The hearing of US Attorney General Pam Bondi before the House Judiciary Committee on 11/2 became tense as lawmakers repeatedly questioned the Department of Justice's handling and release of files related to pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, as well as efforts to prosecute critics of President Donald Trump.
The hearing escalated into a heated exchange when Democrats pressed Attorney General Bondi about the Epstein files and the abused victims, many of whom were invited to observe. Some victims and their relatives had earlier held a press conference, criticizing the US Department of Justice's handling of the matter and calling for more documents from the Epstein files to be released.
Democratic representative Pramila Jayapal at one point asked the women involved with Epstein to stand, then demanded that Attorney General Bondi apologize to them because the US Department of Justice had failed to keep all victims' identities confidential when releasing the files. Bondi refused, asking Democratic lawmakers if they thought they should "apologize to President Trump" for participating in previous impeachment proceedings.
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US Attorney General Pam Bondi at a hearing with the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, 11/2. Photo: AFP
Attorney General Bondi repeatedly accused Democrats of "playing games", calling Jamie Raskin, the Democratic leader on the committee, an "expired lawyer". She then accused representative Hank Johnson of Georgia of lacking experience despite working in the House for about two decades, and sarcastically remarked that representative Mary Gay Scanlon understood nothing about public security.
Tension also spread to the Republican lawmakers. Representative Thomas Massie, co-author of the bill compelling the US Department of Justice to release Epstein's files, questioned the agency's excessive censorship of some information while revealing the identities of some of Epstein's victims.
Bondi countered by accusing representative Massie of "having Trump obsession syndrome", calling him a failed politician and reminding him that Massie was paying a price for not having the President's support in this year's primary election.
Republican representative Chip Roy also asked Attorney General Bondi to explain why some victim names were not redacted, but the US Department of Justice leader blamed the 19/12/2025 deadline for public disclosure, which led to the department's legal team working inefficiently.
She stated that the US Department of Justice "did its best", acknowledging that only a small portion of the Epstein files was released on time and most of the files were released earlier this month.
When asked if anyone else could be prosecuted in connection with Epstein, Bondi said some investigations were "under consideration", but did not specify the targets or content.
Bondi accused Democrats of trying to distract the American public from President Trump's many achievements, while affirming that the US Department of Justice under her leadership was working to restore its core mission after "years of bureaucracy and weaponization by politics".
Thanh Danh (According to AP, NBC)
