Attorney General Pam Bondi faced a blistering round of questions on Capitol Hill Tuesday over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files — and her alleged efforts to protect President Trump’s name from public release.
What unfolded was less a hearing and more a political showdown, with Bondi repeatedly stonewalling senators and lashing out at Democrats who demanded accountability.
“Who gave the order to flag records related to President Trump?” asked Senator Dick Durbin, the Democratic ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“To flag records for President Trump?” Bondi shot back, visibly irritated.
When Durbin clarified that he meant any documents containing Trump’s name, Bondi snapped: “I’m not going to discuss anything about that with you.”
The tense exchange marked the latest flashpoint in a growing controversy surrounding how the Justice Department — now led by one of Trump’s most loyal allies — has managed evidence linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney and was appointed Attorney General early in his second term, has long been accused of shielding her former client from scrutiny. A July report from The Wall Street Journal revealed that Bondi privately briefed Trump after his name appeared multiple times in internal Justice Department memos related to Epstein.
“Pam Bondi isn’t behaving like the people’s attorney,” one senior Democratic aide told reporters after the hearing. “She’s behaving like Trump’s personal fixer with a badge.”
During Tuesday’s session, Bondi seemed less interested in answering questions than in launching counterattacks. When Durbin pressed her on why a July 7 FBI memo closing the Epstein probe was unsigned, she dodged entirely — instead accusing Durbin of hypocrisy.
“I find it very interesting that you refused repeated Republican requests to release the Epstein flight logs in 2023 and 2024,” she said sharply. “Did you take money from Reid Hoffman? Why did you fight for years not to disclose the flight logs, Senator Durbin?”
Durbin immediately denied the charge. “That’s simply false,” he responded. “No one put those requests in writing as required. And for the record, I don’t know Mr. Hoffman.”
The confrontation escalated as Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) took his turn. He asked how many suspicious financial activity reports (SARs) involving Epstein the Justice Department had reviewed since Bondi took office.
Instead of answering, Bondi counterpunched again: “I’m not sure if you’re concerned because you took money, I believe, did you, from Reid Hoffman?”
When Whitehouse noted that Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel had both vowed in 2024 to “get to the bottom” of Epstein’s financial network, the Attorney General accused Democrats of “weaponizing Epstein’s name to slander President Trump.”
“There’s been public reporting,” Whitehouse continued, “that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half-naked young women. Did the FBI recover those photographs?”
Bondi’s voice sharpened. “You sit here and make salacious remarks to smear the President while your donors dined with Epstein. It’s pathetic.”
The Justice Department under Bondi has refused to release the long-promised “client list” or unredacted flight logs that could reveal Epstein’s connections to powerful figures across politics, business, and entertainment.
Bondi has instead framed the investigation as “closed,” saying in July that “no new criminal referrals are forthcoming.” Critics, however, argue that her refusal to answer direct questions raises serious concerns about political interference.
“Pam Bondi can’t hide forever,” Senator Durbin said after the hearing. “If she wants to act like she works for Donald Trump instead of the American people, then she’ll have to answer for that — sooner or later.”
FEC records show no direct campaign donations from billionaire Reid Hoffman to either Durbin or Whitehouse. But to Democrats, that’s beside the point.
“This hearing wasn’t about Reid Hoffman,” said one staffer close to the committee. “It was about whether the Attorney General of the United States is protecting a predator’s powerful friends. And today, she made that question even harder to ignore.”
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