Mar. 19, 2026, 3:23 PM EDT

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee joined MS NOW on Wednesday, just hours after lawmakers walked out of a closed-door briefing with top Justice Department officials about the Epstein files.

Appearing on “The Weeknight,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif, called the meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche a “complete travesty” and accused his Republican colleagues of putting politics above obtaining justice for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.

The House Oversight Committee recently bucked Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., voting to subpoena the attorney general over her department’s Epstein investigation. However, Garcia said Bondi has yet to commit to complying with the subpoena and testifying under oath.

“The American public should be very clear that Pam Bondi is leading a White House cover-up, and right now the Republican majority is assisting them,” Garcia said.

The California Democrat said committee members were informed about Bondi’s appearance only 24 hours prior and that he asked her at the start of the meeting if she planned to return.

“The attorney general would not commit to following the subpoena and coming in under oath,” he said. “Yet she wants to come in and set up some type of fake hearing where we ask questions, but it’s not transcribed, it’s not under oath, and it’s not shown to the American people.”

The congressman also spoke about a heated exchange between Comer and Rep. Summer Lee, during which the committee’s chairman accused the Pennsylvania Democrat of “b—-ing” and wasting the committee’s time.

“I’m obviously not going to repeat what chairman Comer said, but it was disgusting and not a way to talk to a colleague,” Garcia said, adding that Democrats were “not going to allow our members to be disrespected that way.”

“And we’re certainly not going to allow the attorney general to play games and not sit for an under-oath deposition with a subpoena that was bipartisan,” he continued.

Garcia said despite Wednesday’s setback, he and his fellow Democrats would do everything in their power to ensure Bondi returns to Capitol Hill and delivers testimony under oath.

“I want to be very clear that Attorney General Bondi will be in front of our committee,” he said.

“They’re dealing with the wrong people,” Garcia said, pledging that Democrats would “not rest and stop until we get justice for the survivors.”

You can watch Garcia’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.

Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”