On Feb. 11, an intense congressional hearing between U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the House Judiciary Committee commenced. The nearly five-hour session featured sharp questioning over the Department of Justice’s handling of the Epstein files, which Bondi defended vigorously.
The hearing opened with Republican congressman Jim Jordan praising the attorney general’s commitment to “upholding the rule of law, going after the bad guys and keeping Americans safe.” Bondi expressed that she was “deeply sorry” for what victims of Epstein have suffered. She encouraged victims to share their stories with law enforcement to earn their due justice. In response, Democratic congresswoman Pramila Jayapal challenged Bondi to apologize to a group of Epstein victims, who were seated behind her, on behalf of the Justice Department for failing to preserve their privacy. In files released to the public, the DOJ failed to redact victims’ personal information, which, in some cases, exposed naked photographs and footage of their assault.
Bondi did not address the victims, but instead replied, “I’m not going to get in the gutter for [Jayapal’s] theatrics.”
The victims were also asked by Jayapal whether they successfully made contact with the Justice Department, to which every one of them raised their hand in their inability to do so. Throughout the rest of the hearing, Bondi did not acknowledge their presence or stories about the DOJ’s lack of cooperation.
The issue of redactions remained a central topic. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna highlighted six perpetrators whose names were initially redacted in the files, including billionaire Les Wexner. Bondi defended that upon the files’ release, the DOJ un-redacted Wexner’s name “within 40 minutes,” to which Massie replied, “within 40 minutes of me catching you red-handed.” While targeting Democrats with insults throughout the hearing, Bondi accused Massie of being “a failed politician” suffering from “Trump-derangement syndrome.”
In discussing the files, the House Judiciary Committee also referenced former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s involvement with Epstein. Pictures of Mountbatten-Windsor on all fours above a woman were displayed during the hearing, which are among the latest photographic footage of his sexual crimes. Democratic congressman Ted Lieu questioned why the DOJ has yet to prosecute Mountbatten-Windsor, to which Bondi replied that former Attorney General Merrick Garland did not receive this same questioning during his tenure for the Biden administration, a remark she repeated several times throughout the trial.
While the Epstein files dominated the hearing’s conversation, Bondi and the House Judiciary Committee briefly discussed other pertinent issues to the Department of Justice. The committee questioned Bondi on the DOJ’s plans to prevent additional ICE killings, following the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Representatives also queried the FBI’s raid of Fulton County’s 2020 voting records and Trump’s desire to prosecute James Comey, Letitia James, Lisa Cook, and Jerome Powell. Bondi dodged all of these questions.
Amidst all the conversation topics, Bondi did not hesitate to support President Trump, despite her role’s requirement to remain bipartisan. She called Trump “the greatest president in American history” and declared that “there is no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime” in response to Lieu, who questioned whether Trump attended a party with underage girls. Her support of Trump came in conjunction with targeted insults towards members of the committee, like Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin, whom she called a “washed-up loser lawyer” after he reminded her not to eat up time during the hearing.
Considering that 53% of Americans feel that the handling of the Epstein files has altered their confidence in the nation’s leaders, the argumentative nature of this hearing reflected such sentiments. As developments about the Epstein files roll in, time will tell whether Bondi and her Department of Justice will act in favor of the American public’s desires for peace and rightful prosecution.