During a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic lawmakers questioned US Attorney General Pam Bondi about how she handled the files related to convicted child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Although the hearing on Wednesday was titled “Oversight of the US Department of Justice,” the Epstein files soon took center stage. Democrat Jamie Raskin told Bondi right away, “As attorney general, you are supporting the criminals and ignoring the victims.”
“If you don’t take immediate action to alter your course, that will be your legacy. From the Department of Justice, you are conducting a massive Epstein cover-up.”, Jamie added further.
US President Donald Trump and his administration have been under fire for their decision to redact or withhold Epstein-related documents ever since the beginning of his second term.
Trump’s personal relationship with the late financier, who passed away in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial, has drawn criticism.
Women who had come forward as survivors of Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring, along with their families, sat in the audience behind Bondi during Wednesday’s hearing. They included the late Virginia Giuffre’s family, Teresa Helm, Jess Michaels, and Lara Blume McGee.
Pam Bondi response to Epstein files
Pam Bondi was asked to offer an apology to Epstein’s victims by Representative Pramila Jayapal. She and other Democrats criticized the Trump administration for heavily redacting the Epstein files that were made public and for failing to meet with the survivors.
Bondi said she would not “get in the gutter” with Jayapal and her fellow Democrats in a scathing response to the criticism she received.
Additionally, she charged that Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who was instrumental in enacting legislation requiring the Epstein files to be made public, was suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome”.
Bondi responded that Democrats were using the Epstein scandal to “deflect from all the great things Donald Trump has done” when asked if she would look into Trump’s ties to Epstein.
