Attorney General Pam Bondi canceled her scheduled appearance Wednesday at CPAC’s anti-trafficking summit in Washington, D.C., citing a medical emergency.

Bondi was scheduled to speak at CPAC’s Summit Against Human Trafficking before abruptly informing attendees she would not be in attendance.

“I do have a note from the attorney general, from Attorney General Pam Bondi, that I wanted to share,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti told attendees, according to Fox News.

Bondi’s statement read:

“I’m sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today. Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue.”

Fox News provided further info:

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After reading the statement, scattered applause was heard from the audience.

“We appreciate the applause for her and not boos for me,” Galeotti joked. “So I will do my best to fill those big shoes.”

The Justice Department did not disclose additional information about Bondi’s health condition.

Other Trump administration officials spoke at the event, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan.

Bondi’s canceled appearance comes as she has faced recent scrutiny over the Trump administration’s refusal to release documents surrounding the case of deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

The news of Bondi’s health issue follows a U.S. District Judge rejecting a Justice Department effort to unseal grand jury transcripts from an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein that resulted in his 2008 plea deal.

More from the New York Post:

West Palm Beach US District Judge Robin Rosenberg wrote in a 12-page ruling that “the Court’s hands are tied” because the request by the government to release the transcripts was not tied to an ongoing trial.

The Justice Department had filed a petition Friday requesting transcripts from proceedings of federal grand juries that were convened in South Florida in 2005 and 2007 to investigate Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

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The Florida proceedings ended with Epstein pleading guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors for prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but only served 13 — the majority of that time on work release.

Epstein was also required to register as a sex offender as part of the deal.

The DOJ motion came as pressure mounts on President Trump and his top officials to shed more light on Epstein and those in his orbit, and the government filed similar requests in Manhattan federal court Friday to unseal grand jury proceedings against Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. A ruling on those requests is still pending.

On July 6, the FBI and Justice Department released a joint memo concluding that Epstein committed suicide in his cell and did not keep a “client list” of wealthy and powerful friends who indulged in illicit sex with girls as young as 14 — contrary to widespread speculation and theorizing.

The Trump administration argued in its filing last week that “intense public scrutiny” should force the unsealing of the transcripts — in contrast to the DOJ/FBI memo that stated further disclosures weren’t needed.

 

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