Pam Bondi criticized after DOJ says all Epstein files released

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — US Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the US Department of Justice has released all files required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but lawmakers have argued the release is insufficient.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie Massie said Sunday he does not have confidence in Attorney General Bondi after she sparred with him and other lawmakers over her handling of the Epstein files.

Bondi sent a legally required report to Congress on Saturday in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated the DOJ supply lawmakers with a summary of all redactions made, including the legal basis for doing so, and a list of government officials named in the documents.

In the letter, Bondi cited “deliberative-process privilege” as one justification for redacting certain documents, a common-law principle that allows the federal government to withhold documents revealing internal decisionmaking.

Massie, who led the charge to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), said Bondi failed to provide any of the answers he sought from her during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday.

“I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi,” Massie said on ABC’s “This Week.” “She wasn’t confident enough to engage in anything but name-calling in a hearing. And so no, I don’t have confidence in her.”

During the hearing, Bondi repeatedly refused to answer questions about the Justice Department’s release of millions of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, instead resorting to ad hominem attacks on lawmakers who challenged her.

When pressed on redactions in the public release of files that failed to comply with the law passed by Congress last year, Bondi called Massie a “failed politician” with “Trump derangement syndrome.”

Massie said Sunday serious questions remain about the DOJ’s handling of the files, including the decision not to prosecute billionaire Leslie Wexner, a former client of Epstein’s whose name appears several hundred times in the Epstein files.

Wexner was one of six “wealthy, powerful men” whose names were originally redacted in the Epstein files, Khanna and Massie revealed Tuesday after reviewing unredacted copies of the files at the Justice Department.

The DOJ later unredacted Wexner’s name on a 2019 FBI document listing several potential “co-conspirators” of Epstein’s, including his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking charges.

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Wexner has maintained for years that he cut ties with the disgraced financier several decades ago when he realized that Epstein had illicitly taken money from him.

“The Assistant US Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was being viewed as a source of information about Epstein and was not a target in any respect,” a legal representative for Wexner said in a recent statement. “Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”

The release of unredacted prosecutorial and investigative documents could also shed light on the 2008 plea deal under which Epstein avoided severe federal charges and pleaded guilty to lesser state charges in Florida, Massie added.

The Kentucky Republican also criticized Bondi for refusing to face several victims of Epstein’s abuse who attended the hearing. When Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) asked Bondi to turn around and apologize to the victims for what the Justice Department had put them through during the hearing, Bondi replied: “I’m not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics.”

At one point, Jayapal also asked the victims if they had not been able to meet with the Justice Department to share their stories, and each of them raised their hand.

“I think that was kind of cold on her part. I think she was afraid to,” Massie said. “These survivors would love to have a meeting. It’s not about Bill Clinton, and it’s not about Donald Trump. This Epstein Files Transparency Act was about getting these survivors justice.”

Millions of new files relating to the late sex offender Epstein were released by the DoJ earlier this month.

In the letter, Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche wrote: "In accordance with the requirements of the Act, and as described in various Department submissions to the courts of the Southern District of New York assigned to the Epstein and Maxwell prosecutions and related orders, the Department released all 'records, documents, communications and investigative materials in the possession of the Department' that 'relate to' any of nine different categories."

No records were withheld from the DoJ's release "on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity", the letter added.

The individuals listed in the letter include people who "are or were a government official or politically exposed person", and whose name appeared at least once in the files, the letter says. — Agencies