He won the 2024 elections with a package of promises that, among others, included “transparency” in matters that the Democratic Party was supposedly trying to hide. Starting with , the pedophile who for at least a decade was a friend of the president of the United States. The Republicans talked all the time about the famous “Epstein list” and the names of Democrats, friends of Democrats and financiers of Democrats that it would contain and that the FBI would have covered up. We will tell everything if we get to the White House, they said. But now they rule and they have forgotten that promise.
The best example was yesterday’s appearance by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who refused to answer questions about the case during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington. The woman whose name appeared in the papers of the suicided financier is now silent. Instead of explaining himself – as the citizens of the United States and a good part of the Republican Party, which is frightened by the abuse of minors, expect – he began to attack the senators of the opposite party.
Bondi raised his voice, of course, as he scolded Democratic lawmakers for their questions. The prosecutor dodged any questions about her handling of Epstein’s files and, at several points, flatly refused to answer. “I’m not going to talk to you about that,” he told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), when asked who had given the order to inform the president that his name appeared in Epstein’s files. “Eventually he will have to answer for his conduct in this. He won’t do it today, but he will eventually,” Durbin replied.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wanted to know whether the FBI had uncovered photographs of Trump and “semi-naked young women” in its investigations and whether the Justice Department had investigated “suspicious activity reports” about Epstein’s finances. Bondi did not respond, he only denies that there was a cover-up.
The attorney general was asked why her department now says there is no list of Epstein’s clients after she previously claimed to have that information on her desk. Bondi responded by citing the department’s previous finding that there was no evidence of conspiracy or cover-up surrounding the investigation.
According to the newspaper the federal government has in its possession a “pile of documents”, that is, those that could be Epstein’s files or “list”. Its content would not have fully come to light, since only certain information has been revealed in recent years. In February 2025, for example, the Department of Justice and the FBI released what was described as the “first sentence of the declassified Epstein files.” The day before their release, Attorney General Bondi told Fox News that they contained “a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information,” adding, “It’s pretty sick what that man did, along with his co-defendant.”
But the most striking thing is what he said about the alleged list of Epstein’s associates, cronies or clients: “I have it on my desk to review.” So, the effort was always to turn the fan against Democratic politicians or friends and financiers of that formation. Over the weeks, the list that was supposedly on your desk has gone from existing to non-existent. Bondi’s spokesman later clarified that she had been referring to the general files on the Epstein affair, nothing more. In July, the Justice Department and the FBI said in a memo that no further new material about the case would be released. He clings to that so as not to speak more.
The questions still swirling around the Epstein investigation have generated rare bipartisan interest, with some Republicans joining Democrats in demanding greater transparency. It took time, but this Senate hearing finally gave a clue about that. Republican Senator John Kennedy (of Louisiana) recalled recent comments by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that Epstein was “the biggest blackmailer in history.” He suggested that Lutnick, who owns a home near Epstein in Palm Beach, should testify before Congress and talk to the FBI. Someone from the same party as Trump. It is significant. Bondi continued her dance about Epstein, saying it was up to Lutnick and FBI Director Kash Patel to decide whether a meeting was necessary.
All-out defense of the boss
The rest of the prosecutor’s appearance was a blatant defense of her boss, Trump, who trusts her 100% for her loyalty and her ideology, pure MAGA. , “Donald Trump now has the attorney general he always wanted: an ally willing to use the law to make his agenda possible.”
His intervention yesterday, which in theory should be informative, serious and responsible, was a handful of controversial and partisan speeches, a debut before the Senate that already brought a framework that left no room for doubt: his Department, two weeks ago, while former employees of his department have made public a letter accusing Bondi of helping to deliver a “blow” to the “long-standing work that the department has done to protect communities and the state of right”.
Bondi did not wait for the reproaches for all this, but charged ahead. For example, when pressed on those in Democratic cities, alluding to supposedly high levels of crime that are not such, she said that she wished Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and California Senator Alex Padilla loved their states “as much as they hate Donald Trump.” Also, as with Epstein, he gave a silent response as a strategy: He said he would not discuss “personnel matters” when asked about the series of high-level firings, including top FBI officials and a US lawyer who had recommended against indicting Comey.
He declined to comment on ongoing investigations or legal proceedings, including the Comey case. He also did not want to reveal details about the conversations he has had with the president or other White House advisors. When shown a large photograph of her sitting at a table with the president the day after Trump had written a post on Truth Social asking her to impeach Comey, her only comment was that she loved the image. “This is supposed to be an oversight hearing where members of Congress can get serious answers to serious questions,” California Senator Adam Schiff reminded him, after listing all the questions Bondi had refused to answer. “I think you owe the president an apology for your entire career,” Bondi replied, so broadly.
Bondi seemed determined to focus on what she said was the Trump administration’s goal of reducing crime in the US. He was quick to cite statistics that he said showed the successes they’d had so far: the number of arrests in Washington, D.C., drug crackdowns and seizures of illegal firearms in Chicago, and drug seizures at the border. “We’re getting back to our core mission of fighting real crime,” he said. Data questioned by media such as .
It’s an issue that polls show worries many Americans and has the potential to appeal not only to staunch conservative supporters but also to independent and Democratic voters.
“The Department of Justice is supposed to be the national guardian of fairness and the rule of law,” Senator Alex Padilla said during his questioning. “When public trust is broken, justice itself is at risk.” That’s what’s happening in the US.
