Pam Bondi lashes out at Senate Democrats in contentious Judiciary panel hearing

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi took a confrontational stance on Tuesday while Senate Democrats interrogated her regarding the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein case and additional issues — even insinuating that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island may be “concerned” about potentially embarrassing associations with the deceased sex offender.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Bondi aimed to counterattack Whitehouse and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), responding to months of backlash due to her memo from July 6 that advised against any additional public disclosures in the infamous trafficker’s case.

“How many of the Treasury [Suspicious Activity Reports] did you or [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel look into?” Whitehouse inquired about transactions flagged by banks that Epstein was involved in.

Bondi retorted sharply: “Senator, I’m uncertain if you’re worried because you accepted funds — if I’m not mistaken, you did, didn’t you? — from [LinkedIn co-founder] Reid Hoffman, a close confidant of Epstein, not just once, but twice in 2018 and 2024.”

She further pressed, “Did you ever inquire about this with [former Attorney General] Merrick Garland when he appeared before you over the past four years?”

Whitehouse continued, “There have been reports stating that Jeffrey Epstein showed individuals photographs of President Trump with underage women. Are you aware if the FBI discovered any of those images during their search of Epstein’s safe or properties?”

Bondi shot back: “Senator Whitehouse, you continually make sensational claims, attempting to tarnish President Trump’s image, while you’re the one who accepted money from one of Epstein’s closest associates … and the senator sitting beside you [Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois] attempted to obstruct the release of the flight logs.”

When Durbin spoke, Bondi noted that in 2023 the leading Democrat on the committee blocked an effort by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) to compel the release of Epstein’s flight logs.

“Why was the July 7 memo not signed?” Durbin pressed.

Bondi replied, “Why did you resist the release of the flight logs, Senator Durbin?”

“I did not refuse,” he asserted. “One of the senators wanted to make those logs public, and I requested her to submit it in writing, but she never did.”

“You know that I submitted it in writing,” Blackburn interjected, “and you continue to misrepresent that, and I will not allow that to stand.”

Later, when Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) questioned Bondi regarding several corporate mergers, she characterized him as “someone who fabricated their military record just to become a senator,” and added: “I cannot fathom that you would assign me any impropriety when you falsified your military service.”

Additionally, when Whitehouse inquired about the $50,000 in cash sent to Tom Homan as part of an FBI sting last year, Bondi retorted: “Senator, I would be more apprehensive if I were you, discussing corruption and finances, especially when you advocate for legislation benefiting your wife’s company.”

The Rhode Island Democrat dismissed the notion of wrongdoing related to his wife’s earnings of nearly $2.7 million from the federally supported Ocean Conservancy as “entirely irrelevant far-right conspiracy theories.”

President Trump has attempted to distance himself from the Epstein scandal, labeling it a Democratic “hoax” aimed at discrediting him for his previous social interactions with the disgraced financier during the 1990s and early 2000s.

A bipartisan group in Congress continues to pursue further insights about Epstein’s connections to influential figures such as former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, former Harvard President Larry Summers, and Microsoft chief Bill Gates, utilizing subpoenas and ongoing public disclosures from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee meeting was extensive, addressing various topics including Trump’s law enforcement-focused deployment of federal agents and the National Guard in major cities, alongside the recently disclosed FBI surveillance of eight Republican senators, as well as the implications of the partial government shutdown on federal worker salaries.