Attorney General Pam Bondi testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, and multiple survivors of convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein were in the room while Bondi was pressed on her handling of the Epstein files. Now, one of those women is directly calling out the attorney general for not prioritizing justice for Epstein's victims.

In a Wednesday interview with CNN host Jake Tapper, Danielle Bensky — who was assaulted by Epstein when she was 17 years old — said it was "exhausting" to have to constantly fight for the Trump administration to take Epstein's crimes seriously. She agreed with Tapper's assessment that her suffering was being used as a "political football." She also referenced one moment where Bondi refused to even look in the direction of Epstein survivors present at the hearing.

"I think the complete lack ofempathy that she showed — for notjust Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwellsurvivors, but for survivors asa whole — was really disgraceful," Bensky said. "She had multiple moments whereshe could have turned around andjust acknowledged the fact thatwe were there and the fact thatwe are human. And she just chosenot to."

Tapper then brought up a moment when Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) asked Bensky and other survivors to stand, and for Bondi to publicly apologize to them. However, Bondi instead declared to Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that she wasn't going to "get into the gutter" or participate in "theatrics."

"What wasit like standing in the back ofthat room while that all tookplace?" Tapper asked.

"I'm sure we all had tons of differentfeelings. Survivors are not amonolith," Bensky said. "But for me it was purerage ... I could feelmyself shaking with anger andfrustration because it's badenough that the redactionprocess was what it was. I feellike we've been re-victimizedover and over again. But she alsois just gaslighting the Americanpeople over and over by notanswering direct questions. Andso it's just another momentwhere our humanity was just noteven considered."

Bensky went on to say that the DOJ's treatment of Epstein survivors has resulted in a "chilling effect" on other victims of sexual abuse to speak out and come forward. She also argued that the DOJ's bungled handling of redactions in the Epstein files — in which multiple women's names and identifying information were publicly visible — would "silence survivors."

"It just feels terrible, tobe honest with you," Bensky said. "... None of us have spoken to theDOJ. I think we've all lostfaith in the DOJ to be honest."


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web