US Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the justice department's handling of the Epstein files and faced a barrage of angry questions on other issues during a fiery congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Her testimony before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee descended at times into a shouting match, with Bondi at one point calling a Democrat a washed up loser and, after another heated exchange, one lawmaker even stormed out.
1. Epstein victims watch as Bondi defends redactions
The hearing followed the release by the justice department earlier this year of millions more files from its investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Several of Epstein's victims were seated behind Bondi at the hearing, and lawmakers frequently referenced them.
In her opening statement, Bondi called Epstein a monster and told the victims she was sorry for the abuse they endured. However, lawmakers then directed a host of complaints at Bondi about how the justice department has handled its release of the files. Several criticized what they said was a failure to redact the names of victims as was required by law.
Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal said that in some cases nude images - of survivors were released, some of whom have had their identities protected for decades. Jayapal asked survivors in the room to stand and raise their hand if they had not been able to meet with the justice department, which led all of them to rise. Jayapal then asked Bondi to apologize to the victims for the justice department's handling of redactions.
Bondi fired back, describing Jayapal's questioning as theatrics and adding: I'm not going to get in the gutter with this woman. The attorney general said at another point during the hearing that officials were doing their best to protect victims within the timeframe allotted by legislation requiring the files to be released.
2. Republicans join in over Epstein complaints
The hearing turned tense over names in the Epstein files that have been redacted, too. A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has accused the justice department of improperly removing names from the files.
They have been allowed to review unredacted versions of the files, which led the justice department to unredact names in at least one document. Thomas Massie, a Republican, pressed Bondi for accountability regarding the failure of redactions, calling the issue bigger than Watergate.
Bondi retorted that the questioning was a political joke as Massie continued to press her regarding why certain names, including billionaire Les Wexner, had been blacked out initially.
3. Lawmaker asks about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
During discussions of the Epstein files, Representative Ted Lieu mentioned Prince Andrew, who is under pressure to testify regarding allegations related to Epstein. Lieu displayed a photo from the Epstein files, showing Andrew in a compromising position, intensifying scrutiny on the prince.
Lieu asked why the photos had not been used to prosecute Mountbatten-Windsor, to which Bondi responded by questioning Lieu's previous inquiries to former Attorney General Merrick Garland.
4. Democrats push for Minneapolis investigation
While the Epstein files took center stage during the hearing, Bondi was also pressed by lawmakers on federal immigration agents' involvement in a deadly shooting in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests. Tennessee Democratic Representative Steve Cohen called the incident executions demanding an investigation, which Bondi defended as the government acting appropriately under the circumstances.
