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?








