Overview
- During a five‑hour House Judiciary hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to turn and apologize to Epstein survivors and dismissed the request as “theatrics,” while repeatedly defending President Trump and insulting lawmakers.
- All survivors present raised their hands when asked if they had not met with the Justice Department, underscoring complaints that the mandated release retraumatized victims rather than engaging them.
- The DOJ says it completed the Epstein files upload about a month late, totaling millions of documents and images, as survivors and attorneys denounce widespread redaction failures that exposed names and nude photos.
- Photographs from the hearing showed Bondi with a binder labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History,” prompting questions about whether the DOJ recorded members’ searches of the files; Speaker Mike Johnson said he was unaware and called such tracking inappropriate if it occurred.
- Bipartisan criticism intensified, with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie calling DOJ compliance a “massive failure” and some conservatives urging Bondi to resign, while President Trump praised her performance as “fantastic.”