Outrage is boiling over on Capitol Hill after the Justice Department dumped unredacted nude photos of young women — possibly minors — into its long-delayed release of Jeffrey Epstein files, triggering fresh calls to impeach Attorney General Pam Bondi and raising new questions about whether the DOJ is capable of handling this case without retraumatizing survivors.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) called out Bondi directly on Sunday, blasting what she called the DOJ’s “indefensible and horrifying disregard for the victims” and accusing the department of protecting power while exposing survivors. “They are still withholding the full Epstein Files, and rich and powerful men continue to evade accountability for their heinous crimes,” Ansari said, adding flatly: “Attorney General Pam Bondi should be impeached.”
The controversy erupted after the DOJ released what it called the “final batch” of Epstein-related records on Friday — well past the December 19 deadline set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. While President Donald Trump signed the law, concerns about selective transparency have lingered due to Trump’s past ties to Epstein and heavy redactions in earlier releases.
Then came the images.
While combing through more than 3 million pages of material, New York Times reporters discovered “nearly 40 unredacted images” depicting “nude bodies and the faces of the people portrayed.” According to the Times, “The people in the photos appeared to be young, although it was unclear whether they were minors.” Some images appeared to show Epstein’s private island, while others were taken in bedrooms and other private spaces.
After being alerted by the Times, the DOJ scrambled into damage-control mode. A spokesperson said the department was “working around the clock to address any victim concerns” and promised additional redactions. “Once proper redactions have been made, any responsive documents will repopulate online,” the spokesperson said. Many of the flagged images were later removed or obscured.
That explanation hasn’t come close to calming critics.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) had already called for Bondi’s impeachment days earlier, citing not only the Epstein file debacle but the DOJ’s broader conduct, including efforts to obtain voter data and the arrest of journalists.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have been even more scathing. In a joint statement released Friday, 18 survivors said the DOJ’s actions amounted to a betrayal. “This is being sold as transparency, but what it actually does is expose survivors,” they wrote. “Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected. That is outrageous.”
“This is not over,” they added. “We will not stop until the truth is fully revealed and every perpetrator is finally held accountable.”
According to CNN, attorneys Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards have now requested “immediate judicial intervention,” warning of “thousands of redaction failures” affecting nearly 100 survivors. “There is no conceivable degree of institutional incompetence sufficient to explain the scale, consistency, and persistence of the failures,” the lawyers wrote. *
Henderson didn’t mince words: “With every second that passes, additional harm is being caused to these women. They are scared, they are devastated, and they are begging for our government to protect them.”
Instead, critics say, the government did the opposite — and now the calls for Bondi’s impeachment are only getting louder.
The DOJ declined to comment on the controversy.
