“他负责整个流程以及爱泼斯坦文件的全部公开工作，”当被问及她所在部门在遵守《爱泼斯坦文件透明度法案》方面的职责时，邦迪如是说。司法部已公开了约300万份由国会强制要求公开的文件，但邦迪被追问为何另有300万份文件仍未公开。
她辩称，司法部并未扣留任何文件，剩余文件要么是副本，要么属于受保密特权保护的材料。尽管两党批评特朗普政府的司法部扣留或过度删减文件，还意外泄露了爱泼斯坦受害者的信息。
“据我所知，所有文件都已公开，”邦迪说。
她还就联邦调查局是否已向司法部移交所有相关文件的问题， defer to 联邦调查局局长卡什·帕特尔。
邦迪在2025年的一次电视采访中称爱泼斯坦的客户名单就放在她的办公桌上，随后又改口称她指的是整个案件卷宗，这一失误引发了广泛批评，导致信任危机。在多次失误和失言后，白宫让布兰奇负责处理这一敏感案件。
特朗普预计将正式提名布兰奇担任司法部长，而这份 transcript 提醒众人，布兰奇是司法部处理爱泼斯坦文件这一广受批评事件的核心负责人。民主党人抓住邦迪的证词，主张布兰奇现在需要作证解释他的工作。
布兰奇本就面临艰难的确认程序，两党都对他与总统达成的有争议的和解协议存在担忧，该协议为他及其家人和企业提供了免受IRS审计的保护，并设立了18亿美元的“武器化”受害者基金。这一议题也势必会在他的确认听证会上被提及。
特朗普第二任期内的两大争议事件——爱泼斯坦相关事务和“反武器化”基金——都与布兰奇的名字挂钩。
邦迪上周自愿接受采访时，以保密特权为由拒绝透露她在特朗普当选前与他的任何谈话，她的律师也辩称这些问题超出了采访范围。
“我不会讨论我与总统就任何事项进行的任何谈话，”邦迪说。
邦迪于4月初被解职。上个月，她开始接受甲状腺癌治疗。
邦迪还称自己不知道一些关键信息，比如那份列出爱泼斯坦的10名同谋但大部分内容被涂黑的重要文件。
“我不记得曾审阅过这份文件，所以我不知道里面有谁，这份文件来自纽约联邦调查局，”邦迪说，并补充说帕特尔可以就此作出说明。
议员们花了数月时间才争取到邦迪的证词。她在3月收到两党联合发出的传票，此前她与议员的非正式会谈因民主党议员离场而复杂化，原因是她不愿承诺宣誓作证。
邦迪告诉委员会，她与去年有争议的一项决定毫无关系：将爱泼斯坦的同谋杰弗里·马克斯韦尔转移到德克萨斯州布莱恩的一座最低安全级别的监狱营地——对于犯下马克斯韦尔所犯罪行的人来说，这是一次不同寻常的调动。
“我是在事情发生后从报纸或网络上得知的，我与此毫无关系，”邦迪说，并重申这类决定本应由监狱管理局作出。
CNN此前曾报道，马克斯韦尔抵达德克萨斯州布莱恩的监狱营地后获得了特殊待遇，这激怒了其他囚犯。
然而，此次调动发生在布兰奇在佛罗里达州一座更高安全级别的监狱对马克斯韦尔进行为期两天的采访之后。当被问及两者是否有关联时，邦迪回应：“我对此一无所知。”
邦迪将马克斯韦尔描述为“和杰弗里·爱泼斯坦一样的怪物”，明确表示她认为这名重刑犯“应该在狱中度过余生”，不应获得总统赦免。特朗普并未排除对马克斯韦尔给予宽大处理的可能性。
司法部因对文件的拙劣删减工作遭到强烈批评——包括错误公开了众多爱泼斯坦受害者的信息。司法部此前将任何错误归咎于爱泼斯坦文件数量庞大以及审阅文件的速度过快，并承诺会尽快纠正任何引起其注意的错误。
在她上周的证词中，邦迪明确表示，删减文件的工作也完全属于布兰奇的职责范围。
“他负责整个流程以及爱泼斯坦文件的全部公开工作，”当被问及司法部的删减流程时，邦迪在谈及布兰奇时如是说。
她还被问及是否曾见过任何爱泼斯坦的受害者。邦迪表示没有。
“我和一名律师谈过，我记不起她的名字了，她是一名前检察官，”邦迪说。她补充说，司法部的律师也与代表爱泼斯坦幸存者的其他律师进行过沟通，但在这一问题上，她也将议员们引向了布兰奇和帕特尔。
爱泼斯坦的受害者及其支持者告诉CNN，他们未能成功与邦迪进行面对面沟通。
在对议员的采访中，邦迪试图收回她去年发表的一则言论，该言论引发猜测，认为司法部最终将公开爱泼斯坦所谓的“客户名单”。
邦迪在2025年2月——也就是她担任司法部长仅几周后——曾语出惊人地称，爱泼斯坦被广泛讨论的客户名单“就放在我的办公桌上等待审阅”。
到了7月，司法部公开承认并不存在这样一份名单，但政治损害已经造成。
上个月在国会山，邦迪试图为这些言论辩解，告诉议员们她当时更广泛地指的是司法部掌握的与爱泼斯坦相关的文件。
“如果你听完整个采访，就会明白我指的是那份卷宗……我说的是‘它和肯尼迪遇刺文件、马丁·路德·金文件一起放在我的办公桌上等待审阅’，”邦迪说。“我指的是那些文件，等待审阅。我当时还没有审阅它们。我已经说清楚了。”
另据周四公布的采访 transcript，被认为是最后一位在狱中见到爱泼斯坦生还者的监狱警卫，驳斥了围绕他死亡的阴谋论。
爱泼斯坦在2019年8月于纽约市的一座联邦设施中自杀身亡，当时他正等待审判。这距他因性交易指控被捕仅约一个月。
这名警卫名叫托娃·诺埃尔，2019年被指控伪造联邦记录，谎称她在爱泼斯坦被关押期间对其进行了密切监控。作为认罪协议的一部分，该刑事案件被撤销，她承认了不当行为并完成了社区服务。
“我与爱泼斯坦先生的死亡唯一的关联就是，他去世时我恰好被安排加班……我没有合谋导致爱泼斯坦先生死亡，”诺埃尔说，她指的是那些未经证实的爱泼斯坦在狱中被谋杀的说法。
她告诉议员们，她确实认为爱泼斯坦是自杀的，“因为当时他的牢房里只有他一个人”，她补充道，“那里没有其他人。”
本文根据 transcript 的额外细节进行了更新。
CNN的尼基·罗伯逊对本文有报道贡献。
Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of Epstein matter, Bondi told lawmakers, according to new transcript
2026-06-04T20:00:30.125Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/04/politics/pam-bondi-epstein-testimony-todd-blanche-transcript
- Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told House lawmakers that Todd Blanche was responsible for overseeing the Jeffrey Epstein files release.
- Blanche is Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department and faces a challenging confirmation over multiple controversies.
- Democrats argue Blanche must now testify to explain his handling of the criticized Epstein files issue.
AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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 her facility. 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.