"On December 26, I wrote a post mocking claims the White House had laundered through Marc Caputo that the Epstein release would only go on one more week; predictably, that claim lasted less than a day. I argued then that the seeming evidence of a cover-up in the files released to that date was instead evidence of incompetence, but that eventually we would get more direct proof of a cover-up."
"In yesterday's hearing before HJC, Pam Bondi staged one of her now-trademark contemptuous performances, repeatedly attacking Democrats (and Tom Massie, whom Jim Jordan treated worse than Democrats) rather than answer pointed questions. In the process, the Attorney General proved that she is trying to cover up the Epstein files to protect Donald Trump in at least five different ways. Mistreatment of Survivors Over the course of the day, members demonstrated how terribly DOJ has treated survivors."
"When Jayapal asked Bondi if she would apologize to the survivors standing behind her for the things her own DOJ had done to them by releasing their names, Bondi did not do so. First, she asked why Jayapal hadn't asked Garland to do so, a wildly nonsensical whatabout. Then she said instead, "I'm not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics.""
A December claim that the Epstein file release would stop after one more week proved false within a day. Initial released files suggested incompetence rather than deliberate concealment, but subsequent events provided clearer evidence of a cover-up. During a House hearing, Pam Bondi repeatedly attacked members instead of answering questions and displayed conduct aimed at protecting a political figure. The hearing revealed troubling DOJ treatment of survivors, including an improperly redacted list that left survivors' names exposed. Bondi refused to apologize to survivors and relied on debunked explanations about victim outreach as a reason for limited prosecutions.
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