Epstein survivors are behind her – but Pam Bondi doesn’t want to know anything about them.Image: keystone
US Attorney General Pam Bondi sat in a room with Epstein victims during a four-hour hearing. She did a lot of things – except apologize to them.
Feb 12, 2026, 12:34 p.mFeb 12, 2026, 12:34 p.m
On Wednesday, Pam Bondi had to stand in front of members of Congress. She had to answer a number of questions, including about her ministry’s handling of the Epstein files. The nearly four-hour exchange between lawmakers and the attorney general was heated, insulting and sometimes described as “one of the most contentious congressional hearings in recent memory.” described.
Such hearings in the US Congress often have, as she describes it New York Times, “Elements of political theater,” a kind of display of the person making the statement. It is not uncommon for public attention to be used by both sides to make their own point of view clear or to deliberately get a person into trouble.
Pam Bondi. Image: keystone
The Bondi approach – similar to that of FBI Director Kash Patel last September – but differs from that of anyone else in this situation, according to the NYT: The hearing for both escalated, with both refusing to “respond in the slightest to questions that they find uncomfortable.”
In fact, Pam Bondi went on the counterattack wherever possible. She followed Trump’s strategy: blame others for what you do yourself.
6 excerpts from the memorable hearing:
The beginning
The hearing was tense almost from the start. Democrat Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, immediately warned: “We politely but firmly ask you not to waste our precious time.” He urged Bondi to give Democrats direct answers to their questions and not try to evade or buy time. «We saw your performance in the Senate and we will not accept that. This is not a game,” said Raskin.
Even if it wasn’t exclusively about that, Congress almost always came back to the Epstein files. In his opening statement, Raskin expressed outrage at Bondi’s handling of the release of the investigative files. “They side with the perpetrators and ignore the victims,” says Raskin. Then he became direct: “This will be your legacy if you don’t act quickly to change course. They are conducting a massive cover-up of Epstein directly from within the Justice Department.”
The victims in the room
Bondi did not initially respond to these allegations. The same thing happened when Democrat Pramila Jayapal later called on Bondi to apologize to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims in the room. Bondi had previously apologized to the victims for Epstein’s actions. Now some of them have accepted the invitation to follow the hearing on site, and Jayapal asked Bondi to stand up and apologize directly to them for the Justice Department’s misdeeds.
They demand justice: Survivors of convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein listen in Congress.Image: keystone
The background to Jayapal’s request: When parts of the files were recently published, it emerged that the names of many potential perpetrators were blacked out, but those of the victims were repeatedly visible. The Ministry of Justice then hastily blacked out some of the women’s names.
After the Democrat’s request, Bondi was silent for a moment – it seemed as if she was considering how to continue. Instead of apologizing, she then launched into a counterattack: her predecessor as Attorney General, Merrick Garland, had made big mistakes. Bondi said in her opening speech that she herself was a prosecutor by profession, adding: “I have spent my entire career fighting for victims and will continue to do so.”
In the background: Democrat Pramila Jayapal. Image: keystone
Bondi and Jayapal had a heated discussion, at the end of which Bondi exclaimed: “I will not stoop to that woman’s level. She’s just acting.” However, until the end, the Attorney General refrained from turning around in her chair and directly addressing the Epstein victims present – let alone apologizing for the use of their names.
At one point, Bondi went on the counterattack: she mocked several Democrats on the committee for pushing for the impeachment of Donald Trump. “Have you apologized to President Trump?” Bondi asked rhetorically.
“You washed-up, unsuccessful lawyer!”
From then on, the tense mood in the Cabinet continued to deteriorate, with Bondi clashing with increasing hostility with almost all Democrats on the committee.
Jamie Raskin was repeatedly forced to intervene, with the clear goal of ensuring that Bondi’s interruptions did not interfere with Democrats’ time for questions. Raskin told Jim Jordan (Republican of Ohio), chairman of the Judiciary Committee: “You can let them filibuster all day long, but not on our watch. Not for the benefit of our time, definitely not,” said Raskin. He told the Attorney General this at the beginning of the hearing.
She replied loudly and visibly upset: “You’re not telling me anything, you washed-up, unsuccessful lawyer!” And: “You’re not even a lawyer.” (Raskin was admitted to the bar at Harvard.)
Adulation of Trump
Bondi, who appeared to have fallen out of favor even with the Trump administration, used several moments to campaign for the president. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, pressured Bondi over the generous redactions of men who appear in the Epstein files, accusing her of losing credibility with the Justice Department.
Bondi then said that this was “not a circus, this is a hearing”. And: “I find it interesting that she continues to take action against President Trump, the greatest president in the history of the United States.”
At another point Bondi shouted: “You’re sitting here attacking the president and I won’t let that happen.” She then referred to the situation on the stock market – which only provoked mocking laughter from the Democrats.
It seemed, as CNN described it afterwards, as if Bondi was playing to “one spectator” – Donald Trump. However, this may have come at the expense of the American public, which “really wants answers.”
Lie under oath?
Bondi also had a heated exchange with Ted Lieu, a California representative. He asked whether Trump had ever attended a party with underage girls. “That’s so ridiculous,” was Bondi’s response. “And they’re trying to distract from all the great things that Donald Trump has done. There is no evidence that Donald Trump committed a crime. Everyone knows that.”
Ted Lieu.Image: keystone
Lieu replied that he considered this answer to be a criminal offense – making a false statement under oath – because Trump’s name appears several times in the files.
The scene in the video:
Video: watson/x
Pam Bondi reacted to the accusation with vehemence: “Don’t ever accuse me of committing a crime,” she shouted at Lieu.
Conflict with Republicans
It was primarily the Democrats who cornered Bondi – but they received support from a Republican. Thomas Massie, a libertarian conservative from Kentucky, previously advocated for the Trump administration to release the Epstein files in full and unredacted wherever possible.
Republican Thomas Massie. Image: keystone
It was Massie who once again confronted Bondi about the excessive redactions. Bondi’s answer: “This guy suffers from Trump insanity syndrome [englisch: «Trump derangement syndrome»]he must… you are a failed politician!”
An almost comedic scene
Several newspapers are citing another heated exchange between Pam Bondi and Democrat Becca Balint of Vermont. According to the NYT, the excerpt showed “at least one unexpected moment of bipartisan unity.” Balint questioned Bondi about Trump’s decision to appoint Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary despite his possible ties to sex offender Epstein. Bondi responded that Lutnick would address these allegations himself.
Trade Minister Lutnick.Image: keystone
And when Bondi later began to argue with a reference to a killed border guard, Balint replied: “For heaven’s sake, that’s pathetic… It’s not a game, Minister.”
“I’m the attorney general,” Bondi replied, to which Balint replied: “Excuse me, you could almost miss it.”