Bondi Faces Firestorm Over Epstein Files in Heated House Hearing

What was supposed to be a routine oversight session quickly turned into a political brawl. During Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the US Department of Justice”, Democratic lawmakers zeroed in on Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files — and they did not hold back.

“ As attorney general, you are siding with the perpetrators, and you’re ignoring the victims,” Democrat Jamie Raskin told Bondi at the outset.

“That will be your legacy unless you act quickly to change course. You’re running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice.”

The exchange set the tone. Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has faced persistent scrutiny over its decision to withhold or heavily redact documents tied to Epstein, the financier who died in a jail cell in 2019 while awaiting federal charges. Trump himself has been under renewed examination for his past personal association with Epstein.

The hearing room reflected the stakes. Survivors who had publicly accused Epstein of operating a sex-trafficking ring sat directly behind Bondi. Among them were Teresa Helm, Jess Michaels and Lara Blume McGee, along with members of the family of the late Virginia Giuffre.

Representative Pramila Jayapal pressed Bondi on whether she would apologise to the victims and criticised the administration for failing to meet with them. She also accused the Justice Department of shielding powerful figures through redactions.

“Your department has shown a pattern of redacting the names of powerful predators,” Jayapal said.

She then asked the survivors present to raise their hands if they had been unable to meet with the Department of Justice.

“For the record,” Jayapal added, “every single survivor has raised their hand.”

Bondi rejected the accusations and struck a combative tone. She said she would not “get in the gutter” with Jayapal and other Democrats. She also accused Republican Representative Thomas Massie — who helped drive legislation mandating the release of the Epstein files — of having “Trump derangement syndrome”.

When asked whether she would investigate Trump’s past ties to Epstein, Bondi dismissed the line of questioning, saying Democrats were using the issue to “deflect from all the great things Donald Trump has done”.

The controversy has become politically complicated for the White House. Trump has previously described the Epstein scandal as a Democratic “hoax”. Yet frustration over the handling of the files has cut across party lines, with some members of his own “Make America Great Again” base calling for full transparency.