Riot at the Capitol. Prosecutor Bondi facing questions about Epstein

Attorney General Pam Bondi defended herself on Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee against allegations that she covered up the Jeffrey Epstein case and endangered the sex offender's victims. The hearing was full of screams, arguments and insults.

Shouting and insults at the Capitol

During a more than five-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Bondi defended herself, her department and President Donald Trump in the context of the sex offender scandal, often responding by shouting over questioners and insulting them. The hearing did not provide any new information or answers to questions regarding the Epstein case.

In one of the arguments, the head of the federal prosecutor's office assured, among other things, that there was no evidence that Donald Trump had committed any crimes. When Democrat Ted Lieu suggested he was lying, pointing to the (ultimately withdrawn) testimony of a woman who accused Trump of raping her when she was 13, she told him “don't you dare accuse her (Bondi).”

Pam Bondi in response to Epstein questions.

“The Dow is over 50,000… that's what we should be talking about” pic.twitter.com/pFmX8kfkcb

— 🤠 Weimar Silver Baron 🤠 (@BankerWeimar) February 11, 2026

Republican and co-author of the law forcing the disclosure of records, Thomas Massie, accused Bondi of trying to protect one of Epstein's associates, billionaire Leslie Wexner, whose name was redacted in some of the documents. In response, he heard from the attorney general that he was a “failed politician” and “suffered from Trump syndrome.”

Epstein's victims present during interrogation

Several of Epstein's victims were in the audience during the hearing and complained about the failure to protect information about them in the documents and the refusal to meet with Justice Ministry officials. Bondi did not answer Democrat Pramila Jayapal's question – she accused her and other opposition politicians of trying to turn the meeting into a “circus” and declared that she “will not be dragged into the gutter.” When fellow Democrat Jamie Raskin chided her to answer questions instead of attacking politicians, the attorney general replied:

– You won't tell me (what to do), you burnt-out loser lawyer. You're not even a lawyer.

Bondi also suggested that Epstein's partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence, should not be pardoned by President Trump. She said she hoped Maxwell would “die in prison.” This was the first such clear statement from a Trump administration representative about Maxwell. Previously, Trump said that he had not considered pardoning the woman, but noted that he had the right to do so. On Monday, Maxwell's lawyer promised that her testimony would clear Trump of suspicion.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

osk/ mal/