Attorney General tells lawmakers the Dow is over 50,000 while survivors of sex trafficking sit behind her with hands raised
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi responded to questions about how many of Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators she has indicted by citing the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, in what legal experts are calling either a bold strategic pivot or one of the most extraordinary non-answers in the history of congressional testimony. The Bondi Epstein hearing before the House Judiciary Committee lasted more than five hours on Wednesday and produced zero new indictments, zero apologies, and one memorable stock market speech.
“The Dow is over 50,000 right now,” Bondi told the committee after Rep. Jerry Nadler asked how many perpetrators she was investigating. “The S&P at almost 7,000 and the Nasdaq smashing records. That’s what we should be talking about.”
Democrats on the committee appeared confused by the pivot from sex trafficking to index funds. Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who co-authored the law requiring the files’ release, later told reporters: “She came here to talk about the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq, which seems kind of crazy to me.”
The Bondi Epstein hearing grew more contentious when Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked survivors seated in the gallery to stand and raise their hands if they had been unable to meet with the Justice Department. All eleven women raised their hands. Jayapal then asked Bondi to turn around and apologize. Bondi declined, accusing the congresswoman of “theatrics” and saying she would not “get in the gutter.” She did not turn around.
Legal observers noted the hearing raised complex procedural questions. The DOJ had previously faced scrutiny over delays in the file release and redactions that obscured the names of alleged co-conspirators while leaving victims’ identifying information exposed. Massie called it “literally the worst thing you could do to the survivors.”
Bondi called Massie a “failed politician” with “Trump derangement syndrome.” She called ranking Democrat Jamie Raskin a “washed-up loser lawyer.” She did not call any of Epstein’s co-conspirators anything, because she did not name any.
As historian Heather Cox Richardson noted, Bondi arrived at the hearing with a binder containing personalized insults for Democratic members and — in what Reuters photographer Kent Nishimura captured in a now-viral image — a printout of Rep. Jayapal’s search history from her review of Epstein documents at DOJ offices.
Republicans on the committee largely ceded their questioning time back to Bondi, allowing her to extend her remarks. Several did not use their full allotment. Democrats used theirs to ask about Epstein. Bondi used hers to ask why nobody was apologizing to President Trump.
The hearing adjourned with the Dow still above 50,000 and the number of Epstein co-conspirator indictments still at zero. Both figures remained unchanged at press time.
About the Author
