Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., asked Attorney General Pam Bondi in an oversight hearing Wednesday why she hasn’t prosecuted people who have patronized Jeffrey Epstein’s sex operation, such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew.
Bondi, as she had throughout the hearing, deflected and asked the lawmaker why her predecessor, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, wasn’t questioned about the Epstein case.
Lieu said he agreed with her, saying that Garland, among other officials, “dropped the ball.”
“But you are in charge,” he told her. “You have the power to change things, to hold these men accountable, and you're doing the opposite. You're protecting them.”
Lieu went on to play an archival NBC video of President Donald Trump and Epstein at a party for the hearing room. Lieu asked if there were any underage girls at that party or at any party that Trump attended with Epstein.
“There is no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime,” Bondi said.
Lieu then accused Bondi of lying under oath. He referred to a statement given to the FBI’s threat operation station, in which a witness claimed he met a girl who said she was raped by Trump and Epstein. Lieu said the DOJ hasn’t interviewed this witness.
“You have not held a single man accountable. Shame on you,” Lieu said. “If you had any decency, you would resign right after this hearing concludes.”
Bondi responded by saying Lieu doesn’t want to talk about the crime perpetrated by undocumented immigrants in his state of California.
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.”