Bondi has faced increasing condemnation and scrutiny over missing files, erroneous redactions and belligerent public hearings -Credit:AFP via Getty Images
(AFP via Getty Images)
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia said this weekend that the Jeffrey Epstein saga is “infinitely worse than the Watergate coverup as we know it” and that Attorney General Pam Bondi “has an enormous amount of liability” as the person “leading this coverup for Donald Trump.”
Garcia, the Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, is one of the chief backers of efforts to force the Justice Department to adhere to its congressional mandate to release the vast majority of its files on the late sex offender, as outlined in the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
In an interview with Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias on Saturday, Garcia said that regardless of Bondi’s efforts to carry the water for Trump, both she and the president will be held accountable.
“What’s stunning to me, and what Pam Bondi doesn’t understand, is first, this is infinitely worse than the Watergate cover-up as we know it. I mean, it doesn’t compare,” Garcia said. “But let’s remember who actually had to face consequences for Watergate. It wasn’t Nixon, right? It was the attorney general.
• Trump’s blundering DOJ emailed wrong Oklahoma address for weeks over voter roll demands
• Democrats have flipped 28 seats since Trump’s win – Republicans have not flipped any
“I think that Pam Bondi needs to understand that she has an enormous amount of liability here as the attorney general, and as someone that’s leading this cover-up for Donald Trump. So if she wants to continue carrying the water for a failed president, she can do so as she pleases, but she will be held accountable, and our goal is to hold the president accountable,” he added.
Garcia’s comments come as House lawmakers on the committee deposed Epstein’s former accountant this week, with a laundry list of other high-profile former associates set to testify in the coming weeks, including Bill Gates.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has positioned herself as the chief defender of Donald Trump -Credit:AFP via Getty Images
None of those people have been accused of wrongdoing in their relationships with Epstein, but Democrats on the committee argued that anyone with ties to the wealthy financier should be scrutinized.
Les Wexner was deposed by the committee last month, and Rep. James Comer has also called on Leon Black, among several others, to appear for transcribed interviews.
Though the Justice Department under Bondi has released millions of documents related to its investigation of Epstein, many of them remain heavily redacted.
Only half of the department’s total cache of documents have been made public, and Bondi has faced increasing condemnation and scrutiny over missing files, temporarily removed documents and erroneous redactions that have revealed the names of child sexual assault survivors while shielding the names of some alleged perpetrators.
Bondi has positioned herself as the chief defender of Trump, even as the latest batch of Justice Department files included a wide array of allegations of his involvement in Epstein’s abuse. Several FBI intake forms included allegations of a sexual nature between Trump and underage victims, and a series of previously withheld FBI interviews with one woman included claims that Trump “struck” her after forcing her to perform oral sex when she was between 13 and 15.
Trump has always denied any wrongdoing relating to the Epstein case, has not been accused of any crimes by law enforcement and has never been identified as the subject of any investigation. The White House has claimed in statements to The Mirror US the allegations in the documents involving Trump are not credible.
Only half of the department’s total cache of documents have been made public -Credit:AP
But many believe that the millions of still-concealed Justice Department documents contain further information on Trump’s past connections with Epstein. That belief has manifested in an ongoing trend among social media users and some Democratic lawmakers, who often refer to official actions by Trump, such as the initiation of the Iran war or investigations into alleged voter fraud, as thinly-veiled “distractions” from the Epstein files.
Besieged by questions over Epstein and accusations of a weaponized Justice Department, Bondi aggressively pivoted in an extraordinary speech last month in which she mocked her Democratic questioners, praised Trump over the performance of the stock market and openly aligned herself as in sync with a president whom she painted as a victim of past impeachments and investigations, The Associated Press reported.
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories.
“You sit here, and you attack the president, and I’m not going to have it,” Bondi told lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee. “I am not going to put up with it.”
Some Democratic lawmakers have begun openly referring to Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files as a coverup to protect the president -Credit:Getty Images
The hearing quickly devolved into a partisan brawl, with Bondi repeatedly insulting Democrats while insisting she was not “going to get in the gutter” with them.
Bondi repeatedly deflected questions, responding instead with attacks seemingly gleaned from news headlines as she sought to paint Democrats as uninterested in violence in their districts. Democrats became exasperated as Bondi declined time and again to directly answer.
“You’re siding with the perpetrators, and you’re ignoring the victims,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland told Bondi in his opening statement. “That will be your legacy unless you act quickly to change the course. You’re running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice.”
The Mirror US contacted the White House for comment after the latest batch of 3 million files was released.
In response to the new allegations, the White House forwarded a statement from the Justice Department, which reads: “This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act. Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
“To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the statement added.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or visit its website to receive confidential support.
