Reporter’s Notebook: AG Bondi’s binder strategy turns hearing into political firestorm

The white stuffed folders appeared a few moments before the Attorney General Pam Bondi She exited her motorcade and walked through the horseshoe entrance of the Rayburn House office building.

Roll Call photographer Tom Williams and I stood in the lobby, negotiating our positions for Bondi’s entrance. Williams will position himself on the far side. I slid into the wall near the horseshoe entrance. MS NOW’s Ali Vitale and ABC’s Jay O’Brien worked on the side wall.

A coterie of Bundy’s aides showed up. One awash in huge tomes.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill and takes questions from Chad Pergram, Fox News’ chief congressional correspondent, ahead of her House hearing. (Tom Williams)

“Let her into the room,” the assistant said.

I politely reminded the aide that the corridor was an open doorway on Capitol Hill. It was not closed by the US Capitol Police. So, asking questions to the Attorney General was fair game.

And so began another dance between reporters, security details, US Capitol Police, aides and Cabinet members as they showed up. Major congressional hearings.

At the time, we had no idea what was in the folders. But you can’t ignore the sheer size of it.

It is not uncommon for aides to pull out a school principal’s briefing books when giving evidence. However, no one had seen volumes like these since Kenko was still in business.

The contents of the folders were poised to play a central role in Bundy’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

But the first task of the morning was to inquire about Bundy. There was a lot going on. These are all topics that the Attorney General can address.

Speaking of files…

Bundy wasn’t there to testify about Epstein FilesBy itself. But Democrats — and one Republican — will make the Justice Department’s release of partially redacted documents the focus of the hearing. So there was a lot to ask Bondi about.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill and takes questions from Chad Pergram, Fox News’ chief congressional correspondent, ahead of her House hearing. (Tom Williams)

However, there were developments overnight from Arizona. Authorities have arrested a person near the Mexico border in connection with a disappearance Nancy Guthrie. What Bundy might have known about the FBI’s role in this matter was worth asking.

Then, there was a vague alert that officials would close El Paso Airport to all air traffic for ten days. Was there a threat of terrorism? Something about cartels? Finally, a story broke overnight that the Justice Department sought to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video of them telling service members that they did not have to comply with illegal orders. A District of Columbia grand jury declined to indict any of them.

So the press corps waited for Bondi and her security detail to walk through the door. We’ll have about a minute to pepper her with questions as she walks from the horseshoe entrance to the back waiting room.

Reporters must be strategic in such short “tours and conversations.” Quick questions that resemble a Gatling gun. brief. Straight to the point. And smart enough to move on to the next line of inquiry if the person arriving on Capitol Hill doesn’t answer or offers a brief response.

In another world, it might have started with Epstein. But Nancy Guthrie’s story has consumed the nation for weeks. There was a development overnight. Almost every story on the planet always occupies a corridor somewhere on Capitol Hill. The Nancy Guthrie saga was no exception.

I put myself on the inside track as we walked down the hall. Able to stand close to Bondi as she moves through the building.

“Madam Attorney General, any comment on the investigation into Guthrie? Is there any update on that now?” I started by getting to Bondi first.

“Yes, I can’t talk about it right now. I’m praying for Savannah and her family,” Bundy replied.

Checks. Go ahead.

“What happened in El Paso? Why did they shut down El Paso? Is this something you don’t know? Or can’t you comment?” I asked.

“I can’t discuss it,” Bundy replied.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington, as Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors stand left. (Tom Brenner/AP Photo)

Then the main event.

“What about the Epstein files? A lot of members were upset that some of these files were not fully redacted. What do you say about that?” I inquired.

“We’ll discuss that today,” Bundy replied.

I stepped back to allow my colleagues an opportunity to ask questions.

“But why was some information that contradicts the nature of the law redacted? Why was some information that conflicts with the law redacted?” Vitaly asked.

No response.

So I went back to the first lines of questions.

“Did you get any updates overnight on the Guthrie investigation? Did they keep you updated overnight? And when did you first hear about the El Paso situation? When did you first hear about the El Paso situation, Madam District Attorney?”

Bondi was silent.

The crowd moved in the hall, camera operators and reporters bumping into each other, falling backwards. There was almost a point of security personnel protecting Bondi a little.

But the end was near. The crowd approached the back door of the Judiciary Committee. Bundy will soon turn right and disappear inland.

Just enough time for one last topic.

“What about trying to prosecute the six legislators? Any comment on the botched grand jury indictment?” I shouted.

“I will refer that to the US Attorney General Pirro,” Bundy replied, referring to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, who tried to charge the six.

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The Justice Department released a trove of Epstein documents on December 19 after President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

“Do you know why this went wrong?” I asked.

But that was all. The shot clock has expired.

Bundy ignored the question, turned right with her security detail and retreated to the waiting room.

When he was hosting Meet the Press on NBC, the late host Tim Russert would sometimes boast that he had the vice president or secretary of state “around the clock.”

The exchange with Bundy was a small part of that, lasting just one minute and three seconds. From 9:42:03 AM ET to 9:43:06 AM ET. There was effective questioning. Bondi answered questions. But there wasn’t much that moved any of the stories forward. However, it is important to ask questions and have exchanges on camera. This made it a fruitful exercise. Sometimes, the Capitol press team doesn’t see key witnesses arrive. Or if we do, they don’t even answer the questions.

The group of aides rushed into the Judiciary Committee suite, one aide dragging massive folders like a pile of Christmas presents.

These volumes were about to become the most famous papers in American politics since the former Senator. Mitt Romney (R-UT) declared that he had “binders full of women” during a 2012 debate with President Obama.

The hearing will begin in a few moments and will be broadcast live on multiple television networks. The purpose of the volumes soon became clear. Each file contained files on every Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Bondi would resort to a specific section in each file, digging for thorns to respond to the Democrats on the platform. Sometimes about the voting date. Sometimes it is a law enforcement or immigration issue in their area. Bondi has often criticized Democrats — and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — with personal attacks. She mocked Massey and called him a “failed politician.” She described Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), the committee’s top Democrat, as a “failed and lost lawyer.”

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, questions U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on “DoJ Oversight” on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on February 11, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty)

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) tried to bait Bondi, asking her to “give me your best” opposition research. The Florida Democrat then catalogs what Bondi’s staff created.

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The session lasted five hours of screaming, yelling, and chaos. One of the most chaotic and discordant hearings in recent memory. The scene spoke volumes.

All of that could fill a stack of stuffed folders.