On February 11, 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee erupted into one of the most combative congressional hearings in recent memory—and revealed something deeply alarming. During the hearing, Bondi was caught with a printout labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History” listing at least eight Epstein-related files that Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal had searched while reviewing unredacted records at the Department of Justice.
The DOJ had been tracking what members of Congress searched in the Epstein files. Jayapal called it “totally inappropriate and against the separation of powers for the DOJ to surveil us as we search the Epstein files,” adding that Bondi “showed up today with a burn book that held a printed search history of exactly what emails I searched. That is outrageous and I intend to pursue this and stop this spying on members.” Rep. Jamie Raskin announced he would ask the DOJ Inspector General to investigate, calling it an “outrageous abuse of power” and warning, “This is just getting Orwellian with these people.”
The hearing also revealed the DOJ had only turned over roughly 3 million of the 6 million Epstein documents Congress ordered. Lawmakers described being forced into a tiny room with four computers, banned from bringing phones, with limited note-taking capabilities—conditions designed to obstruct rather than facilitate oversight.
Bondi's conduct during the hearing was equally disturbing. She called Raskin, a former constitutional law professor and the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, a “washed-up, loser lawyer” and told him he was “not even a lawyer.” This is the nation's top law enforcement officer insulting lawmakers during an oversight hearing about a child sex trafficking case. The DOJ is supposed to serve the American people, not spy on Congress and insult anyone who asks tough questions.