Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on “CNN News Central” reacted to the ousting of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche being nominated to replace her. Mace said while Bondi may no longer be the Attorney General, she is still subject to a congressional subpoena to testify to the House Oversight Committee. “I made my point very clear yesterday when I issued the subpoena that was voted on by the Oversight Committee a number of weeks ago,” Mace said. “We did it by name and not by the title of the attorney general. So, she’s still compelled and required by law to come before the Oversight Committee.” “I’m pushing to have her,” Mace said. “You know, she’s made a lot of statements about the files. I have questions about those statements. I have questions about why not all of the files have been released. I think there’s a messaging issue as well. And the lack of communication. And, quite frankly, the DOJ has mocked members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike.” “I’m concerned about Todd Blanche because, you know, he’s mocked and gone after members of Congress who have had questions about the Epstein files,” she said. “And I think it’s very important that the next attorney general, that we show that there is not a two-tiered system of justice.” “I’m sticking to my guns, as I always do, as I always have, because, for me, this is not — this is not political, this is personal,” Mace said.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The person who had led that subpoena push, joining us now, Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Thank you for being here. REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Thank you very much. BOLDUAN: Now, a committee spokesperson, Congresswoman, had told CNN just last night that the chairman — the plan after the news was that the chairman was going to speak with members about the status of the deposition subpoena and confer on next steps. Have you talked to the chairman yet about those next steps? MACE: I have not yet, but I made my point very clear yesterday when I issued the subpoena that was voted on by the Oversight Committee a number of weeks ago. We did it by name and not by the title of the attorney general. So, she’s still compelled and required by law to come before the Oversight Committee. And at this juncture, I’m not backing away from that or backing down from that. I do believe the handling of the Epstein files was done in a very poor manner by her and her office. And there are still questions that she has answers to that are very serious and has information, I believe, that will be important to the committee. So, I’m moving forward if I can still have the majority of support from the committee. It won’t be just me. I have to have the support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move forward if the chairman wants to try to quash it. BOLDUAN: So, there is a step that might need to be taken if the chairman wants to go a different direction than what has already happened? Then you will need support from Republican — MACE: I suppose — BOLDUAN: Your Republican colleagues or — and Democratic colleagues to try to keep — make sure she comes in? MACE: Yes. And, you know, that will be — I’m assuming if that’s the overture right now, that I’ll have a little bit of work to do behind the scenes to make sure that I have any votes, if it’s going to come up for a vote, or how we move forward. I’m pushing to have her. You know, she’s made a lot of statements about the files. I have questions about those statements. I have questions about why not all of the files have been released. I think there’s a messaging issue as well. And the lack of communication. And, quite frankly, the DOJ has mocked members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike. I’m concerned about Todd Blanche because, you know, he’s mocked and gone after members of Congress who have had questions about the Epstein files. And I think it’s very important that the next attorney general, that we show that there is not a two-tiered system of justice. That if you’re rich and powerful and politically connected, regardless if you broke the law, our country’s going to go after you, that you will be arrested, you will be investigated, there will be a trial. That’s really important to me to restore trust in the institution. BOLDUAN: You say that there’s no question that this is — the subpoena stands for Pam Bondi. MACE: Yes. BOLDUAN: Do you have any inkling or suggestion that she — if it stands, she will fight it at this point? MACE: I don’t at this point. I mean the rumor was she didn’t want to come in for it previous to this, which is why she did the briefing pretty much immediately. And we were only given 24 hours’ notice for that briefing. I’m — again, I’m sticking to my guns, as I always do, as I always have, because, for me, this is not — this is not political, this is personal. I have met with these victims. I have been through some — many of the files at the DOJ. And, you know, I have many questions that I feel she can answer, and others at the DOJ. And there are folks that we’re going to be bringing in to depose that I — they’re going to be very important. I put out names. I know Chairman Comer has put out a list of people that are going to be coming in. This isn’t going away. And I applaud members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that are with me and are pushing back to make sure that the American people get the truth. BOLDUAN: Do you think that her being fired helps your effort or hurts it in terms of getting the truth out about the Epstein files, in your view? MACE: I don’t think it really matters because the subpoena was for her, not her position. You know, so she is still compelled legally to come before the Oversight Committee in Congress. So, I don’t think it really plays one way or the other because the subpoena still stands. BOLDUAN: Do you — are you glad that she got fired? MACE: I am, actually. And I — and I — you know, I’ve communicated with the president on potential names of replacements. I hope that it will be someone who will ensure that people are investigated, that they are indicted, that they’re arrested, that there are trials, regardless of the politics. There are investigations. My understanding, for people that are — that are — it’s not politically connected, that they’re going after the right and the left for those who are criminals, potentially, and done potential criminal wrongdoing. And I think it’s really important that the DOJ communicate that with the American people. But also, people want — I mean the American people want to know that there’s not a two-tiered system of justice. Like, if you broke the law and you’re rich and powerful, you go to jail. But no one’s seeing that right now. They’ve not seen that in years, maybe decades. And then they see a broken and corrupt justice system at the state level, or at the federal level. I mean we’ve seen cases where murderers walk free or they’re let out. I mean I spend half my time as a leading candidate for governor in South Carolina, sitting in court hearings, making sure that I understand what judges are doing and how victims are really traumatized in a broken court system, whether it’s rape victims, families of murder victims, domestic violence victims. I mean, the whole system is corrupt and broken from the top on down. BOLDUAN: Also noteworthy, and you’re saying you’ve been — you say you can — have been communicating with the president on potential names for who will be the next attorney general that he will be nominating. I — you have been very outspoken about the U.S. operation and war with Iran. You’ve been very outspoken about your — how you do not want to see ground troops going in. There is new reporting coming in of Iran claiming that it has — its forces have downed a U.S. military fighter jet over Iran. State media released a series of photos of supposed proof of that. CNN’s reached out to CENTCOM to confirm or fact check it and, you know, what has actually happened here. If this turns out to be true, what does it mean for this war? MACE: Well, number one, I have not been briefed on a potentially downed F-15e. I am skeptical of Iran. They put out a lot of propaganda and they don’t tell the truth, number one. But, number two, I’ve seen some of the footage of helicopters refueling in southern Iran, allegedly. So, first off, my thoughts and obviously prayers are for those pilots, if they are downed, if they are stranded in Iran, that the rescue mission, if that’s what’s going on, is successful. I’m deeply concerned. I’m concerned about escalation. I’ve been very vocal about that. If there’s going to be conventional troops on the ground, a mainland invasion, for example, this is a different phase of the war or conflict that we would be entering into. And Congress needs to be briefed. Congress needs to have a say. And I’ve said this before, when we were bombed by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt came to Congress to declare war. I was against invading Iraq, but Bush still came to Congress to get an AUMF. And so, I think that we need to be very clear if they’re going to be troops on the ground, that’s different. Now, if we’re doing very specialized raids and the president is using Title 50 or Title 10, like what happened with Osama bin Laden, very different if we’re using special operations forces. So, I am concerned about escalation. I’m concerned about loss of life and casualties and casualty projections potentially for ground troops, et cetera. And Congress should be briefed on that before any action is taken. BOLDUAN: Congresswoman Nancy Mace, thank you for coming in.

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