The battle over the Epstein files erupted anew on Capitol Hill, where Attorney General Pam Bondi faced sharp accusations that the Justice Department is shielding the names of influential figures linked to the disgraced financier.
In a tense House Judiciary Committee hearing, Representative Thomas Massie accused the department of obscuring key details in its document releases. Waving a printed FBI record, Massie questioned why the name of billionaire businessman Leslie Wexner appeared blacked out in a list referencing potential co-conspirators tied to Epstein’s sex trafficking case.
Bondi countered that Wexner’s name had been disclosed repeatedly in other materials and insisted the redaction in question was corrected within minutes of being flagged. Massie shot back that the revision only came after he publicly exposed it.
The exchange set the tone for a combative session. Lawmakers from both sides voiced frustration over what they described as excessive redactions and withheld material. The Justice Department recently released more than three million additional pages of records, calling it the final installment in a sweeping disclosure effort. Yet critics argue that the edits appear broader than what Congress permitted under a law passed nearly unanimously to ensure transparency.
The department has defended its approach, citing legal privileges and the need to protect victims’ identities. Bondi said over 500 department attorneys worked under tight deadlines to comb through the files. Any accidental disclosure of victim information, she maintained, was unintended. “I have spent my entire career fighting for victims,” she said, pledging continued vigilance.
The hearing unfolded under the watchful eyes of several alleged victims seated in the gallery, adding emotional weight to the proceedings.
Wexner, the former retail executive who once employed Epstein as a money manager, has long maintained he cut ties with Epstein years before the financier’s final arrest and was unaware of his criminal conduct. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The controversy surrounding the files has lingered throughout Bondi’s tenure. Earlier hesitation by the department to release further records drew backlash from segments of President Donald Trump’s political base and reignited scrutiny over Trump’s past association with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal pressed Bondi to apologize for the department’s handling of the rollout, including instances where victims’ names surfaced in released documents. Bondi rejected the demand, questioning why similar criticism had not been directed at the prior administration and dismissing what she called political grandstanding.
Her appearance came amid broader debate over the Justice Department’s independence, as critics argue its recent investigations and prosecutorial decisions have increasingly mirrored the political priorities of the White House.
What was billed as oversight quickly morphed into spectacle — a vivid reminder that even years after Epstein’s death, the paper trail he left behind continues to inflame Washington.
