New Delhi, April 14 -- In Washington, the battle over the Epstein Files controversy has entered a volatile new phase, one that now exposes not only institutional failure but a widening rupture between the US government and its own claims of transparency.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi's refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena has ignited what lawmakers on both sides now describe as a defining test of accountability. Bondi, dismissed earlier this month by President Donald Trump, failed to appear before the House Oversight Committee on April 14, despite a bipartisan subpoena demanding her testimony on the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein Files.

Her absence has triggered threats of contempt proceedings and intensifie...