US Attorney-General Pam Bondi has refused to apologise to victims of Jeffrey Epstein, whose names and naked photographs were included in the release of files by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Ms Bondi clashed with Democrats who pushed for an apology at a congressional hearing as a group of Epstein's victims watched from the public gallery.
It took place as survivors vowed to keep the DOJ under pressure to expose other alleged abusers, and the brother of one prominent victim told the ABC that the Trump administration was continually "gaslighting us".
Ms Bondi's first appearance before Congress since the release of the Epstein files was dominated by discussion of the documents and punctuated by heated shouting matches and personal insults.
Many questions centred on why the DOJ had removed the names of many of Epstein's associates but failed to redact personal details about many victims.
The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin, accused Ms Bondi of "running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice".
Fellow Democrat Pramila Jayapal said survivors whose names were not redacted "are now telling us that their families are finding out for the first time that they were trafficked by Epstein".
Dozens of nude photos were among the published files, according to The New York Times, which reported the pictures were removed after the newspaper found them and notified the DOJ.
'Not going to get in the gutter'
In her opening statement at the hearing on Wednesday, local time, Ms Bondi said she was "deeply sorry for what any victim, any victim, has been through, especially as a result of that monster".
Later, Ms Jayapal asked Ms Bondi: "Will you turn to them now and apologise for what your Department of Justice has put them through with the absolutely unacceptable release of the Epstein files and their information?"
Ms Bondi responded by referring to her predecessor, Merrick Garland, who served under the Biden administration. After a combative back-and-forth about her refusal to answer the question, Ms Bondi said: "I'm not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics."
The exchange highlighted both the ongoing fury among survivors and their supporters over the department's handling of the Epstein files and the Trump administration's determination to move on from the issue.
Republicans largely used the hearing to discuss other issues, but Thomas Massie — who co-authored the original legislation to compel the DOJ to release the Epstein files — told Ms Bondi: "Literally the worst thing you could do to the survivors, you did."
Ms Bondi said the DOJ had done its "very best in the time frame allotted by the legislation".
She refused to directly answer many of the questions put to her, instead pivoting to unrelated topics or attempting to quiz Democrats on their lack of action before Donald Trump's re-election.
At times, Ms Bondi returned fire with personal attacks, calling Mr Raskin a "washed-up loser lawyer", and Mr Massie a "failed politician" and a "hypocrite".
Government 'gaslighting'
Epstein survivors and their supporters have vowed to keep campaigning to expose the names of Epstein associates alleged to have been involved in sex trafficking and other crimes.
"This administration has basically been gaslighting us the entire time," Sky Roberts, the brother of Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said in an interview with the ABC.
"He [Mr Trump] ran his campaign on this. He promised his base that he would release these files."
In the days since the Epstein files were released, survivors and their supporters have pointed to dozens of examples of questionable redactions in the files. Many are angry that 3 million documents remain unpublished despite Mr Trump's pledge to release the files.
"The consistent disrespect towards survivors in this case is what really made this the fire that it is," Amanda Roberts, Ms Roberts Giuffre's sister-in-law, told the ABC.
"His Watergate, almost. Because of the way he has chosen to treat this, it has now become a flame that they cannot put out."
Ahead of Wednesday's hearing, a group of Epstein's survivors spoke outside the US Capitol building, calling on the DOJ to unredact the names of Epstein's associates.
"A partial release of these files by the DOJ, riddled with improper redactions that expose the vulnerable and shield the powerful from accountability, is not justice," Epstein victim Liz Stein said.
"It is an injustice. As victims of this crime and citizens of this country, we will not stand for it."
After sustained questioning, Ms Bondi said redaction errors would be rectified.
"If any man's name was redacted that should not have been, we will, of course, unredact it," she said.
"If a victim's name was unredacted, please bring it to us, and we will redact it.
"We were given 30 days to review and redact and unredact millions of pages of documents. Our error rate is very low."
Virginia's law
Democrats, and some Republicans, including Mr Massie and Nancy Mace, have reviewed some of the unredacted files after the DOJ granted access to members of Congress.
On Tuesday, Democrat Ro Khanna publicly identified six "wealthy, powerful men" whose names he said were redacted "for no apparent reason".
Ms Mace told cable network NewsNation she "saw a lot of names" and "took a lot of notes" when she inspected the files.
Survivors are also pushing Congress to pass a bill to remove the time limit for abuse victims to sue perpetrators.
The bill, known as "Virginia's law" in honour of Ms Roberts Giuffre, was introduced to Congress by Democrats on Tuesday.
"That would mean everything to her," Mr Roberts said.
"This is what she fought so hard for. I mean, if I could tell you what was on the very top of her list, it was to eliminate the statute of limitations on sex trafficking and sexual abuse."
