Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said Sunday that he disagreed with how Attorney General Pam Bondi worked She conducted herself Regarding the Ministry of Justice’s publication of files related to sexual offenders Jeffrey Epstein in a combative hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
“I don’t think she did a very good job,” Massey told ABC News’ “This Week” anchor Martha Raddatz. “She came with a book full of insults, a book for every member of Congress. And obviously she had a book for me.”
When Raddatz asked him if he had confidence in Bundy, Massey said he didn’t think Bundy had any confidence in herself.
“She was not confident enough to engage in anything but cursing at the hearing,” Massey said. “So no, I don’t have confidence in her. She doesn’t have any kind of accountability there at the Department of Justice.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., will appear on ABC News’ “This Week” on February 15, 2026.
ABC News
During questioning of Massie at Wednesday’s hearing, Bondi said the congressman suffers from “Trump derangement syndrome,” an attack President Donald Trump sometimes launches against those who criticize him.
At another point, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked the group of Epstein victims sitting behind Bondi to raise their hands if they couldn’t meet Bondi’s Justice Department. All the survivors present raised their hands. Bondi did not turn to look at these victims, even after Jayapal asked her to do so, and described it as a “theatrical act.”
Massey called Bondi’s decision not to look at the survivors “cold” and said he believed she was “scared” to do so.
Wednesday’s hearing came after the Justice Department released more than 3 million pages of Epstein case files. The disclosure of the files sparked a wave of criticism and resignations around the world. In the United States, several powerful figures were named – but not accused of wrongdoing – in the latest version of the dossier.
Massie accused the Justice Department of revealing the identities of victims in some cases while exaggerating the portrayal of powerful men and potential co-conspirators in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation in others.
“[Bondi] “He admitted that 40 minutes after informing the Department of Justice that they had over-redacted some documents, they un-redacted those documents. Clearly, their work is not finished here,” Massey said.
Shortly after the files were made public, the Justice Department last week allowed members of Congress to view copies of the files with fewer redactions.
After reviewing the documents, Massey claimed the Justice Department improperly withheld information from an undated document that appeared to contain 20 names and corresponding photographs.
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee, February 11, 2026, in Washington.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
In the publicly available version of the document posted on the Justice Department’s website, the only names and photographs that originally appeared were those of Epstein and Maxwell.
after Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who led the effort to release the files with Massie, expressed concerns about the redactions, and Massie wrote in an X post on Tuesday that the Justice Department “immediately de-redacted the names of the men as well as several women on the list that we had not flagged.”
Massey also published the less redacted version of the document, which contains an additional 16 unredacted names of both men and women.
They betrayed us Then read the names of the four men listed in the document on the House floor while also asking the Department of Justice to redact other specific documents that conceal the names of Leslie Wexner and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, whose names appear unredacted hundreds of times elsewhere in Justice Department disclosures.
Slim, the billionaire CEO of logistics giant DP World, to resign “Effective immediately,” the company said in a statement after his contacts with Epstein were revealed. A company spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
A legal representative for Wexner told ABC News, “An Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was not a co-conspirator and was not a target in any way. Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”
After The Guardian reported on Friday that the Justice Department said the four men named on the House floor were part of a photo lineup arranged by federal prosecutors and had “no clear connection to Epstein,” Khanna said Blame the Department of Justice.
“I wish the Department of Justice had provided this explanation earlier instead of redacting their names. They failed to protect survivors, created confusion for innocent men, and protected rich and powerful abusers,” he wrote on X. “We must be completely transparent.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche meets with reporters as the Justice Department announces the release of three million pages of documents in the latest revelations about Jeffrey Epstein in Washington, January 30, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
In a written statement to ABC News, They betrayed us He alleged that the Justice Department “failed to provide any explanation for its arbitrary redactions” to documents and then removed the redactions “without providing the context that Massey and I requested.”
“Sadly, the Department of Justice has created confusion that has protected the rich and powerful, exposed survivors, and exposed men not involved in Epstein’s crimes.” Khanna said.
Massey and Khanna were “forced to reveal completely random people selected years ago for the FBI lineup — men and women,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday in an X post.
Asked by Raddatz about Blanche’s accusation, Massey said Blanche did not redact the names but did not provide any context about them.
“Well, three hours before Todd Blanche himself redacted those names, I told him in
Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna arrive at the Department of Justice office building to view the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files, in Washington, D.C., February 9, 2026.
Kent Nishimura – Reuters
On Saturday, Bondi and Blanche sent a six-page report, obtained by ABC News, to the chairs of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees and top Democrats, explaining the redactions that included a list of government officials and “politically exposed persons” referred to in the disclosed files.
“Names appear in the files released under the law in a wide range of contexts. For example, some individuals had extensive direct email contact with Epstein or Maxwell while other individuals are only mentioned in a portion of the document (including press reports) that on its face is unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell cases.”
The report does not provide context for those included in it. The list of individuals includes President Donald Trump, current administration officials, former presidents, musicians, pop culture figures, lawmakers and Britain’s royal family.
Massey said he is still not satisfied.
“I know the Department of Justice wants to say it’s finished producing this document,” Massey said. “The problem is they deleted the documents before we could go to the Department of Justice and look at the unredacted versions.”
Massie, who mostly votes with Trump, said he believed Merrick Garland, former President Joe Biden’s attorney general, did better in terms of optics when he appeared before the committee.
ABC News’ Jim Hill, Allison Pechorin and… Lauren Beller contributed to this report.
