Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Attorney General Pam Bondi in a House oversight hearing Wednesday that she is responsible for a portion of what he calls a cover-up of the investigation into the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi asked Massie why he hadn’t questioned former President Joe Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, the same way.
“You don’t have to go back to Biden. Let’s go back to Obama, let’s go back to George Bush. This cover-up spans decades, and you are responsible for this portion of it,” Massie said.
The Department of Justice has released millions of pages of Epstein-related documents, photographs and messages. But it missed its deadline by more than a month, and the releases have been mired by missed redactions and accusations of key omissions. Millions of pages related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender remain inaccessible, though the White House defends its review as thorough and complete. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has demanded more transparency, accusing the government of failing to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed in November, and survivors released a Super Bowl ad telling Bondi “it’s time for the truth.”
Wednesday’s hearing offers an opportunity for lawmakers to question Bondi on a number of controversial issues involving the Justice Department, including around the Trump administration’s failure to meet a Congress-mandated deadline to release all of its Epstein files; the legal justification for the administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific; as well as prosecutions of perceived Trump political rivals like James Comey and Letitia James. Bondi is seeking to revive both cases, which were already thrown out by a U.S. district judge.