From PBS NewsHour.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi in an oversight hearing Wednesday.

Jayapal pressed Bondi on how the administration has handled the Epstein files. She addressed survivors seated behind Bondi in the hearing room, saying, "if you are willing, please raise your hands if you have still not been able to meet with this Department of Justice."

She noted that every survivor present raised their hand.

The hearing offered an opportunity for lawmakers to question Bondi on a number of controversial issues involving the Justice Department, including around the Trump administration’s failure to meet a Congress-mandated deadline to release all of its Epstein files; the legal justification for the administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific; as well as prosecutions of perceived Trump political rivals like James Comey and Letitia James. Bondi is seeking to revive both cases, which were already thrown out by a U.S. district judge.

The Department of Justice has released millions of pages of Epstein-related documents, photographs and messages. But it missed its deadline by more than a month, and the releases have been mired by missed redactions and accusations of key omissions. Millions of pages related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender remain inaccessible, though the White House defends its review as thorough and complete. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has demanded more transparency, accusing the government of failing to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed in November, and survivors released a Super Bowl ad telling Bondi “it’s time for the truth.”

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