WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, Pam Bondi spent over five hours before the House Judiciary Committee—and what Americans witnessed was an Attorney General who appears to have abandoned the Department of Justice’s independence to serve as President Trump’s enforcer.
The hearing laid bare Bondi’s role in transforming the DOJ into a weapon for partisan score-settling. Bondi displayed open contempt for congressional oversight and refused to apologize to Epstein survivors who traveled to Washington to hear from her. She stonewalled questions about White House coordination on politically sensitive investigations.
Bondi’s evasive testimony and contempt for legitimate questions exposed her intent: to transform the DOJ from an independent institution into a vehicle for Trump’s political vendettas.
Here are three key lowlights of Bondi’s testimony:
Bondi turned her back on Epstein survivors – then stonewalled on why the DOJ protected the powerful while exposing victims.
Multiple Epstein survivors traveled to Washington to hear the Attorney General explain why the DOJ redacted the names of Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, while often failing to protect the identities of victims. When Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked Bondi to apologize to the survivors in the room, Bondi refused. Jayapal asked her to turn around and address the victims directly. Bondi wouldn’t do it.
When pressed to explain the redaction decisions, Bondi offered logistical excuses – tight timeframes, millions of pages, low error rates – but refused to explain what legal standards guided decisions that protected influential individuals while exposing victims.
Bondi demonstrated contempt for congressional oversight through personal attacks on multiple lawmakers.
Throughout the hearing, Bondi responded to legitimate oversight questions with personal insults and hostility. She dismissed Ranking Member Jamie Raskin as a “washed-up, loser lawyer” when he pressed her on politically sensitive investigations. She called Rep. Thomas Massie a “failed politician.” She accused Democrats of waging partisan attacks and dismissed their questions as “theatrics.” Rather than answer substantive questions about DOJ independence, Bondi chose to attack the lawmakers fulfilling their constitutional oversight responsibilities.
Bondi deflected concerns about White House influence on investigations targeting Trump’s enemies.
When lawmakers raised concerns about whether the DOJ was coordinating with the White House on politically sensitive investigations, Bondi repeatedly refused to address the substance of their questions. Her refusal to provide clear answers about the independence of ongoing investigations wasn’t just evasive—it confirmed what Americans already suspected: the DOJ is taking direction from the White House on who to investigate and who to protect.