Washington DC - Democrats with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform stormed out of a tense hearing regarding updates on the Jeffrey Epstein files.

According to CNN, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche called the hearing, aiming to boost the committee members' confidence in their handling of the files.

Bondi began by telling everyone that she was willing to take direct questions, but Democrats quickly announced they would be saving their questions for the attorney general's upcoming, on-the-record deposition.

Tensions then rose as Democrats pressed Bondi on whether she planned to show up for the deposition. Bondi refused to give a direct response, instead repeatedly saying she planned to "follow the law," leaving Democrats clearly frustrated.

Democratic Rep. Summer Lee challenged the purpose of the hearing and blamed Bondi for not actually offering anything new about the investigation.

Republican committee Chairman James Comer then reportedly mocked Lee and accused her of "trying to embarrass the attorney general."

When Lee clapped back that Bondi could defend herself, Comer retorted, "You wasted three minutes of everybody's time kind of b***hing," garnering gasps from the room.

Moments later, every Democratic member walked out. While speaking to reporters, Rep. Robert Garcia described the hearing as "fake" and vowed that the party "won't participate in these games."

After President Donald Trump won re-election, Bondi claimed the Epstein files were "sitting on her desk" for review, but the Justice Department ultimately refused to release them and attempted to shut down the case.

The scandal enraged the nation, with critics claiming the administration was trying to cover up the files, as Trump – who was close friends with Epstein for decades – and other wealthy people could be affected.

Congress passed a bipartisan resolution to force the full release of the files, but the Justice Department has repeatedly failed to comply with its timeline.

After the hearing, Bondi insisted she gave Democrats "as much time as they wanted" and said "one congresswoman screamed" about C-SPAN cameras not being in the room.

She also defended her handling of the files and argued that it was impossible for the DOJ to comply with the congressional resolution that ordered the files be released by December 19, 2025.

"We had 30 days to redact and release under the law that was passed, 3 million documents. If you stack those up, that's the height of the Eiffel Tower," Bondi lamented.