'This isn't a CIRCUS!' Bondi fends off attacks from Democrat lawmakers in combative hearing

Attorney General Pam Bondi went head-to-head with Democratic lawmakers Wednesday during a contentious House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing. Lawmakers sparred with Bondi over the Justice Department's handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related files and broader allegations about the department's political priorities, while Bondi shot back that Democrats were merely "grandstanding" and engaging in political "theatrics."

In a heated exchange with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who pressed her on alleged connections between President Donald Trump and Epstein, Bondi interrupted sharply.

'I am not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics.'

"This isn't a circus! This is a hearing!" Bondi said.

Tensions escalated further during an exchange with Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the committee's ranking Democrat. Raskin attempted to interject, "I told you, Attorney General —," before Bondi cut him off.

"Here we go with the theatrics!" she said. "You don't tell me anything."

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Bondi also clashed with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who referenced Epstein victims present in the room and asked them to stand if they had been unable to meet with the Justice Department. Bondi declined to engage directly with that approach.

"Why didn't she ask Merrick Garland this, twice, when he sat in my chair?" Bondi asked in response in Jayapal, referring to the attorney general under President Joe Biden.

“I am not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics,” Bondi continued.

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Throughout the hearing, Bondi defended the department's priorities, citing prosecutions of violent crime and efforts to address what she described as prior politicization of federal law enforcement.

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