Bondi Deploys Trump’s Tactics at Judiciary Hearing, Calling Members ‘Washed-Up’ and ‘Failed’ as She Deflects Key Questions on Epstein

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday deployed her boss’s tactics at a hearing held by the House Oversight Committee, calling lawmakers “washed-up” and “failed” while deflecting key questions about the Jeffrey Epstein files. She went so far as to equip herself with binders full of opposition research to attack members of the committee in real-time. Ms. Bondi’s appearance Wednesday marked the first time she sat for questioning by lawmakers on the panel since she became attorney general last year. For months, she has been dogged by questions about Epstein and the government’s handling of the investigations into his affairs. During her testimony on Tuesday, she defended her department’s actions, saying that her deputies are moving as quickly as possible to release the files. The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed nearly unanimously by Congress and signed by the president last year, requires that all files be released with as few redactions as possible. The DOJ missed the December deadline to release the files despite the law’s provision that they be disclosed within 30 days. Survivors of convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein stand in the audience as Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. Win McNamee/Getty ImagesThe hearing with Ms. Bondi immediately became tense as Democrats began attacking her for her handling of the Epstein files. The top Democrat on the committee, Congressman Jamie Raskin, said Ms. Bondi is breaking the law. “You ignored the law, and even with over 100,000 employees at your disposal, you acted with some mixture of staggering incompetence, cold indifference, and jaded cruelty towards more than 1000 victims raped, abused, and trafficked” by Epstein, Mr. Raskin “This performance screams cover-up.”During questioning by a senior member of the committee, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Mr. Raskin cut in to demand that Ms. Bondi address his colleague’s questions directly. She shot back, calling Mr. Raskin a “washed-up lawyer.”A group of Epstein’s survivors were present in the hearing room Wednesday, hoping to raise awareness about the DOJ’s lack of compliance with the law to force a release of all files. At one point, a Democratic member, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, asked Ms. Bondi if she would like to address the victims and apologize for the debacle. “Why didn’t she ask [Attorney General] Merrick Garland this twice?” Ms. Bondi responded. “I’m not gonna get in the gutter for her theatrics.” The attorney general’s plan for the hearing seemed to be less about answering questions about the Epstein files and more about attacking Democrats. One reporter with Migrant Insider who was in the room reported that Ms. Bondi had “burn books” with the names of Democrats serving on the committee, which were used to launch personal attacks against lawmakers. Throughout the hearing, Ms. Bondi was seen flipping through multiple binders while lawmakers were speaking or asking questions, only for her to respond with attacks on committee members’ past votes, crime in their districts, or unrelated issues, like migrants who had been accused of serious crimes. During a tense exchange with Congressman Thomas Massie, the Republican author of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Ms. Bondi went after him personally, seemingly reading from a prepared binder with criticisms for the Kentucky lawmaker. Mr. Massie pressed Ms. Bondi on why former Victoria’s Secret chief executive Les Wexner — a close associate of Epstein mentioned in the files thousands of times — has his named redacted from a form that lists him as a co-conspirator. When he asked why Mr. Wexner’s name is hidden on that form, Ms. Bondi got personal. “This guy has Trump derangement syndrome. You’re a failed politician,” she said. Reading from her supposed “burn book” with the opposition research, she attacked Mr. Massie for voting against a ban on AI-generated, deepfake porn. At the end of Mr. Massie’s questioning, she called him a “hypocrite.”Ms. Bondi accused Mr. Raskin of being a prolific stock trader, and asked another member, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, if she had taken money from billionaire Reid Hoffman — a foe of President Trump whom the president has said should be criminally investigated.Several other Democrats were attacked by Ms. Bondi. Congressman Dan Goldman, who represents parts of New York City, was accused by the attorney general of not caring about criminal migrants because he was so focused on the Epstein investigation. Ms. Bondi seemingly brushed off questioning from Congresswoman Becca Balint of Vermont, telling the lawmaker that she was from a “tiny state,” and later asking Ms. Balint about a Border Patrol agent Chris Maland, who was killed in Vermont last year. When Ms. Balint was asking about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s ties to Epstein, Ms. Bondi responded by asking, “What does ‘ties’ mean? Can you define that?”One Democrat seemed to find it amusing that Ms. Bondi’s binders with opposition research. Congressman Jared Moskowitz, at the end of his question period, asked Ms. Bondi to read from his section of the binder. “I’d like to see — flip to the Jared Moskowitz section of the binder. I’m interested to see what [your] staff provided on the oppo on me,” Mr. Moskowitz said with a smile, pulling out a whiteboard. “I’m gonna give it a grade. I just wanna see how good it is.” Ms. Bondi declined to disclose what was in his opposition research file.

Bondi Deploys Trump’s Tactics at Judiciary Hearing, Calling Members ‘Washed-Up’ and ‘Failed’ as She Deflects Key Questions on Epstein

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