What Florida’s representatives said during Pam Bondi’s hearing

U.S. House Democrats accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of putting Jeffrey Epstein’s victims at risk and ignoring their testimony during a heated Judiciary Committee meeting Wednesday, where she defended the Justice Department’s recent release of millions of records related to the now-deceased disgraced financier.

Two representatives from Bondi’s home state had thoughts.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat representing South Florida, pointed out inconsistencies in the Trump administration’s public statements regarding the files. GOP Rep. Laurel Lee, who represents portions of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, defended Bondi’s record on child abuse cases.

Bondi, a Tampa Bay native, spent eight years as Florida’s attorney general, from 2011 to 2019. During those years, she promised to stand up to human traffickers and protect victims. Before her tenure as state attorney general, she specialized in prosecuting child abuse cases at the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.

Here’s what to know about Bondi’s performance Wednesday — and how her time in Florida plays a role.

A 2014 video of Bondi, shot as she campaigned for her second term as Florida’s attorney general, made the rounds on social media platforms Wednesday following her testimony.

“I’ll fight to put human trafficking monsters where they belong: behind bars,” she says, planting her hands on her hips with an assertive nod.

The ad emphasized Bondi’s 2014 creation of the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, which involved prosecutors, law enforcement, lawmakers, nonprofit groups and state agency officials.

At the time, Bondi was raising the alarm about Florida’s top-three ranking nationally in calls for help for human trafficking.

She told WFSU News that she was partnering with truckers and emergency room doctors to recognize signs of human trafficking. She called out massage and nail salons as hotbeds for trafficking.

“I knew we needed all hands on deck,” she said in the ad.

After years of standing tall against human trafficking in Florida, Bondi faced accusations this week from House Democrats of failing to protect Epstein’s victims.

Bondi said that she was “deeply sorry for what any victim” has experienced.

But Democrats at multiple points invited her to apologize for the Justice Department’s release of the records and the redactions within them. Lawyers for Epstein’s victims have said the latest files include email addresses and nude photos in which the names and faces of potential victims could be identified, according to BBC News.

Bondi dodged, instead rebuking House Democrats.

Moskowitz and Lee are the only two Floridians on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

Lee, a friend of Bondi’s, used her time to reiterate statistics Bondi highlighted regarding the Justice Department’s prosecution of child predators.

The Justice Department, Lee said, has located “more than 6,000 child victims of trafficking and exploitation, arrested 1,700 child predators and apprehended more than 300 human traffickers.”

“Those aren’t just statistics,” Lee said. “Those are precious lives that your department and the men and women of federal law enforcement have saved.”

Moskowitz, who’s considered vulnerable in his 2026 race for reelection, started off on a cordial note with Bondi, praising her aid after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in his hometown of Parkland. He also noted that Bondi’s Justice Department “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” a constituent who wrote that he planned to kill him in late 2024.

Moskowitz proceeded to blast what he characterized as inconsistencies in the Trump administration’s statements about the files.

Moskowitz said FBI Director Kash Patel told Congress that President Donald Trump’s name appears less than 100 times in the files. “We now know that’s not true,” Moskowitz said. “Trump’s name appears more times in the Epstein files than God’s name appears in the book about God.”

“Nothing is funny about mocking the Bible and holding up the Bible,“ Bondi said. ”That’s all I have to say.”

“I’m not mocking the Bible,” Moskowitz shot back.

Bondi gained favor as one of Trump’s early supporters in Florida while she was serving as the state’s attorney general.

But it’s unclear where she stands now with Trump amid repeated criticism from the right and left over her handling of the Epstein files since early in her tenure at the Justice Department. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Trump has complained about Bondi “repeatedly” to aides.

Bondi called Trump “the greatest president in American history” and praised him extensively during her testimony Wednesday.

“There is no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime,” she said. “Everyone knows that. This has been the most transparent presidency.”

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, accused Bondi of lying under oath, arguing Trump’s appearances in the files and uncorroborated tips against him are evidence of possible crimes. Trump has never been charged with a crime in connection with Epstein and denies any wrongdoing.

Two Republicans voiced concerns about the Justice Department’s release of victims’ identifying information in the latest tranche of files.

Bondi told Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, that her department had faced a time crunch in providing the files by Congress’ deadline of Dec. 19. The Trump administration provided most of those files more than a month after that deadline.

“We did the best we could,” Bondi said.

Things got more heated when GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a frequent Trump critic, argued the Justice Department over-redacted some information while accidentally releasing victims’ names.

“You’re a failed politician,” Bondi replied.