By Alanna Durkin, Richer, and Stephen Groves | The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -The House Oversight Committee voted Wednesday to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions over the Justice Department's handling of files regarding the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

Five Republicans joined Democrats to support the subpoena proposed by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace in a sign of continued frustration among conservatives with the department's review and release of a tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier. The move amounted to a sharp rebuke of Bondi by Republicans who have been clamoring for information about Epstein's abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful people.

The Epstein files remain a political headache for the Trump administration more than a year after Bondi sparked backlash by handing out binders of documents with no new revelations to conservative influencers at the White House. Then, after a months-long review, the Justice Department in July said it had concluded that no Epstein "client list" existed and there was no reason to make additional files public.

That set off a furor that prompted Congress to pass legislation demanding that the Justice Department release the files. Since the first release in December, critics have accused the administration of fumbling the rollout and withholding too many documents.

Administration officials have said lawyers worked as quickly as possible to properly review, redact and release millions of documents required under the law.