Republicans throw justice for Epstein victims aside in favor of ‘one-sided political hit job’

Congress on Wednesday formally abandoned the pursuit of justice for those harmed by Jeffrey Epstein’s international sex trafficking operation and instead voted to use Epstein’s crimes as a tool to attack political opponents of President Donald Trump.

Members of the House Oversight Committee voted on contempt charges for three individuals accused of impeding its investigation into Epstein: former US President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and US Attorney General Pam Bondi. Last year, the committee subpoenaed the Clintons, to provide testimony regarding their relationship with Epstein, and Bondi, to deliver the unredacted Epstein files to the committee.

All three failed to comply with the subpoenas, but the committee only voted to refer contempt charges for the Clintons to the full House.

“I challenged my Republican colleagues to put their money where their mouth is and pass my amendment to hold Pam Bondi in civil contempt of Congress. They refused,” US Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) told COURIER. “I will continue to push for justice using all tools available and hold anyone accountable for enabling, protecting, or participating in Epstein’s abuse of women and girls.”

While the subpoenas were issued at the same time and relate to the same issue, the only factor that separates Bondi’s situation from the Clintons’ is political affiliation. In both instances, the parties in question attempted to negotiate the terms of their cooperation in ways that left committee members unsatisfied.

Bondi has publicly released only a small portion of the Justice Department’s 5 million Epstein-related documents, and has delivered none of the unredacted files to the committee, as directed. The Clintons offered a compromise to testify before the two leading committee members from both parties. Bondi’s actions granted her a pass; the Clintons’, a referral for imprisonment.

The stark double standard makes clear that Republicans’ feigned desire for transparency into Epstein’s criminal operation has little to do with justice for its victims and far more to do with political weaponization. In addition to Congress’ exclusive focus on Democrats with alleged ties to Epstein, the DOJ has spent a fortune of taxpayer dollars transforming the files into both a sword and a shield for Trump.

“It has never been about the victims. It’s about powerful men covering up for each other, and that cover-up continues,” said Lisa Bloom, an attorney representing several of Epstein’s victims. “Shame on all those who are obstructing the victims getting the full release of all the files that they deserve.”

In March 2025, Bondi assigned more than 1,000 federal agents to work around the clock cataloguing the names of every powerful and influential person named in the documents. They then redacted mentions of Trump in anticipation of a public release. Once the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed and the DOJ released a small sample of documents, however, it was discovered that these redactions could be undone. The information concealed by those long, black bars had nothing to do with Epstein’s victims and instead appeared aimed at hiding any ties to his accomplices.

Bondi stopped the already-slow release of the files as soon as their redactions were exposed, and has since argued in court that her department should not be subject to consequence or accountability on the matter. The courts agreed, as did Congress, which rejected the contempt charges proposed by Lee.

“Since August, the Department of Justice has defied the bipartisan subpoena I forced in the Oversight Committee to release the full, unredacted Jeffery Epstein files. Without the full files, we cannot know who might have legitimate knowledge and who might be culpable—and we wouldn’t have to speculate,” said Lee. “We should be addressing all the bad actors in this investigation, not cherry picking them for political points.”

But the partisan weaponization of the Epstein files is perhaps most apparent in the case of HIllary Clinton, who had never met Epstein and was a private citizen during the government’s investigation. At best, she is once again catching strays meant for her husband — but as Trump’s original political nemesis, her contempt charges are congressional Republicans’ attempt to help the president fulfill his original campaign promise to “lock her up.”

The contempt referrals were gifted a veneer of bipartisanship, however, by a handful of Democrats on the committee who were determined to play by a set of rules that no longer apply. Nine Democrats signed off on the contempt charges for Bill Clinton, and three for Hillary. Not a single Republican voted to hold Bondi in contempt, reinforcing the perception that the effort was nothing more than a partisan witch hunt, while the charges against the Clintons are being applauded as a bipartisan pursuit of justice.

“No one is above the law,” US Rep Nancy Mace (R-SC) said before the vote. “I want to ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stop playing politics with justice. Not a single one of you voted for your own party to be held in contempt.”

Meanwhile, Republicans have refused to subpoena — or even request testimony from — Trump, a longtime friend of Epstein whose Florida resort was used as a scouting location to groom and trafficking young girls by convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislane Maxwell.

This post first appeared in Below The Beltway, a COURIER Substack by Camaron Stevenson.