In a heated moment during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi sharply rebuffed questions about an alleged directive to FBI agents to single out documents mentioning President Donald Trump in a massive review of Jeffrey Epstein’s investigative files, intensifying scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of the disgraced financier’s case.
The exchange, captured live on C-SPAN, unfolded as Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) pressed Bondi on a July letter he sent to the department, where he referenced reports that FBI personnel in New York had been instructed to flag any records tied to Trump during a sprawling March review of Epstein-related materials.
Durbin, the committee’s ranking Democrat, didn’t mince words: “So, who gave the order to flag records related to President Trump?” he asked, following up with, “To flag records which included his name?”
Bondi’s response was immediate and icy. Unsurprising to anyone, she continues to refuse telling the truth in fear of retaliation.
“I’m not going to discuss anything about that with you, senator,” she shot back, her tone bristling with defiance.
The room fell quiet for a beat before Durbin fired back, warning, “Eventually you’re going to have to answer for your conduct in this. You won’t do it today, but eventually you will.”
The confrontation comes amid mounting frustration from both sides of the aisle over the Trump administration’s reversal on long-promised transparency regarding Epstein’s files.
Bondi and FBI leaders had teased the release of key documents earlier this year, only to pull back, citing national security and privacy concerns.
Critics, including some GOP lawmakers, have accused the department of dragging its feet, while conspiracy theorists online continue to speculate about a so-called “Epstein client list” — a purported roster of high-profile figures allegedly involved in the sex trafficker’s illicit activities.
A Review Gone Silent: What Durbin Uncovered
Durbin’s probe traces back to that March operation, where hundreds of FBI agents in the New York field office sifted through troves of Epstein documents.
In his letter, the senator highlighted an eyebrow-raising 2002 quote from Trump about Epstein, published in New York magazine, where the then-real estate mogul described the predator as a “terrific guy” he’d known for 15 years.
“He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump had said at the time.
That comment, innocuous in isolation, has taken on new weight in the post-Epstein era, especially given Trump’s past social ties to both Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The two men were once fixtures in Palm Beach’s elite circles but reportedly soured their relationship in the mid-2000s.
Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for procuring and grooming underage girls for Epstein’s abuse, saw her bid for Supreme Court relief denied just a day earlier, on Monday.
Durbin didn’t stop at the flagging order.
He also grilled Bondi on a February statement where she claimed the infamous “client list” was “sitting on my desk” for review — a remark that dangled hope for disclosure before evaporating.
“I said I had not yet reviewed it, and if you see our memo on Epstein, you will see our memo on Epstein clearly points out that there was no client list,” Bondi clarified, referencing a joint DOJ-FBI report released July 7.
That memo, arriving months after the file review wrapped up, reaffirmed Epstein’s 2019 death as a suicide in a Manhattan federal jail — a conclusion that has long been contested by skeptics — and debunked the existence of any formal client list.
Yet for many, including Trump’s own supporters who have amplified doubts on social media, the absence of proof feels like proof of a cover-up, leaving powerful names potentially shielded from exposure.
Broader Fallout: From Promises to Partisan Fire
The hearing’s timing couldn’t have been more charged.
Just weeks after the memo’s release, the administration has weathered a barrage of criticism for what some call a bait-and-switch on transparency.
Even Republican allies in Congress have voiced unease, arguing that withholding the files erodes public trust in institutions already battered by years of Epstein scandals.
Trump’s history with Epstein has been a persistent flashpoint.
Flight logs from Epstein’s private jet, the so-called “Lolita Express,” show the future president took at least one trip in the 1990s, though he has denied any deeper involvement and claimed credit for banning Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago resort years before the financier’s 2008 plea deal.
As the dust settled Tuesday, Durbin’s pointed rebuke hung in the air, a reminder that congressional oversight isn’t easily dismissed.
With midterm elections looming and Epstein’s shadow refusing to fade, Bondi’s stonewalling may only amplify calls for accountability — and perhaps force that “eventual” reckoning sooner than later.
The Judiciary Committee hearing was part of routine oversight but quickly veered into high-stakes territory.
No further details on the flagging order emerged, but sources close to the committee tell Reuters that Durbin’s office is preparing follow-up subpoenas if the DOJ continues to clam up.
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