Attorney General Pam Bondi found herself at the center of a political firestorm on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, as she testified before the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing, officially titled "Oversight of the US Department of Justice," quickly became a battleground over Bondi’s handling of the Justice Department’s files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as accusations that the department has been weaponized to target President Donald Trump’s political adversaries.
From the moment the hearing began, tensions ran high. Democratic lawmakers, led by Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin, pressed Bondi on what they described as the Justice Department’s failure to comply with a new law mandating the release of all Epstein-related documents, with only limited redactions permitted to protect victims' identities. Instead, critics argued, the department had redacted the names of alleged abusers and enablers, while failing to sufficiently protect the privacy of many victims.
“You redacted the names of abusers, enablers, accomplices and co-conspirators, apparently to spare them embarrassment and disgrace, which is the exact opposite of what the law ordered you to do,” Raskin said, according to CNN. “Even worse, you shockingly failed to redact many of the victims' names, which is what you were ordered to do by Congress.” Raskin continued, “Some of the victims had come forward publicly, but many had not. Many had kept their torment private, even from family and friends. But you published their names, their identity, their images on thousands of pages for the world to see. So you ignored the law.”
Bondi, however, was combative in her defense. When Rep. Jayapal asked her to turn around and apologize to the group of Epstein survivors sitting behind her, Bondi refused, dismissing the request as “theatrics.” “I’m not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics,” Bondi retorted, as reported by The Guardian. In her opening statement, she nonetheless emphasized her commitment to victims: “I have spent my entire career fighting for victims, and I will continue to do so. I am deeply sorry for what any victim -- any victim -- has been through, especially as a result of that monster.”
The Epstein survivors and their families, including Teresa Helm, Jess Michaels, Lara Blume McGee, and the family of the late Virginia Giuffre, were a visible presence. They have long criticized the federal government for what they see as inadequate outreach and lackluster prosecution of Epstein and his alleged network of enablers. Sky Roberts, brother of Virginia Giuffre, didn’t mince words: “Pam, I have a clear and simple message for you. The way this administration and you specifically have handled survivors has been nothing short of a failure.” Amanda Roberts, Sky’s wife, echoed the sentiment: “To Ms. Bondi, we are deeply disappointed by the way you and your leadership in this department have treated survivors. And today, while you’re being questioned, we ask you to look in the eyes of every single one of us and remember Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the trauma that she had endured.”
The controversy stems in part from the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed in November 2025 with bipartisan support. The law requires the Justice Department to publish all of its Epstein-related documents—some six million pages—in a searchable format, with only limited redactions to protect victims. Yet, as Raskin pointed out, only about three million documents have been released, with Bondi arguing that the remaining half are duplicative. “You’ve been ordered by subpoena and by Congress to turn over six million documents, photographs, and videos in the Epstein files,” Raskin said. “But you’ve turned over only three million. You say you’re not turning over the other three million because they’re somehow duplicative. But we know that there are actual memos of victim statements in there.”
Democratic lawmakers accused Bondi of running a “massive Epstein cover-up,” with Raskin stating bluntly, “As attorney general, you are siding with the perpetrators, and you’re ignoring the victims. 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.”
Bondi, for her part, hit back at both Democrats and some Republicans. She accused Rep. Jayapal of engaging in political theater, and called Raskin a “washed-up loser lawyer.” She even turned her ire on Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who helped spearhead the transparency law, accusing him of “Trump derangement syndrome.”
The hearing also touched on the broader issue of the Justice Department’s independence and its role in pursuing legal actions against Trump’s political opponents. In recent months, the department announced charges against Trump critics James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of which were later dropped. This pattern has fueled concerns that the department is being used as a tool for political retaliation. “You’ve turned the people’s Department of Justice into Trump’s instrument of revenge,” Raskin charged. “Trump orders up prosecutions like pizza, and you deliver every time.”
Bondi, in response, accused certain judges of “judicial activism” for issuing temporary restraining orders against the administration, describing the opposition as a “nonstop flood of bad faith” and “a serious attack on the democratic process.” She also highlighted what she described as productive cooperation with Democratic mayors in cities like Memphis and Washington, D.C., to reduce crime—an attempt, perhaps, to show that her department is capable of bipartisan engagement.
Other flashpoints included Bondi’s refusal to answer questions about Trump’s relationship to Epstein and whether he had attended parties with underage girls. Rep. Ted Lieu pressed her on the matter, but Bondi dismissed the line of questioning as “so ridiculous,” insisting, “There is no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime. Everyone knows that.” Lieu shot back that Trump’s name appears in many instances in the files, but Bondi stood firm, “Don’t you ever accuse me of committing a crime.”
The files themselves have revealed that people close to Trump—including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former strategist Steve Bannon, and Elon Musk—had closer relationships with Epstein than previously known. None have been charged with wrongdoing in connection to Epstein, but the revelations have only fueled public demands for transparency.
Adding to the confusion, the Justice Department was forced earlier this month to remove “several thousand” documents and media from its website after it was discovered that victim-identifying information had been inadvertently published. This incident further eroded trust in the department’s stewardship of sensitive information, with Rep. Zoe Lofgren noting that the credibility of the Justice Department had suffered as a result.
As the hearing drew to a close, it was clear that the controversy over the Epstein files—and the broader questions about the Justice Department’s independence—are far from settled. Survivors and their advocates continue to demand full transparency and accountability, while Bondi and her allies insist that the department is following the law and protecting victims to the best of its ability. The clash between these perspectives, played out so publicly on Capitol Hill, has left the nation watching—and waiting—for answers.