HOME / POLITICS

Pramila Jayapal slams Bondi for refusing to apologize to Epstein survivors, vows to keep fighting

Pramila Jayapal condemned Pam Bondi as a 'small, cruel person' leading what she described as a 'lawless Department of Justice'

BY DIVYA KISHORE

PUBLISHED FEB 12, 2026

Pramila Jayapal asked Pam Bondi to directly address the survivors and apologize for the Department of Justice’s mishandling of Epstein files (X/ @RepJayapal, Getty Images)

Pam Bondi refused to apologize to the Epstein survivors and essentially said, “I’m not going to get in the gutter with you.”

How is an apology to survivors getting in the gutter?

I’ll continue fighting for the courageous survivors who deserve so much better than this DOJ. pic.twitter.com/gRJNZ2Xcae
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) February 11, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal has blasted Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi after she declined to apologize to the survivors of the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

During the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, February 11, Bondi was questioned by Jayapal, who also asked the former to turn towards the survivors and “apologize for what your Department of Justice has put them through with the absolutely unacceptable release of the Epstein files and their information?”

US Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) questions U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi is expected to face questions on her department’s handling of the files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump’s investigations into political foes and the handing of the two fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) — US Rep Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) questions U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

However, the Republican party politician repeatedly refused to do so, before saying, “I’m not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics.”

Pramila Jayapal accuses Pam Bondi of traumatizing Epstein survivors

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi is expected to face questions on her department’s handling of the files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump’s investigations into political foes and the handing of the two fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) — US Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Now, via a video message posted on X, Jayapal has slammed Bondi as she asked, “How is an apology to survivors getting in the gutter?”

The 60-year-old congresswoman began, “Well we just had attorney general Pam Bondi in front of the House Judiciary Committee, and I was the first one to question her.”

“And asked her to actually turn to the survivors who were standing right behind her and to apologize to them for all the mistakes that her Department of Justice in not redacting the personal information of the survivors, of putting it out there for the whole world, and the trauma and the retraumatization that they felt because of that,” she stated.

Pramila Jayapal rebukes Pam Bondi for refusing 'to take any accountability'

Continuing further, Pramila Jayapal mentioned her “gutter” response before adding: “Why is that not just both a human response that you would want to give to apologize to them for the mistakes you made intentional or not intentional.”

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 6: Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks during a news conference with Congressional Democrats outside of the U.S. Capitol on November 6, 2025 in Washington, DC. The news conference focused on the lasting effects of the government shutdown on health care costs and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images) — Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks during a news conference with Congressional Democrats outside of the U.S. Capitol on November 6, 2025 in Washington, DC. The news conference focused on the lasting effects of the government shutdown on health care costs and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (Eric Lee/Getty Images)

In her statement, the Democrat noted that Bondi is the head of the Department of Justice, “the department that was responsible for this. But she refused to take any accountability. She refused to even acknowledge them and several of them said to me after the hearing that it was also something that stuck with them.”

Pramila Jayapal brands Pam Bondi a 'cruel person'

Sharing one of the survivors' responses to Bondi’s actions, Jayapal revealed that she was crying and told her that she was really “hurt because it is what has happened to them over and over again. They’ve been dismissed, they’ve been unacknowledged, they’ve been able to get no justice.”

Jayapal then went on to call Bondi “the small, cruel person” who leads the “lawless Department of Justice.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi is expected to face questions on her department’s handling of the files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump’s investigations into political foes and the handing of the two fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) — US Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

She, however, asserted in her message that she’s not stopping her fight. “Those survivors were amazing. Really, really amazing. And I am so grateful to them for their courage. Never going to stop fighting for this,” Jayapal concluded.