Pam Bondi went before a House panel to say she defends Epstein files disclosures as a model of transparency, even as she did so days after President Trump removed her as attorney general. Her successor, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, now runs the Justice Department she left behind.
| Key Facts | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total DOJ Epstein pages | ~6 million |
| Pages released | ~3 million |
| Pages withheld | ~3 million (CSAM, victim rights) |
| Material released | Thousands of videos, hundreds of thousands of images |
| Bondi’s replacement | Todd Blanche, acting AG |
“I am proud of the Department’s record and commitment to transparency under my leadership,” Bondi told the panel. “We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department’s search for, collection, and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of material, including thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of images.”
The claim of completeness, though, runs into a straightforward number. ABC News reported the DOJ held roughly 6 million pages of Epstein-related documents in total. The department withheld the other half, citing the presence of child sexual abuse material and obligations to protect victims’ identities.
Where Bondi Defends Epstein Files But Critics Push Back
Protecting victims was, in fact, a central criticism of the release itself. Attorneys representing hundreds of Epstein survivors said names and identifying information of numerous victims appeared unredacted in the DOJ’s latest disclosure, including women whose names had never before been publicly linked to the case. The transparency Bondi claimed credit for came at a cost for some of the people the DOJ said it was shielding.
The released files also contained an FBI list of sexual assault allegations related to President Trump, many of which appear to have originated from unverified tips, according to reporting on the January 30, 2026 disclosure. That item landed with particular force given Trump’s stated frustrations over how the release was managed.
Why Trump Fired Bondi
Trump’s decision to remove Bondi was not solely about the Epstein files. He also fumed that she had not done enough to investigate or prosecute his political opponents, a grievance that had built alongside the Epstein controversy. Trump said Bondi “will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.”
Blanche, who steps into the role, brings prosecutorial background. He worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2006 to 2014 before eventually becoming Trump’s personal criminal defense attorney. Now he oversees more than 100,000 Justice Department employees, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, and 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
Bondi closed her testimony with a frame squarely aimed at Trump’s base of support. “The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” she said. The framing credits the president even as the president had just shown her the door.
The House panel’s next move matters. If members push for a fuller accounting of what sits in the 3 million withheld pages, or press Blanche on whether the unredacted victim disclosures will be remedied, the Epstein files story is far from closed.
