During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reignited partisan tensions by taking a swipe at President Trump—this time using long-debunked Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy fodder.
Whitehouse kicked off his questioning by reminding Attorney General Pam Bondi—a Trump ally—about her earlier pledge to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s suspicious financial activity, saying, “When you and Trump came to office, you said you would look into this.”
Whitehouse continued, referencing the hundreds of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) tied to Epstein’s accounts. “Some people would deduce from the fact that they are called suspicious activity reports that there might be suspicious activity,” he said sarcastically. “And yet you seem to have looked at zero of those suspicious activity reports involving Jeffrey Epstein accounts,” he added.
Pam Bondi to Senator Whitehouse: “You’re the one who was taking money from one of Epstein’s closest confidants-Reid Hoffman!” pic.twitter.com/TbLCXInTh8
— Nad (@offbeateffect) October 7, 2025
Then, in a move that sounded more like a political gotcha than a legitimate inquiry, Whitehouse pivoted to tabloid-level claims:
“There’s been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half-naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein’s safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing?”
That’s when Bondi fired back—refusing to let Whitehouse’s theatrics go unchecked.
“You know, Senator Whitehouse, you sit here and make salacious remarks, once again, trying to slander President Trump left and right, when you’re the one who was taking money from one of Epstein’s closest confidants—I believe, I could be wrong, correct me—Reid Hoffman, who was with Jeffrey Epstein on multiple occasions,” Bondi said, calling out Whitehouse’s selective outrage.
She added, “The senator sitting right next to you tried to block the flight logs from being released. Yet you’re grilling me on President Trump and some photograph with Epstein? Come on.”
Rather than respond to Bondi’s hard-hitting counterpoints, Whitehouse kept pressing his original line of questioning, asking again:
“Did the FBI find those photographs that have been discussed publicly by a witness who claimed Jeffrey Epstein showed them?”
When Bondi refused to entertain the hearsay, he finally gave up and moved on:
“You don’t know anything about that?” he asked, before abruptly cutting the line of questioning: “Here’s what—why don’t we cut to something else.”
