The Donald Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case has long been criticized by the public in general, but it turns out the victims also feel like something is lacking. The victims have moved beyond just asking for justice in regard to the actual crimes, but also the crime of the cover-up by the Department of Justice — and when AG Pam Bondi refused to even face them at the latest hearing, some victims are now calling the move degrading.
Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing about the latest Epstein developments was highly contentious. At a certain point, Rep. Jamie Raskin accused Bondi of covering up the Epstein crimes when she corroborated Trump’s claim that it was all just a Democratic hoax — to which Bondi responded by calling him a “washed-up, loser lawyer.” When Rep. Ted Lieu tried to corner her about Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s conduct, Bondi retorted that he should be more focused on California crime rates.
Bondi’s exercise in extreme diversionary tactics hit a fever pitch when she had a head-to-head with a perennial adversary of the administration, Rep. Thomas Massie. One thing to understand is that the only reason the Trump administration has been able to keep these files so secretive is that it claimed releasing them would put victims in harm’s way. And even when it took longer than expected to release the files — after being forced by a congressional act — the justification was that officials were scrubbing victims’ names. Mark L. Epstein, of course, alleged that what the administration was actually doing was scrubbing the co-conspirators’ names. That claim remains unsubstantiated for now.
Rep. Massie was able to highlight an instance where Les Wexner’s name was blacked out while victims’ names remained unredacted. Bondi responded not by addressing the claim, but by calling him a “failed politician.” NBC was able to get hold of several victims who were willing to speak publicly about Bondi’s performance at the hearing.
One victim said, “There was such a lack of empathy today. There was such a lack of, honestly, humanity today.” When the victims first arrived as witnesses, Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked them to raise their hands if they still had not been given an opportunity to meet with the Department of Justice. They all raised their hands. AG Bondi didn’t even look back at them.
The victim said of that moment, “Something that I think all of us felt a little devastated about was that she had three opportunities to address survivors. We stood up, and all she had to do was turn around, and she could not even turn around and face us.”
The victim was comfortable giving her identity to the public. Her name is Dani Bensky. She said she was just a 17-year-old trying to make a career for herself as a ballerina before she met — and was abused by — Epstein in his mansion in 2004. Bondi has never met her.
Bondi can deliver a clinical performance at a hearing, name-calling every representative who questions her process. But the victims don’t think this is for them. MAGA loyalists are increasingly seeing that this is not for them either. Billionaire donors appear to be having their names scrubbed from the files, but not the victims. Who, then, is the DOJ actually serving?
Published: Feb 12, 2026 03:10 pm