Bondi confirms active Epstein investigations, urges victims to come forward

2026-02-12 - 08:25

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the Justice Department is actively pursuing investigations connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, calling on victims to cooperate with federal authorities. "We have pending investigations in our office," Bondi stated, adding that "the FBI is waiting to hear from you" regarding any credible allegations. "That Monster" and Maxwell Bondi referred to Epstein as "that monster" and expressed hope that his imprisoned associate, Ghislaine Maxwell—convicted in 2022 on sex trafficking charges and serving a 20-year sentence—"will hopefully die in prison." Maxwell remains a central figure in the Epstein network and has been incarcerated since her conviction. Contentious Hearing Over Document Release The hearing grew heated as Democrats accused the department of mishandling the recent disclosure of over 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law in November 2025. Redaction errors reportedly exposed the identities of several victims. Bondi defended the process, stating officials "did the best we could" under tight deadlines and credited President Donald Trump's approval of the legislation as evidence of administrative commitment to transparency. Bipartisan Scrutiny and Defense Lawmakers from both parties pressed Bondi on procedural failures. She rejected allegations of misconduct, asserting there is "no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime" while pledging to review any new evidence submitted to investigators. Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, following a 2008 Florida conviction critics have long condemned as unduly lenient.