With Bondi out, Trump’s personal criminal attorney now runs Justice Department

President Donald Trump fired US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday, leaving in her place a man with two primary accomplishments: representing Trump during his criminal trials and spearheading the apparent cover-up of the Epstein Files.

According to NBC News, one of Trump’s primary frustrations with Bondi was her failure to properly bury her department’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi eventually transferred charge of the Epstein Files to her deputy, Todd Blanche. With her departure, Blanche now runs the DOJ until Trump nominates a permanent replacement.

Bondi’s removal comes weeks before she was scheduled to be deposed by the US House Oversight Committee as part of their investigation into the government’s handling of its case against Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices, clients, and enablers. US Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), who sits on the committee and has led the charge to hold Bondi accountable, said she fully expects the former attorney general to show up, regardless of her employment status.

“It needs to still happen, because she still needs to answer to her role in this cover-up,” said Lee. “And it’s important that we not let them off the hook for that right now, because that’s what they’re trying to do. Our investigation is still very underway, and it’s all very serious. With the crime of a potential cover-up and obstruction of justice, she can’t be allowed to just sail off to the next job or the private sector.”

The rise and fall of Bondi’s tenure at the DOJ is directly tied to her handling of the Epstein Files release, and consistent pressure from Lee has kept her apparent cover-up at the forefront. In July 2025, Lee successfully passed a motion in the Oversight Committee to force the DOJ to release the full, unredacted Epstein Files to the committee.

After six months of noncompliance, Lee moved to hold Bondi in contempt. She then convinced the Republican-led committee in March to subpoena Bondi, which many believe led directly to her firing — presumably so she could avoid testifying under oath now that she’s a private citizen.

But Lee and others on the committee say the subpoena still stands, and Blanche, the interim attorney general, is now responsible for delivering the full, unredacted Epstein Files to the Oversight Committee.

“We’re prepared to continue this investigation with whoever is running the Department of Justice,” said Lee. “The Department of Justice is supposed to be led by an impartial, nonpartisan attorney general. This is not supposed to be the president’s personal attorney.”

But the man now leading the DOJ was exactly that — and by all accounts, still considers himself to be Trump’s personal attorney. Blanche first started working for Trump in 2023, when he started his own law firm with the sole purpose of representing Trump in his criminal trials.

After Trump won reelection, Blanche was placed in the DOJ as Bondi’s deputy, where he’s been utilized primarily as the president’s “fixer.” Assignments have ranged from running the Library of Congress to negotiating a sweetheart deal for Epstein accomplice Ghislane Maxwell — and now, as the department head, to stonewall any investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking network.

“The Epstein files has been a saga that’s lasted for the entire for the past year,” Blanche said in a Fox News interview. “I think that, to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward.”

Blanche has declared the Epstein saga over since January, when the DOJ released half of the 6 million documents from its investigation into Epstein. Members of Congress, however, believe it to be far from over, and the turnover at the DOJ seems to have reignited interest in uncovering what Blanche and Bondi have kept hidden.

“Congratulations AG Blanche,” US Rep Thomas Massie (R-KY) posted online. “Now you have 30 days to release the rest of the files before becoming criminally liable for failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”

This post first appeared in Below The Beltway, a COURIER Substack by Camaron Stevenson.