A leading Democrat is raising concerns about possible Justice Department overreach. This follows the surfacing of photographs that suggest the department may have been monitoring the search history of lawmakers reviewing documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Representative Jamie Raskin, a prominent Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is urging the Justice Department’s inspector general to launch an investigation. He describes the alleged actions as “spying” on members of Congress who have been examining less-redacted versions of the Epstein files at a Justice Department facility, using department-owned computers.
The controversy arose after photographs taken during Attorney General Pam Bondi’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday showed Bondi holding a binder. The open page reportedly displayed the words “Jayapal Pramila Search History,” followed by a list of documents apparently reviewed by the congresswoman. Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic representative, questioned Bondi during the hearing about the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case.
Jayapal has voiced strong objections, calling the alleged monitoring “totally unacceptable” and demanding a “full accounting” of the Justice Department’s use of search history data.
In recent days, a group of lawmakers from both parties has been reviewing less-redacted records from the Epstein files at the Justice Department. Some lawmakers have expressed frustration that too much information about Epstein’s associates remains hidden. The Justice Department had previously announced the release of millions of pages of documents, videos, and images related to the Epstein investigations.
Raskin has stated that the Justice Department has not only withheld records from lawmakers but is now potentially infringing on Congress’s oversight responsibilities. He calls for an immediate end to any tracking of lawmakers’ searches and urges the Justice Department to make all files publicly available, with only the survivors’ information properly redacted, as required by law.
