Speaking before a House panel, Attorney General Pam Bondi clashed with Democrats after she was repeatedly questioned about the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files while defending President Donald Trump. US lawmakers grilled Pam Bondi over her alleged “slow” release of files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the redaction of documents.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA), after it was passed by Congress in November, forced the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related documents and images it had within 30 days. While the Justice Department had to redact the names or any other information that could identify Epstein’s victims, the names of those who were friendly with the late financier were to be released with the files.
Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, however, claimed that the names of Epstein’s “abusers, facilitators, accomplices and co-conspirators” were redacted in Epstein’s files.
Jamie Raskin, grilling Pam Bondi during the hearing, said: “You’re doing a massive Epstein cover-up straight from the Justice Department. Subpoenas and Congress ordered you to turn over six million documents, photos and videos in the Epstein files, but you’ve only turned over three million.”
In her response, Pam Bondi defended the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files, saying thousands of hours were spent on releasing the files and the department did its best.
She said: “More than 500 lawyers and reviewers spent thousands of hours painstakingly reviewing millions of pages to comply with Congressional legislation. We released more than three million pages, including 180,000 images, and did our best within the time frame set by the victim protection legislation.”
When pressed more, Pam Bondi clashed with Democrats and praised President Donald Trump. Bondi said, “You’re sitting here attacking the president and I’m not going to have it. I’m not going to put up with it.”
Responding to Kentucky lawmaker Thomas Massie over allegations that the Justice Department released the personal information of Jeffrey’s victims, Pam Bondi tried to take a shot at him, saying he only focused on the files because they mentioned Donald Trump.
She also accused Thomas Massie of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and called him a “hypocrite.”
When Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked Pam Bondi to apologize to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims sitting behind the attorney general, she said she wanted to know if she had asked her predecessor during the Biden administration, adding that she “wouldn’t be in the gutter because of her theatrics.”
“I have spent my entire career fighting for victims and will continue to do so,” she said.