Former Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday disputed Democrats' claim that she largely blamed the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files on her top lieutenant at the Todd Blanche, who has taken over her post. 

"NOT TRUE," Bondi posted on X, after she met with members of the House Oversight Committee as part of theirionvetigation into the files. 

"I praised Acting AG Blanche’s management of this Herculean task," she also wrote in the post. "I said his ethics are beyond reproach and that he is an incredible Attorney General."

She commented after the closed-door Capitol Hill meeting and comments by California Rep. Robert Garica, the committee's top Democrat.

"She continues to push all of the investigation and the blame on acting AG Todd Blanche,” Garcia said. “What you are going to hear in that interview, and what she’s saying here in her words and remarks, is that it was Todd Blanche, the current acting AG, that was leading the Epstein investigation. And quite frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions not protecting survivors she continues to push that back on the acting AG."

Epstein was a wealthy financier and an acquaintance of some or the world's most powerful men. He was pleaded guilty in 2008 to sex trafficking and died in 2019 inside a cell in a New York City detention center awaiting trial on federal sex-offense charges.

Trump fired Bondi earlier this year, elevating Blanche to the position of acting attorney general. The House panel subpoenaed Bondi over the Epstein files before her termination and later negotiated her voluntary appearance Friday. 

Bondi also disputed committee member Rep. James Walkinshaw's post-hearing remarks to reporters in which the Virginia Democrat said that when Bondi was asked whether President Trump knew about the Epstein crimes "early" she responded, “I don’t know ... I’m not certain of the extent."

Bondi responded: "MISREPRESENTATION by Walkinshaw. What the world knows to be true is President Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago decades ago bc Epstein was a despicable creep!!"

Among the criticisms of Bondi's handling of the roughly 3.5 million-page Epstein file was that she over-promised on a "client list" being included and that the names of victims were not redacted."

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.