If Pam Bondi’s goal when testifying before Congress on Wednesday was to put to rest the controversy over her department’s mishandling of the Epstein files, she failed badly.
But if the attorney general just wanted to impress Donald Trump, she probably succeeded.
In more than five hours of testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Bondi defended the president, personally insulted lawmakers and literally kept her back turned on survivors of Epstein’s abuse.
The attorney general is not the president’s personal consigliere.
But here’s the thing: The attorney general is not the president’s personal consigliere, and the Department of Justice is not his personal law firm. Bondi works for the American people, and that role carries a fundamental obligation: to pursue justice.
In this case, that would mean finding out the full truth about what happened to the girls and young women who were trafficked on Epstein’s island and the powerful men who participated in his depredations.
Instead, Bondi repeatedly criticized the administrations of Joe Biden and prior presidents for their handling of Epstein. She accused Democrats of focusing on the files to distract from Trump’s criminal justice agenda and in one bizarre instance even cited the performance of the stock market to defend the president.
At one point, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked Epstein survivors seated in the hearing room to stand and raise their hands if they had not yet met with the Justice Department. All 11 raised their hands.
Jayapal then asked Bondi to turn to the survivors and apologize. In the most appalling moment of the hearing, Bondi refused.
If there is justice in the world, the photograph of Bondi looking straight ahead as a row of women raises their hands behind her will haunt her for the rest of her career.
Bondi called Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin a “washed-up loser lawyer.”
The exchanges grew sharper. When Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman asked whether she would commit to publicly releasing an unredacted Epstein email so Americans could understand the extent of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, Bondi sidestepped and instead attacked his role in Trump’s first impeachment. At another point, she called Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin a “washed-up loser lawyer.”
Through it all, the central question persisted: What responsibility does the Justice Department have toward the victims of Jeffrey Epstein?
Bondi never truly engaged that question. She did not face the survivors. She did not apologize. She did not signal that their pain, their stories or their demand for transparency would guide the department’s next steps. And that is what she revealed under oath. She revealed a department more animated by partisan defense than by moral clarity. She revealed an instinct to protect power rather than pursue truth and justice. She revealed that, in this moment, loyalty appears to carry more weight than accountability. The survivors were not abstractions. They were in the room. The files are not some historical documents. They are evidence of very recent crimes. And the questions are not political theater. They are demands for answers. If the attorney general will not turn around and face the victims standing behind her, the American people must face what that means about the Trump administration. The Epstein files are not going away. Neither is the demand for justice. For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders Townsend, watch “The Weeknight” every Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. ET on MS NOW.
Michael Steele
Michael Steele is a co-host of "The Weeknight," which airs Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on MS NOW. He is a former lieutenant governor of Maryland and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. 
