Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill and takes questions from Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram ahead of a House hearing. (Tom Williams)
"Let her get into the room," instructed the aide.
I politely reminded the aide that the corridor was an open hallway on Capitol Hill. It wasn’t closed off by the U.S. Capitol Police. So, tossing questions at the Attorney General was fair game.
And, thus began another dance between reporters, security details, the U.S. Capitol Police, aides and Cabinet members when they appear for major Congressional hearings.
At the time, we had no clue what was in the binders. But you couldn’t ignore the sheer size of them.
It’s not uncommon for aides to haul in briefing books for a principal when they testify. However, no one has seen binders like this since Kinko’s was still in business.
The contents of what the binders contained was about to play a central role in Bondi’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.
But the first charge of the morning was to query Bondi. There was so much going on. All of which were subjects that the Attorney General could address.
Speaking of files…
Bondi wasn’t there to testify about the Epstein files, per se. But Democrats – and one Republican – would make the Justice Department’s release of partially redacted documents the focus of the hearing. So there was plenty to ask Bondi about that.
DOJ’S EPSTEIN DISCLOSURE DRAWS FIRE FOR WEBSITE GLITCHES, MISSING DOCUMENTS, REDACTIONS
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington, as Jeffrey Epstein survivors, stand left. (Tom Brenner/AP Photo)
Then, the main event.
"And what about the Epstein files? A lot of members have been upset that some of these files have not been fully unredacted. What do you say to that?" I inquired.
"We're going to discuss that today," answered Bondi.
I backed off to allow my colleagues a chance to pose questions.
"But why was certain information redacted that's against the nature of the law? Why was certain information redacted that's against the law?" asked Vitali.
No response.
So I tagged back in, returning to the initial lines of questioning.
"Did you get any updates overnight on the Guthrie investigation? Were they keeping you informed overnight on that? And when did you first find out about the El Paso situation? When did you first hear about the El Paso situation, Madam Attorney General?"
Bondi was silent.
The scrum processed down the hall, camera operators and reporters bumping all over one another, edging backwards. A semi-blob of security personnel slightly shielded Bondi.
But the end was near. The throng approached the backdoor to the Judiciary Committee. Bondi would soon turn right and disappear inside.
Just enough time for one final topic.
"What about the attempt to prosecute the six lawmakers? Any comment on that failed grand jury indictment?" I hollered.
"I'll refer that to U.S. Attorney Pirro," replied Bondi, referring to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro, who tried to indict the six.
US Representatives Thomas Massie, Republican from Kentucky, questions US Attorney General Pam Bondi before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Oversight of the Department of Justice" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 11, 2026. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty)
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) tried to bait Bondi, asking her to "give me your best" bit of opposition research. The Florida Democrat would then grade what Bondi’s staff concocted.
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The hearing devolved into five hours of shouting, screaming and mayhem. One of the most chaotic, cacophonous hearings in recent memory. The spectacle spoke volumes.
All of which could fill a stack of overstuffed binders.
Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/reporters-notebook-bondis-binder-strategy-turns-house-hearing-into-political-firestorm