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AG Bondi to Face Lawmaker Questions 02/11 06:11
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi will face questions from
lawmakers Wednesday over the Justice Department's handling of files related to
Jeffrey Epstein that have exposed sensitive private information about victims
despite redaction efforts.
Bondi is confronting a new wave of criticism stemming from the political
saga that has dogged her term after the release of millions of additional
Epstein disclosures that victims have slammed as sloppy and incomplete.
It will be the first time the attorney general appears before Congress since
a tumultuous hearing in October in which she repeatedly deflected questions and
countered Democrats' criticism of her actions with her own political attacks.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are expected to grill Bondi on
how the Justice Department decided what should and should not be made public
under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress after
the department abruptly announced in July that no more files would be released
even though it had raised the hopes of conservative influencers and conspiracy
theorists.
Bondi has continuously struggled to move past the backlash over her handling
of the Epstein files since distributing binders to a group of social media
influencers at the White House last February. The binders included no new
revelations about Epstein, leading to even more calls from President Donald
Trump's base for the files to be released.
The hearing comes days after some lawmakers visited a Justice Department
office to look through unredacted versions of the files. As part of an
arrangement with the Justice Department, lawmakers were given access to the
over 3 million released files in a reading room with four computers and were
allowed to take handwritten notes.
Democrats have accused the Justice Department of redacting information that
should have been made public, including information that could lead to scrutiny
of Epstein's associates. Meanwhile, victims have slammed the department for
inconsistent or nonexistent redactions that allowed for the inadvertent release
of nude photos and other private information about victims.
The department has defended the latest rollout of more than 3 million pages
of documents along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. The
Associated Press and other media organizations are still reviewing millions of
pages of documents, many of them previously confidential.
An AP review of records shows that while investigators collected ample proof
that Epstein sexually abused underage girls, they found scant evidence the
well-connected financier led a sex trafficking ring serving powerful men.
Videos and photos seized from Epstein's homes in New York, Florida and the
Virgin Islands didn't depict victims being abused or implicate anyone else in
his crimes, a prosecutor wrote in one 2025 memo.
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