Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have accused the US attorney general of lacking empathy and humanity following her combative appearance in front of a Congress committee.
Pam Bondi gave her first sworn testimony since the release of the Epstein files on Wednesday, which at times descended into a shouting match.
Ms Bondi is ultimately in charge of the files’ release as head of the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Critics claim some powerful figures are still being protected, as not all documents have been released, and many have been heavily redacted.
Ms Bondi defended the way the process had been handled and said she was “deeply sorry for what any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster”.
However, she refused to take personal responsibility for initial failures to hide the names of some victims and said staff had done their best under pressure.
Ms Bondi also refused to face a group of survivors in the room, accusing the Democrats of resorting to “theatrics” and saying they were using the scandal to distract from US President Donald Trump’s successes.
“You sit here and you attack the president and I’m not going to have it. I am not going to put up with it,” Ms Bondi told the committee.
The group gathered behind Ms Bondi all raised their hands when Democrat member Pramila Jayapal asked which survivors still had not been able to meet DoJ officials.
The attorney general also revealed her department had pending investigations against some Epstein co-conspirators – something many victims are pushing for – but did not elaborate on who that involved.
Epstein survivors later hit out at Ms Bondi’s appearance, with one saying she felt “degraded” by her testimony.
“There was such a lack of empathy today. There was such a lack of, honestly, humanity today,” Dani Bensky told Sky’s US partner NBC News.
“Something that I think all of us felt a little devastated about was that she had three opportunities to address survivors,” she added.
“We stood up, and all she had to do was turn around, and she could not even turn around and face us.”
Ms Bensky said she was abused by Epstein in his New York mansion when she was a 17-year-old aspiring ballerina.
Teresa Helm, who said Epstein abused her when she was 22, also felt let down by Ms Bondi: “There was no integrity in that room today, it seems like, when it came to Epstein and (Ghislaine) Maxwell,” she said.
Sharlene Rochard, who met Epstein as a teenage model, told NBC she felt “really degraded” and Ms Bondi was “not taking at all any accountability” regarding survivors.
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Chomsky’s wife apologises
Meanwhile, the wife of renowned US intellectual and activist Noam Chomsky has apologised over “serious errors of judgement” in their association with Epstein.
Valeria Chomsky said the couple had never witnessed any inappropriate behaviour by the disgraced financier, who killed himself in 2019.
“Noam and I recognise the gravity of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and the profound suffering of his victims,” Valeria Chomsky said in a statement.
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The friendship between Chomsky, 97, and Epstein had been known about but the latest files appear to reveal deeper ties than previously thought.
“When we were introduced to Epstein, he presented himself as a philanthropist supporting science and a financial expert,” said Mrs Chomsky.
“By presenting himself this way, Epstein gained Noam’s attention, and they began corresponding. Unknowingly, we opened a door to a Trojan horse.”
