Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington. (Tom Brenner/The Associated Press )
Bondi and the DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Although the publicly available DOJ Epstein library does contain a privacy disclaimer, it asks readers to notify the agency in the event that a victim's identity is accidently revealed and does not make mention of data collection of any kind.
Although it’s unclear what Democrats can do about their displeasure over any monitored searches, several lawmakers blasted the DOJ for what they saw as a violation of the separation of powers.
In the view of members like Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, the photos allegedly prove that the DOJ is taking steps to control investigation efforts by members of Congress.
"The fact that they’re tracking us as we’re searching — why would you do that?" Garcia said Thursday.
"What’s the explanation for tracking members and what we’re searching for?" he asked. "It doesn’t make any sense. We’re very concerned about the process."
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Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Raskin said he intends to send a letter to the DOJ demanding additional information about the alleged surveillance. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Garcia noted that lawmakers believe a portion of the files were already redacted when they were transferred from the FBI to the DOJ, meaning that the DOJ, on its own, might not be at fault for every redaction.
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As lawmakers debate how to prevent the collection of future queries, Raskin said he intends to send a letter to the DOJ demanding additional information about the alleged surveillance. He declined to expound on what else Democrats could do to rein in the DOJ but hinted he would have an announcement in the coming days.
"I’ll say more about it later," Raskin said.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-fume-bondi-after-photo-allegedly-shows-doj-tracking-epstein-database-searches