Pam Bondi suggests Jewish lesbian lawmaker is anti-Semitic in explosive hearing

A House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi descended into chaos Wednesday afternoon, resulting in out U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, a Vermont Democrat, storming out after Bondi accused her of fueling what she called an “anti-Semitic culture,” capping a day of bitter, partisan clashes over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Balint is Jewish.

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The blowup came at the end of a hearing that had already simmered for hours, as Democrats accused Bondi of stonewalling rather than answering their questions directly. Bondi, for her part, repeatedly deflected, shifted blame to previous administrations, and counterattacked, turning what was billed as an oversight session into a running political brawl steeped in disrespect.

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When Balint’s time expired, and the out lawmaker yielded back, Bondi asked for a moment to respond, and used it to go on the offensive: “You didn’t ask Merrick Garland anything about Epstein,” she said. Balint shot back: “Weak sauce.”

Bondi then escalated: “And with this anti-Semitic culture right now, she voted against a resolution ...”

Balint cut her off: “Oh really? Do you want to go there, attorney general?” she said. “Talking about antisemitism to a woman who lost her grandfather in the Holocaust?”

The lawmaker then got up and left the room.

The confrontation capped a day in which Democrats pointed to survivors seated behind Bondi and urged her to meet with them directly. Republicans defended Bondi and accused Democrats of political theater.

From the outset, Democrats framed the hearing as an indictment of Bondi’s leadership and priorities. Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland opened by accusing Bondi of a “cover-up” and a “betrayal of the principle of justice for all,” blasting the department’s handling of the Epstein files, including extensive redactions, absent engagement with survivors, and a persistent lack of clarity about who has or has not been questioned. “The American people are rightfully worried that the Department of Justice is protecting the powerful and letting the vulnerable languish,” Raskin said.

That frustration boiled over in Balint’s exchange with Bondi, whose questioning cut to the core of Democrats’ demands: whether the Justice Department has meaningfully scrutinized powerful officials whose names appear in newly released, unredacted Epstein files.

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Balint described the controversy as evidence of a “two-tiered system of justice,” in which survivors are left waiting while the well-connected remain insulated. She pressed Bondi on whether the department had questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Navy Secretary John Phelan, or Deputy Defense Secretary Steven Feinberg about any ties to Epstein.

Scrutiny of Lutnick, in particular, has become a flashpoint. Documents show he maintained contact with Epstein years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction of soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from a minor, including arranging a visit to Epstein’s private island in 2012 — a timeline that appears to conflict with his earlier claims that he severed ties much earlier. Those revelations have fueled calls for accountability.

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Lutnick said in an October interview that he never spent time with Epstein after 2005, when the two were neighbors in New York. However, on Tuesday, Lutnick admitted, after his name was found in the disclosures, that in 2012 he, his wife, their children, and nannies did travel to the convicted sex offender’s private Caribbean island, for “lunch.”

Bondi declined to give clear yes-or-no answers. She said Lutnick had “addressed those ties himself,” said she did not know whether Phelan had, and bristled when asked about Feinberg. Chairman Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican, repeatedly intervened to manage time and decorum.

Bondi struggled to justify her own role in pushing for the release of Epstein materials amid broader political pressure. Republicans invoked the released documents to criticize Democrats, while Democrats say the selective disclosure and extensive redactions have undermined public confidence and shielded powerful figures.

In an interview with The Advocate after the hearing, Balint said Democrats had anticipated Bondi would avoid their questions. “We knew she was going to come out swinging and that she wasn’t going to be prepared to answer our questions,” Balint said, calling it “really heartbreaking” because survivors had met with lawmakers “both yesterday and this morning in preparation for the hearing” and were “really hopeful that they would get some answers.” Instead, she said, Bondi arrived with “a big binder full of insults for all of us,” adding, “I think Americans deserve so much better than that.”

Balint also criticized what she described as the attorney general’s political posture. “She’s our top cop. She is supposed to be independent from the president,” Balint said. “And what we saw was somebody just in lockstep with the president and doing his bidding.” She said survivors in the room were hurt when Bondi suggested they could simply “call 1-800-FBI if you have a tip,” a response Balint said left many feeling dismissed.

Balint said that when Bondi accused her of being anti-Semitic, it was her breaking point. She described Bondi’s attack as “weaponizing antisemitism” and said it echoed tactics her own family had faced in 20th century Europe. “She is using the fascist authoritarian playbook in the same way that my family was on the receiving end of those same tactics and strategies during the Nazi-era,” Balint said, adding that she walked out because her time had expired but returned to the room afterward.

“I came back in for the survivors, and I stayed to the very end because they deserve that," Balint said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with Rep. Becca Balint's interview with The Advocate.