After fiery exchange over Epstein files, Pam Bondi is unable to answer basic questions about immigrants in Chicago

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Attorney General Pam Bondi snapped at the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and seemed unable to answer how many undocumented immigrants are in Chicago or whether it is a “sanctuary city” during her first oversight hearing since taking office as the nation’s top law enforcement officer under Donald Trump.

Bondi also repeatedly defended her refusal to publicly release case files involving former Trump ally and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — and refused to answer whether the FBI discovered photographs of Trump with “half-naked women,” allegations that Bondi called “salacious” and designed to “slander” the president.

Asked by Senator Dick Durbin whether the White House consulted with her before the president deployed National Guard troops to American cities, Bondi twice said she would not discuss any such conversations with him.

“What’s the secret, so the American people don’t know the rationale of National Guard troops in my state?” the Illinois senator said Tuesday.

“As you shut down the government, and you’re sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren’t being paid — they’re out there to protect you,” she replied. “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. And currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.”

Durbin noted he had only asked a “simple question” about the legal basis for the deployments, which, under the Trump administration, appear to be “grounds for personal attacks.”

National Guard troops and FBI director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are “on the way right now as we speak,” Bondi said.

“You’re sitting here grilling me and they’re on the way to Chicago,” she said.

“It’s my job to grill you,” Durbin said. “Investigating your agency is part of my responsibility on this committee. You may not like the experience, but others have weathered the storm, and they answered questions in a respectful manner.”

Bondi is making her first appearance at the committee following her appointment to a radically reshaped Department of Justice, filled with loyalists and attorneys to dominate agencies that the president claims have been weaponized against him, and now tasked with investigating his critics.

The hearing was scheduled weeks ago, but her appearance follows Trump’s public demands to prosecute his perceived enemies whether evidence exists or not while federal immigration officers surge into American cities under her watch.

The Justice Department has also come under fierce scrutiny after officials this summer declared there was “no basis” to release any more Epstein-related documents, sparking allegations of a government-wide cover up to protect powerful public figures who exploited and abused young girls. Despite Trump’s pledges to release the so-called Epstein files, the Justice Department determined further disclosures would not be “appropriate or warranted.”

On Tuesday, Bondi defended the Justice Department’s refusal to release additional Epstein materials, after she stated in February that the files were “sitting on my desk.”

“I said it was sitting on my desk, along with JFK and Martin Luther King files,” Bondi said. “And I said I had not yet reviewed it. … Our memo on Epstein clearly points out there was no ‘client list.’”

Durbin also asked about reports that the FBI was ordered to flag any Epstein-related records in which Trump’s name was included.

“I’m not going to discuss anything about that with you, senator,” Bondi fired back.

Asked by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham how many “illegal immigrants” are in Chicago, Bondi paused to flip through paperwork before saying “countless.”

She claimed there has been a “1,000 percent increase” in attacks against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“Right, but what I just want to know is there, like, 10, or 100,000? Does anybody know?” Graham asked.

“We have made multiple arrests,” she replied.

Asked if Chicago is a “sanctuary city” with policies to prevent collaboration with federal immigration authorities, Bondi responded by claiming “they are not cooperating” and once again criticized Senator Durbin, calling on him to “condemn” Governor J.B. Pritzker.

During her contentious confirmation hearing in January, Bondi repeatedly committed to what she called “back to basics” work at the Justice Department and promised to end what she has called the partisan “weaponization” of the agency against perceived political enemies — echoing claims from Trump and his allies who have characterized the federal indictments of the former president as a politically motivated conspiracy.

In that hearing, she did not explicitly rule out prosecuting Trump’s targets after senators asked her to explain her statements that “prosecutors will be prosecuted” under his administration. When asked whether she would ever drop a case if Trump commanded it, Bondi said that she would not have accepted the nomination if she thought that would happen.

Asked again Tuesday whether she had any instruction from the White House to investigate anyone, Bondi refused to answer.

“I’m not going to discuss any conversations,” she said.

On his Truth Social last month, the president directed Bondi to prosecute former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James — as well as Senator Adam Schiff, who also sits on the Senate Judiciary committee.

“Do you consider that a directive to the Justice Department?” Klobuchar asked.

“President Trump is the most transparent president in American history,” Bodi replied. “And I don’t think he said anything that he hasn’t said for years.”