Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Feb 12: Attorney General Pam Bondi mounted an aggressive and at times combative defense of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, seeking to shift focus from mounting criticism over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files during a heated House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Facing sharp questioning from Democrats, Bondi repeatedly raised her voice, accused lawmakers of attacking the president and portrayed herself as a staunch defender of Trump amid allegations that the department has been politicized under her leadership.

“You sit here and you attack the president and I’m not going to have it,” Bondi told committee members. “I am not going to put up with it.”

With several Epstein victims seated behind her in the hearing room, Bondi strongly defended the Justice Department’s release of files related to the disgraced financier. She accused Democrats of using the controversy to distract from what she described as the administration’s successes, even as critics noted that Republicans had initially pushed for the files’ release and that Bondi herself distributed binders of the documents to conservative influencers at the White House last year.

The hearing quickly devolved into partisan sparring. Bondi mocked some Democratic lawmakers and deflected direct questions, while insisting she would not “get in the gutter.” In one fiery exchange, Rep. Jamie Raskin accused her of dodging questions, prompting Bondi to call him a “washed-up loser lawyer — not even a lawyer.”

Republicans sought to steer the discussion toward issues such as violent crime and illegal immigration, praising Bondi’s tenure and contrasting it with that of her predecessor under President Joe Biden. GOP Rep. Jim Jordan lauded her for restoring what he called the department’s “core missions.”

“What a difference a year makes,” Jordan said. “Under Attorney General Bondi, the DOJ has returned to its core missions — upholding the rule of law, going after the bad guys and keeping Americans safe.”

Democrats, however, expressed frustration over what they described as evasive responses. Rep. Becca Balint pressed Bondi on whether the department had questioned Trump administration officials about any ties to Epstein.

“This is pathetic. I am not asking trick questions,” Balint said. “The American people deserve to know.”

The controversy over the Epstein files has lingered since February 2025, when Bondi handed out binders to social media influencers that contained no new revelations, prompting backlash even from Trump supporters demanding greater transparency.

In her opening remarks, Bondi addressed Epstein survivors directly, expressing sympathy and urging them to come forward with information. “Any accusation of criminal wrongdoing will be taken seriously and investigated,” she said, adding that she was “deeply sorry” for their suffering. However, she refused a request from Rep. Pramila Jayapal to turn toward the victims in the room and apologize for what Jayapal described as further harm caused by the department, dismissing the request as “theatrics.”

Democrats also criticized the department’s redactions of the released files, which reportedly exposed sensitive personal details of victims, including intimate information and nude photographs. A review by multiple news organizations found numerous examples of inconsistent or inadequate redactions.

“You’re siding with the perpetrators and you’re ignoring the victims,” Raskin said, accusing Bondi of overseeing a “massive Epstein coverup.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who supported legislation compelling the release of the files, also criticized the department for disclosing survivors’ personal information. “Literally the worst thing you could do to survivors, you did,” he told Bondi.

Bondi shot back, accusing Massie of focusing on the issue because Trump’s name appears in the documents and branding him a “hypocrite” with “Trump-derangement syndrome.”

Justice Department officials have acknowledged that some errors occurred in the redaction process but said they were unavoidable given the volume of materials and the tight timeline imposed by Congress. Bondi told lawmakers that files were removed once problematic disclosures were identified and that staff did their “very best in the time frame allotted.”

The uproar intensified after the department announced in July that it had concluded there was no Epstein “client list” and no further documents warranted release. The statement contradicted earlier suggestions, including a remark by Bondi in a television interview that such a list was under review. She later clarified that she was referring to the full body of Epstein-related files, not a specific list.

Bondi’s testimony comes amid broader Democratic concerns that the Justice Department is being used to target political opponents of the president — allegations she firmly rejected, instead emphasizing efforts to reduce violent crime and streamline what she described as years of bureaucratic excess.

As the political battle over the Epstein files continues, Wednesday’s hearing underscored the deep partisan divide over transparency, accountability and the role of the Justice Department under the Trump administration.