US Attorney General Pam Bondi launched into a passionate defence of Donald Trump as she defended the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
She repeatedly shouted at and mocked Democrats during the combative hearing, calling one a “washed-up loser lawyer — not even a lawyer.”
She faced a barrage of questions over the release of victims’ personal information and one over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Bondi used Wednesday’s hearing to try and turn the page from relentless criticism over the department’s handline of the release.
Refuses to face Epstein victims
Victims of Epstein were seated behind Bondi in the hearing room as she faced a barrage of questions over Epstein and accusations of a weaponised Justice Department.
In her opening remarks, Bondi told Epstein victims to come forward to law enforcement with any information about their abuse and said she was “deeply sorry” for what they had suffered.
She told the survivors that “any accusation of criminal wrongdoing will be taken seriously and investigated.”
Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington asked Bondi to turn and face the Epstein victims in the audience to apologise for the department’s failure to fully redact their names, and in some cases their photos, when the files were released.
However Bondi refused, saying: “I’m not going to get in the gutter with this woman. She’s doing theatrics.”
Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who broke with his party to advance the legislation to force the release of the files, also took Bondi to task for the release of victims’ personal information, telling her, “Literally the worst thing you could do to survivors, you did.”
Bondi told Massie that he was only focused on the files because Trump is mentioned in them, calling him a “hypocrite” with “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Bondi also mocked those asking questions, praised Trump over the performance of the stock market and painted the US president as a victim of past impeachments and investigations.
“You sit here and you attack the president and I’m not going to have it,” Bondi told lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee. “I am not going to put up with it.”
A photo of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is displayed as Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Question raised over Andrew
California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu used the hearing to raise questions over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who is facing growing pressure to testify before US Congress over what he knew about Epstein and his associates.
Lieu asked the hearing to display two photos, which showed Mountbatten Windsor crouching on all fours over what appears to be a woman – photos that were released in the latest batch up Epstein files.
He said: “These two photos … staring you in the face are evidence of a crime and more than enough evidence to predicate an investigation into former prince Andrew.
“So I ask you… why did you shut down this investigation last July and why have you not prosecuted former prince Andrew?”
Bondi responded: “I don’t believe you asked Merrick Garland these questions”, referring to the former attorney general.
Lieu said: “I agree with you,” said Lieu, adding Garland “dropped the ball”.
Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Insults thrown
The hearing quickly devolved into a partisan brawl, with Bondi repeatedly lobbing insults at Democrats.
In one particularly fiery exchange, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland accused Bondi of refusing to answer his questions, prompting the attorney general to call the top Democrat on the committee a “washed-up loser lawyer — not even a lawyer.”
“You’re siding with the perpetrators and you’re ignoring the victims,” Raskin told Bondi in his opening statement.
“That will be your legacy unless you act quickly to change the course. You’re running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice.”
Aiming to help Bondi amid an onslaught of Democratic criticism, Republicans tried to keep the focus on bread-and-butter law enforcement issues like violent crime and illegal immigration.
She also repeatedly deflected questions from Democrats, causing exasperation among those asking them.
“This is pathetic. This is pathetic,” said Representative Becca Balint, a Vermont Democrat who tried to ask Bondi about different Trump administration officials revealed to have had ties to Epstein.
“I am not asking trick questions here. The American people have a right to know the answers to this.”
With agencies
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