Republicans instructed not to bring up Epstein files in upcoming Pam Bondi hearing: report

Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 11, but according to journalist Aaron Parnas, Republicans on the committee have been instructed not to mention the Justice Department’s botched release of files on Jeffrey Epstein.

“Epstein survivors tell me that they were told in meetings with Republican lawmakers that everyone was supportive of asking Pam Bondi hard questions about the Epstein files,” Parnas wrote in a statement shared on social media Saturday.

“But, afterwards, they were told by a source in the Republican establishment that those questions won’t be asked. Republicans members have been told to avoid any questions about the files and to only focus on the ‘positives’ that Bondi accomplished.”

Bondi is among the most scrutinized Trump administration officials regarding the DOJ’s botched handling of its investigation into Epstein. Last year, Bondi told Fox News that Epstein’s supposed “client list” of powerful figures was “sitting on my desk right now,” only to later sign off on a DOJ memo that stated Epstein never maintained a client list.

Under Bondi’s leadership, the DOJ appeared fully prepared to shut down all further inquiries into Epstein until it was forced last fall to produce files after the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bill that passed amid fierce pushback from President Donald Trump, at least initially.

Even with the recent release of around 3.5 million Epstein files, critics say that the DOJ and the Trump administration are still in direct violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the DOJ to release all of its files on Epstein, and with redactions limited to protecting the identity of minors and victims.

Instead, the DOJ has said it intends on withholding millions of more files. The agency appeared to have also redacted published files beyond what the law permits.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers have pursued plans to hold Bondi in contempt for her ongoing defiance of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, plans that were immediately hit with fierce pushback from the DOJ.