Attorney General Bondi faces questions from Congress on Epstein and investigation of lawmakers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi connected Wednesday told victims of Jeffrey Epstein to travel guardant with accusation astir their maltreatment arsenic she sought to tamp down governmental turmoil implicit the Justice Department’s handling of files related to the affluent financier’s enactment trafficking probe that has dogged her tenure.

In her archetypal quality earlier Congress since the merchandise of millions of further Epstein files, Bondi addressed victims who were contiguous successful the proceeding room, saying that she was “deeply sorry” for what they had suffered. Bondi sought to fend disconnected disapproval from Democrats who person accused her of ignoring victims, noting that she is simply a vocation authoritative who has devoted her ineligible enactment to protecting victims of enactment abuse.

“Any accusations of transgression wrongdoing volition beryllium taken earnestly and investigated,” the lawyer wide said.

Bondi’s quality earlier the House Judiciary Committee comes a twelvemonth into her tumultuous tenure that has amplified concerns that the Justice Department is utilizing its instrumentality enforcement powers to people governmental foes of the president.

Just a time earlier, the section had sought to unafraid charges against Democratic lawmakers who produced a video urging subject work members not to travel “illegal orders.” But successful an bonzer rebuke of prosecutors, a expansive assemblage successful Washington refused to instrumentality an indictment.

The committee chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, opened the proceeding by repeating talking points that the Justice Department, nether Democratic President Joe Biden, was weaponized against Donald Trump and conservatives. Democrats and galore bully authorities advocates accidental it is Trump's ain medication that has politicized instrumentality enforcement.

“What a quality a twelvemonth makes. Under Attorney General Bondi, the DOJ has returned to its halfway missions -- upholding the regularisation of law, going aft the atrocious guys and keeping Americans safe,” Jordan said.

Bondi was confronting a caller question of disapproval stemming from the governmental saga she has struggled to shingle aft the merchandise of millions of further Epstein disclosures that survivors person slammed arsenic sloppy and incomplete.

Democrats were expected to grill Bondi connected however the Justice Department decided what should and should not beryllium made nationalist nether the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That instrumentality was passed by Congress aft the section abruptly announced successful July that nary much files would beryllium released adjacent though it had raised the hopes of blimpish influencers and conspiracy theorists.

In the proceeding room, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the apical Democrat connected the committee, introduced respective Epstein survivors and accused Bondi of perpetuating a cover-up.

“You’re siding with the perpetrators and you’re ignoring the victims," Raskin said. “That volition beryllium your bequest unless you enactment rapidly to alteration the course.”

Bondi has struggled to determination past the backlash implicit her handling of the Epstein files since distributing binders to a radical of societal media influencers astatine the White House successful February 2025. The binders included nary caller revelations astir Epstein, starring to adjacent much calls from Trump’s basal for the files to beryllium released.

Members of Congress were astatine the section earlier this week to look done unredacted versions of the files. As portion of an statement with the Justice Department, lawmakers were fixed entree to the implicit 3 cardinal released files successful a speechmaking country with 4 computers and were allowed to instrumentality handwritten notes.

Democrats person accused the section of redacting accusation that should person been made public, including accusation that could pb to scrutiny of Epstein’s associates. Meanwhile, survivors person slammed the section for inconsistent oregon nonexistent redactions that allowed for the inadvertent merchandise of nude photos and different backstage information.

Department officials person defended their handling of the files, saying they took pains to support survivors, but that errors were inevitable fixed the measurement of the materials and the velocity astatine which the section had to merchandise them. The Associated Press and different media organizations are inactive reviewing millions of pages of documents, galore of them antecedently confidential.

An AP reappraisal of records shows that portion investigators collected ample impervious that Epstein sexually abused underage girls, they recovered scant grounds the well-connected financier led a enactment trafficking ringing serving almighty men. Videos and photos seized from Epstein’s homes successful New York, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not picture radical being abused oregon implicate anyone other successful his crimes, a authoritative wrote successful 1 2025 memo.

The lawsuit involving lawmakers' video to subject work members could supply further fodder for Democrats to hammer Bondi and question however the Justice Department is utilizing its investigative authority.

The video, featuring Democrats who are veterans oregon person acquisition successful the quality community, angered the medication — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, successful particular.

The Justice Department opened an probe into the video successful which Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, on with 4 different Democrats, urged U.S. work members to travel established subject protocols and cull orders they judge to beryllium unlawful.

A expansive assemblage successful Washington connected Tuesday declined to contented immoderate indictments. It wasn’t instantly wide whether prosecutors had sought indictments against each six lawmakers oregon what complaint oregon charges prosecutors attempted to bring. But it marked the latest lawsuit of a expansive assemblage rebuffing the Justice Department successful cases involving critics of the administration.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.