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Attorney General Pam Bondi testified Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, where she repeatedly refused to answer questions about her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. She also refused to apologize to Epstein survivors over the botched release of files, some of which contained survivors' personal information and even uncensored nude photographs. During the hearing, Bondi was photographed consulting a binder that appeared to show the search history of lawmakers who visited the Justice Department to examine the unredacted Epstein files in person.
"Essentially, they were spying on us," says Democratic Congressmember Pramila Jayapal. "It's certainly not going to stop me from continuing to review the files, but it is absolutely outrageous."
Jayapal also condemns the Justice Department for refusing to open new investigations into Epstein's associates listed in the files. "These were rich, powerful, wealthy people, mostly men, who groomed, raped, abused, manipulated young girls," she says.
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As we continue to look at Wednesday's contentious hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, we speak with Vermont Congressmember Becca Balint, who walked out after Attorney General Pam Bondi accused her of supporting antisemitism. Balint, who is Jewish and whose grandfather died in the Holocaust, had just asked Bondi to meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein — a demand that Bondi repeatedly ignored during the hearing.
"It was just heartbreaking to watch the attorney general act in this way, especially when survivors have waited, over the course of decades, for justice," Balint tells Democracy Now!
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Her appearance comes as the department is under scrutiny over its handling of the Epstein files, its approach toward the shootings in Minneapolis and its move to prosecute six Democratic lawmakers.
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The attorney general lobbed insults when lawmakers questioned her decisions and portrayed the Justice Department as unfairly maligned by Democrats and Trump critics.
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We speak with Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who was violently dragged from her car by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month and detained at the Whipple Federal Building, which has become the epicenter of the government's immigration crackdown in the city. Rahman says she repeatedly told agents she was disabled and had a brain injury, but they ignored her pleas for medical attention or other accommodation. "I was taken out of that place unconscious," says Rahman, who describes lasting injuries and trauma from her detention. Rahman was not charged with any crime. "What I saw in that detention center was truly horrific."
We also speak with attorney Alexa Van Brunt, director of the Illinois office of the MacArthur Justice Center, who says victims of ICE violence like Rahman can sue the federal government for violating their rights, "but they cannot sue the officers in their individual capacity."
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