Attorney General Pam Bondi walked into her House Judiciary Committee hearing ready for a fight, armed with a thick binder she appeared confident would help her dominate the room. For five hours, she sparred with Democrats and hurled pointed insults, projecting control. Instead, the binder she carried may now be the very thing deepening her trouble. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) When photographers zoomed in during her combative testimony, they captured pages that looked like search history logs connected to members of Congress who had reviewed the unredacted Epstein files at Justice Department headquarters. The image immediately reframed the hearing. What Bondi intended as a show of preparation had spiraled into something far more explosive than partisan bickering. Bondi Talks Big, Plays Tough as the Room Explodes — Then One Ruthless Camera Shot Catches What She Never Meant to Show and Rips the Smirk Clean Off Her Face Lawmakers across both parties were openly questioning whether the DOJ had been quietly tracking — even cataloguing — the search history of members of Congress. And now, the threat of legal action is on the table. It has also become a real test of whether her closeness to President Donald Trump will insulate her or leave her exposed. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was among those who had accessed the unredacted files earlier in the week and photos showed exactly that: a page labeled with what appeared to be Jayapal’s search history. She later told reporters that DOJ employees were seated directly behind her while she reviewed the files. “They had logins that had our names, they logged us into the computers … so clearly they intended to look at our search history even when they invited us in,” she said. BREAKING: LEAKED photos of Pam Bondi’s binder show she had the DOJ make a record of the search history of members of Congress while they were looking through the Epstein files.Now why would they do that? pic.twitter.com/BYmcPdzDIU— ADAM (@AdameMedia) February 12, 2026 Bondi’s performance during the hearing only amplified the alarm. Instead of addressing concerns directly, she sparred with Democrats, flipped through her binder and deflected into unrelated talking points. At one point, she pivoted into a rambling celebration of the stock market. “The Dow is over 50,000 right now,” she shouted, insisting Americans’ retirement accounts were “booming,” while Chairman Jim Jordan repeatedly struck the gavel to restore order. When pressed on transparency and oversight, Bondi insisted members should be apologizing to Trump. “You all should be apologizing,” she yelled. “You sit here and attack the president, and I am not going to have it.” The hearing veered further off course when Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., demanded she flip to the section of the binder devoted to him — which he mockingly referred to as a “burn book.” View on Threads “Flip to the Jared Moskowitz section of the binder,” he said. “I want to see what staff provided on the oppo on me.” Bondi refused. Afterward, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie further mocked her for seemingly struggling to remember her insults. “A funny thing about Bondi’s insults to members of Congress who had serious questions: Staff literally gave her flash cards with individualized insults, but she couldn’t memorize them, so you can see her shuffle through them to find the flash-cards-insult that matches the member,” he wrote. But it was the apparent search logs that ignited the loudest backlash. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the situation “a disgrace,” arguing it violates the principles of separate and co-equal branches of government. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., said members are within their rights to pursue legal action. Rep. Jamie Raskin said he will request an inquiry by the DOJ inspector general. House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia pledged a “full investigation.” Even some Republicans expressed discomfort. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she found it “disturbing and intimidating,” adding, “It makes you wonder why they’re doing it.” Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged he does not think it is “appropriate” to track what members are searching, though he suggested it could have been an oversight. A DOJ spokesperson defended the practice, saying the department logs searches “to protect against the release of victim information.” But critics weren’t buying it. Online reaction exploded as images of Bondi’s binder circulated. “‘Flash cards’ makes it sound so little… she actually came with prepared BINDERS full of DEFLECTION ATTACKS,” one user wrote. “She referred to them often while not addressing the questions she had been asked. She intentionally came prepared to deflect and not answer.” Another added, “She’s using the pathetic Trump playbook. When you know you’re guilty, become the biggest bully you can, hoping the attack will bury the question. It never does.” View on Threads Others went further. “Pam Bondi was caught red handed, illegally spying on members of Congress without any type of warrant,” one post read. “Impeachment is not sufficient, Bondi must be immediately remanded to custody.” Another asked bluntly, “Spying on congressmen women — isn’t that treason? Bondi needs to be arrested dragged to prison” The outrage was fueled not just by the optics of the binder, but by the suggestion that Bondi may have been preparing tailored attacks based on what members were searching. Jayapal accused Bondi of wanting “to know what emails we were going to ask about, and then use that information, the surveillance of members of Congress, against us.” Rep. Ted Lieu accused Bondi of perjury during the hearing. Bondi shot back ironically, “How dare you accuse me of a crime!” The moment only deepened the sense that the attorney general was playing offense while standing in the middle of a widening legal and constitutional firestorm. By the end of the day, what began as another contentious Epstein oversight hearing had morphed into something more dangerous for Bondi: allegations that her Justice Department blurred the line between oversight and surveillance. Some critics are openly questioning whether Bondi believes loyalty to Trump will shield her from consequences. “A pardon isn’t going to save her,” one commenter warned in response to a previous comment that read, “The reason Pam Bondi is acting like a jackass today is because she’s confident Donald Trump is going to pardon her when he leaves office. She better hope he doesn’t die, because I don’t know if Vance will do her the favor when he’s on the ballot. Risky place to be.”  Whether the DOJ’s logging of search activity was routine security protocol or something far more troubling will likely determine how far this controversy travels. But for now, the image that lingers is simple: a thick binder, a camera lens zooming in, and members of Congress demanding to know why the Justice Department appeared to be watching them back. ‘A Pardon Won’t Save Her’: Cameras Catch Pam Bondi Pull a Move So Reckless Viewers Couldn’t Believe What They Were Seeing — Now Even Trump’s Protection Looks Shaky ...read more read less