U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer questions from senators Tuesday about instructions reportedly given to FBI agents to flag any references to U.S. President Donald Trump during a review of files tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The exchange took place during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill, where Bondi testified.
Highlights
- Pam Bondi refused to answer questions about orders to flag Trump references in FBI Epstein files during a Senate oversight hearing.
- Sen. Dick Durbin challenged Bondi on her claim of reviewing an Epstein client list that the DOJ memo says does not exist.
- Senators pressed Bondi on potential political influence in Comey's indictment and the DOJ's degraded credibility.
- Nearly 300 former DOJ employees warned that the department’s degradation threatens American democracy.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D) asked if Bondi had ordered agents to flag records that mentioned Trump during a document review earlier this year. The files were part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing handling of evidence from Epstein’s criminal investigations.
Pam Bondi refused to answer questions about references to Donald Trump in the Epstein files
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“You pushed the FBI to review approximately 100,000 Epstein-related records on an arbitrarily short deadline in March, and the FBI was directed to flag any documents that mentioned President Trump,” he said.
“So, who gave the order to flag records related to President Trump?” Durbin asked.
Bondi responded sharply, “I’m not going to discuss anything about that with you, senator.”
Durbin warned Bondi, “Eventually you’re going to have to answer for your conduct in this, you won’t do it today, but eventually you will.”
Image credits: Win McNamee/Getty Images
In July, Durbin had written to the DOJ questioning Bondi’s decision not to release Epstein-related files, despite earlier promises.
He asked Bondi about her February statement when she said that the so-called Epstein client list was on her desk for review. Durbin asked, “Why did you publicly claim to have the Epstein client list waiting for your review and then produce nothing relevant to that claim?”
“I said I had not yet reviewed it, and if you see our memo on Epstein, you will see our memo on Epstein clearly points out that there was no client list,” Bondi said in response.
Sen. Dick Durbin asked Bondi why she claimed to have the Epstein client list but produced nothing
A joint DOJ and FBI memo, released in July, concluded that Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019, and that there was no client list.
The Trump administration has faced criticism for walking back earlier commitments about making the Epstein files public.
MAGA fans and Trump critics are demanding more transparency on Epstein’s client list, especially as increasing evidence shows that Trump and Epstein had a close friendship.
Later in the hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) asked Bondi about reports that photographs of Trump with “half-naked young women” were found during the Epstein investigation.
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Whitehouse asked if Bondi had seen the pictures allegedly recovered from Epstein’s “safe, premises or otherwise.” Bondi hit back, calling them “salacious remarks” aimed at “trying to slander President Trump left and right.”
She refused to answer when the question was repeated.
The Senate hearing took place a day after the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal of her 2022 federal conviction.
Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, was found guilty of procuring and grooming underage girls for sexual abuse and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Bondi refused to answer questions related to Epstein and called them ‘slanderous remarks’ aimed at Trump
Image credits: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
The hearing also zeroed in on the DOJ’s credibility. Senators pressed Bondi on the recent indictment of former FBI Director James Comey and concerns about the degradation of the department.
Democrats questioned whether Bondi had pursued Trump’s political opponents, including Comey, for political reasons.
Comey was set to be arraigned in court on Wednesday on charges of providing false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D) pointed to a September Truth Social post by Trump that named “Pam” and called for prosecutions of Comey and others.
The post read, “What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” he said.
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Hirono asked Bondi if the “Pam” referred to her.
“I’m sure I was,” Bondi replied.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) also referred to the post, citing how Trump gave Bondi “instructions” only five days before Comey was indicted.
He then held up a large poster showing Bondi and other cabinet members dining with Trump the night before Comey was indicted, calling it an “intimate” setting.
Senators also questioned Trump’s influence on James Comey’s indictment
He asked whether she had discussed Comey with Trump that evening, calling it a “weaponization of the Department of Justice.”
Bondi responded, “I love that picture. That’s a great picture. And there were a lot of people there that night,” before refusing to discuss conversations with the president.
Durbin had opened his questioning by condemning the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago, calling it “an assault” on the city and accusing Bondi of “systematically weaponizing” the DOJ.
Durbin highlighted Bondi’s firing of “hundreds” of officials from the FBI and DOJ, which he said led to the loss of “thousands of years of law enforcement expertise.”
Image credits: Win McNamee/Getty Images
“In eight short months, you have fundamentally transformed the Justice Department and left an enormous stain in American history,” Durbin said. “It will take decades to recover.”
Outside the hearing, the DOJ faced additional pressure with nearly 300 former DOJ employees signing a letter on Monday warning that the department had been degraded.
Former DOJ employees warned that the DOJ has been compromised
“Our democratic system cannot survive without the primary institution that enforces the law,” said Stacey Young, executive director and founder of Justice Connection, a network of DOJ alumni.
The hearing also touched upon National Guard deployment, border czar Tom Homan’s bribery allegations, U.S. strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug-trafficking boats, the DOJ Antitrust Division’s approval of corporate mergers, and rising gun violence.