London, New York<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday February 12 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pam Bondi, the US attorney-general, has been criticised by a group of Jeffrey Epstein victims for not acknowledging them during a combative appearance before Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bondi, the nation\u2019s top law enforcement officer, faced a barrage of questions from Democrats in a congressional hearing on Wednesday about the US Department of Justice\u2019s handling of the Epstein files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her opening remarks, Bondi said she was \u201cdeeply sorry for what any victim has been through\u201d but did not turn to face the nearly a dozen Epstein victims sitting behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat representative for Washington, asked the women to stand up and raise their hands if they had not been able to meet with the justicedepartment. She then challenged Bondi to look them in the eye and apologise for the failure to redact their names fully when the files were made public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bondi, who previously worked as President Trump\u2019s personal lawyer, declined and later said: \u201cI\u2019m not going to get into the gutter for [Jayapal\u2019s] theatrics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A picture of all the Epstein survivors raising their hands has since gone viral online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein raise their hands, including Sharlene Rochard, second from left<\/p>\n\n\n\n AP PHOTO\/J SCOTT APPLEWHITE<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBondi didn\u2019t even turn around and acknowledge our existence,\u201d said Danielle Bensky, who was abused by Epstein as a teenager, after the hearing. \u201cWe knew this was going to be a hard day, but just not to acknowledge our baseline humanity \u2014 I felt pure rage. I could feel myself shaking with anger and frustration. I feel like we\u2019ve been revictimised,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019s gaslighting the American people over and over. The DoJ needs to do its job: release all the files.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharlene Rochard, who was among the Epstein survivors sitting at the back of the hearing, said she \u201cfelt humiliated\u201d and \u201cstarted to cry at that moment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anouska de Georgiou, a British victim of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, said: \u201cThis is bigger than us. When you can\u2019t acknowledge survivors of sex crimes, how do you expect other victims watching to feel safe coming forward?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bondi accused Democrats of using the so-called Epstein files to distract from Trump\u2019s successes. She also asked Democrats whether they had \u201capologised to President Trump for their involvement in past impeachment efforts\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The attorney-general has faced heavy backlash over the Epstein files since she handed out a collection of binders containing information from the documents to a group of conservative social media influencers in February last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The binders, distributed during an event at the White House, included no new revelations about Epstein and led to increased calls from Trump\u2019s base for the full files to be released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, released in the Epstein files, is displayed before the House judiciary committee on Wednesday<\/p>\n\n\n\n WIN MCNAMEE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the release of more than three million documents by the justice department, Democrats have been pressuring Bondi to investigate alleged co-conspirators of Epstein whose names appear in the files. She told the survivors that \u201cany accusation of criminal wrongdoing will be taken seriously and investigated\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bondi\u2019s criticism extended to Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman from Kentucky who co-authored the bill compelling the justice department to release the records from its Epstein investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis guy has Trump derangement syndrome,\u201d Bondi said of Massie, who has criticised the justice department\u2019s handling of the files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Victims](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/imageserver\/image\/%2F082ec72a-28c5-4bce-88e6-9a2be28ffd41.jpg?crop=8256%2C4644%2C0%2C430&resize=360\")
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