Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said he will request an investigation by the Department of Justice Inspector General after photographs from a recent committee hearing suggested DOJ scrutiny of lawmakers reviewing Jeffrey Epstein-related records on government computers.
The images published after Wednesday’s hearing showed Attorney General Pam Bondi holding a document identified as "Jayapal Pramila Search History." The paper appeared to list specific files that Representative Pramila Jayapal had viewed while accessing less-redacted Epstein materials at a Justice Department facility.
Raskin responded in a statement released on Wednesday, saying the photographs of what he called Attorney General Bondi’s "burn book" confirmed his suspicions. He said in the statement:
"Today, photographs of Attorney General Bondi’s ’burn book’ confirmed my suspicions. Not only has the Department of Justice illegally withheld documents from Congress and the American people... But now Bondi and her team are spying on Members of Congress conducting oversight."
Calling the episode "an outrage," Raskin said he would ask the DOJ Inspector General to examine what he labeled an "abuse of power."
The development intensifies already strained relations between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration over access to Epstein documents. The Justice Department has released in excess of 3 million pages of materials under congressional legislation, but lawmakers have raised questions about redactions in some of those files.
Members of Congress have been allowed to review certain unredacted documents at a Justice Department satellite office in Washington. Raskin has said that during those review sessions "DOJ staffers look over our shoulders," an assertion tied to his concerns about monitoring during the review process.
Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing at times became heated, with shouting between Attorney General Bondi and several lawmakers. Bondi acknowledged that there are pending investigations connected to Epstein-related matters but did not offer details. Republican committee members backed Bondi as she emphasized the department’s work in advancing the Trump administration’s agenda.
The dispute highlights continuing congressional scrutiny of the Justice Department’s handling of sensitive materials and the conditions under which members of Congress view those documents.