Pam Bondi doubles down as Democrats grill her over "massive Epstein cover-up"
Washington DC - Attorney General Pam Bondi recently sat through a congressional hearing that grew contentious as she faced questions from Democrats over her perceived failures in handling the Jeffrey Epstein files.
On Tuesday, Bondi testified before the House Judiciary Committee, during which she issued an apology to a group of Epstein survivors in attendance and urged them to reach out to the FBI with any information they have.
But as Democrats on the committee attempted to press her on the issue, she grew combative and demanded they instead focus on President Donald Trump's accomplishments.
"You're running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice," said Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee.
"You've been ordered by subpoena and by Congress to turn over six million documents, photographs, and videos in the Epstein files, but you've turned over only three million," he added, referring to her failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Bondi fervently defended the DOJ, noting that her agency has released over three million pages at Trump's direction, claiming this made his administration "the greatest and most transparent in American history."
In one stunning moment, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked the group of survivors to raise their hands if they still hadn't been able to meet with Bondi, to which all hands went up.
When Jayapal asked Bondi if she would apologize to the group, she refused and instead lashed out at the congresswoman.
"I'm not going to sit in the gutter with this woman. She's doing theatrics," Bondi said.
Epstein survivors do not feel the Trump administration has their backs
Bondi's testimony comes after Trump ran on the promise of releasing the files during the 2024 presidential race but upon taking office, declined to do so.
In a memo, the DOJ claimed that after an extensive investigation, there was no credible evidence that Epstein had co-conspirators, and they attempted to close the case entirely.
Throughout the hearing, Republican members of the committee tried desperately to assist Bondi by redirecting attention away from Epstein to highlight other issues, such as immigration.
But Democrats refused to back down.
Things got especially tense after New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler asked Bondi how many Epstein co-conspirators were indicted and how many the agency was investigating.
At another point, California Rep. Lou Correa asked the survivors to raise their hands if they felt the federal government had their backs, to which no hands went up.
Cover photo: Roberto SCHMIDT / AFP