Tennessee Rep Gloria Johnson calls Pam Bondi 'mean girl' after chaotic House Judiciary Committee hearing

At 10 a.m on February 11, Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before lawmakers to testify in the highly contentious oversight hearing that focused primarily on the fallout from the Epstein Files. Seated behind her were 11 Epstein survivors, including Theresa Helm and family members of the late Virginia Giuffre. But what followed at the House Judiciary Committee hearing has been described by many as a "disgraceful" and "chaotic" spectacle that prioritized political grandstanding over the dignity of the survivors in the room. "Pam Bondi is so far out of her league, it's like we have an 8th grade mean girl as Attorney General," Rep. Gloria Johnson said of the hearing in a post on X.

The Democrat from Knoxville, Tennessee, shared an image with her tweet, part of which read, "8th grade "mean girls" (typically aged 13-14) often exhibit relational aggression, such as gossip, exclusion, and bullying, stemming from insecurity, a need for control, or desire for social status." Rep. Johnson isn't the first to bring up a "mean girl" reference for the Attorney General, who continues to face criticism for the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files, among other issues.

During the hearing, observers and lawmakers noticed Bondi repeatedly referencing a large, thick binder when faced with tough questions, leading Rep. Jared Moskowitz to label it a "burn book," a reference to the movie 'Mean Girls'. He accused Bondi of carrying a curated collection of opposition research and personal insults aimed at the committee members. And the U.S. lawmakers' statements stem from a series of reactions the House Judiciary Committee received from Bondi.

From 'Washed-up Loser' to 'Trump Derangement Syndrome'

During the February 11 hearing, the U.S. Attorney General left no stone unturned in sharing her thoughts about those who were questioning the DoJ's alleged role in redacting information from the Epstein files to protect certain individuals. Bondi referred to Rep. Jamie Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, as a "washed-up, loser lawyer—not even a lawyer" after he pressed her on the missing three million Epstein documents. 

For Rep. Thomas Massie, a member of the Republican Party, Bondi chose to mock his political career, claiming he suffered from "Trump Derangement Syndrome". Massie has been a vocal critic of the DoJ's handling of the Epstein files and was the primary sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. One of the highlights of the hearing, however, came when Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked Bondi to turn around and face the eleven survivors seated directly behind her and apologize. When Jayapal asked the survivors to raise their hands if they felt the DoJ had failed them, every single one of them did. Bondi, however, refused to turn around and later dismissed the request as "political theatrics."

As the hearing continued, the Attorney General accused Jayapal and other Democrats of engaging in "gutter politics" to distract from the administration's policy wins, and, at one point, cited the Dow Jones hitting 50,000. Bondi made the Dow Jones reference in response to Rep. Jerry Nadler's questions on the DoJ's failure to indict Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirators.

Spying allegations against Bondi and the DoJ

Apart from the shouting contest that the hearing appeared to have metamorphosed into, Bondi's 'burn book' also caught the attention of journalists and lawmakers. Images from the notes she carried in her binder reportedly showed a list of Epstein documents viewed by Jayapal when she traveled to a Justice Department facility to view the unredacted files in person. 

Top Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have called for an independent investigation into alleged "spying" by the DoJ. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, too, said that he did not think it was appropriate for the Justice Department to be tracking the search histories of lawmakers. "I think members should obviously have the right to peruse those at their own speed and with their own discretion. I don’t think it’s appropriate for anybody to be tracking that…I will echo that to anybody involved with the DOJ — and I’m sure it was an oversight," Johnson was quoted as saying by AP.