Featured Image Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Topics: US News, Politics, Jeffrey Epstein
Ellie Kemp
Topics: US News, Politics, Jeffrey Epstein
Warning: This article discusses sexual assault which some people may find distressing.
A House representative has called for Pam Bondi to resign as an already-heated hearing about the Department of Justice's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files turned even more fiery.
The US Attorney General appeared in front of a congressional committee on Wednesday (February 11), where she was grilled after millions of Epstein files were released, albeit highly redacted - a move criticized by both political parties as allegedly protecting those involved with Epstein.
The House Judiciary Committee questioned Bondi about how exactly the DOJ decided which information should and should not be made public under the rules laid out in the Epstein Files Transparency Act, as Global News reports.
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Throughout, the 60-year-old was quick to defend Donald Trump, while admitting that the President appears in multiple files. Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and being mentioned in the files is not indicative of any wrongdoing.
But Bondi herself was accused of being untruthful, as the hearing became fervent.
Democrat Ted Lieu, who represents California, claimed Bondi was 'lying under oath' as he questioned her further over Trump's relationship with Epstein.
The pair were linked in the early 2000s, but Trump has continuously denied any knowledge of the disgraced financier's crimes, claiming they 'fell out' after Epstein allegedly poached workers from Trump.
Following the file drop on January 30, both the DOJ and the White House issued statements saying the documents contained 'untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump'.
Showing a video of Trump at a party with Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell appearing in the background, Lieu pressed: "I want to know: were there any underage girls at that party, or at any party that Trump attended with Jeffrey Epstein?"
Bondi brushed the question off as 'ridiculous' before launching into another impassioned defense of the President: "They are trying to deflect from all the great things Donald Trump has done.
"There is no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime. Everyone knows that. This has been the most transparent presidency."
Lieu, a former military prosecutor, hit back: "I’m going to put up another document from a witness who called the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center, because I believe you just lied under oath. There is ample evidence in the Epstein file."
"Don’t you ever accuse me of a crime!" Bondi shot back.
"I believe you just lied under oath, and this is all on videotape," Lieu replied. "You said there’s no evidence of a crime. Here is a witness statement from someone who called into the FBI’s Threat Operations Center. He drove Donald Trump around in a limo. He overheard what Donald Trump said to Jeffrey on his cell phone.
"He was so angry he was going to stop the limo and hurt Donald Trump. He also met a girl who said she was raped by Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein."
The witness statement Lieu was referring to is from a limo driver who alleged that, while driving Trump to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1995, the former businessman said some 'very concerning' things on his cell phone.
"[Driver] reported he was 'a few seconds from pulling the limousine over on the median and within a few seconds of pulling him out of the car and hurting him, due to some of the things he was saying'," the file read.
"[Driver] noted Trump continuously stated the name 'Jeffrey' while on the phone, and made references to 'abusing some girl.' [Driver] was unsure who he was talking to nor who he was referencing."
The alleged victim was later found 'with her head blown off', and officers determined it 'could not have been suicide,' Lieu continued.
"No one at the Department of Justice interviewed this witness. You need to interview this witness immediately."
Lieu concluded: "Epstein should rot in hell. So should the men who patronized his operation. As we sit here today, there are over 1,000 sex trafficking victims, and you have not held a single man accountable."
He then called for Bondi to step down: "Shame on you. If you had any decency, you would resign right after this hearing concludes."
UNILAD has contacted Pam Bondi and the White House for comment.