Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Thursday raised concerns after photographs appeared to show the Justice Department tracking the search history of members of Congress reviewing files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, prompting calls for a watchdog probe and drawing a rare rebuke from House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate what he described as “spying” on lawmakers who this week reviewed less-redacted Epstein files at a department annex using department-owned computers.
Photographs taken during Attorney General Pam Bondi’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday showed her holding a binder open to a page labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History,” listing documents that were apparently reviewed. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was among committee members who pressed Bondi over the department’s handling of the Epstein records.
Jayapal called the situation “totally unacceptable” and said lawmakers would demand “a full accounting” of how the department was using search history data.
“Bondi has enough time to spy on Members of Congress, but can’t find it in herself to apologize to the survivors of Epstein’s horrific abuse,” Jayapal said in a post on X.
