Bondi Torches Dem Over Epstein Flight Log Release: ‘Did You Take Money?’
Attorney General Pam Bondi obliterated Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin over the Jeffrey Epstein files.
During a Senate Judiciary Hearing on Tuesday, Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn was brought up because she has pushed for the release of Epstein files in the past.
Bondi and Blackburn asserted that Durbin was impeding the effort, but Durbin refuted this, despite records indicating he had indeed blocked the release.
Blackburn and Bondi tag-teamed Durbin after he denied a subpoena for the flight logs and knowing Reid Hoffman, a known Epstein affiliate.
“I find it very interesting that you refused repeated Republican requests to release the Epstein flight log in 2023 and 2024, you fought that. Did you take money from Reid Hoffman campaign donations?” Bondi said.
Durbin denied taking donations from Hoffman, but Hoffman has given millions to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which supports Durbin as a top Senate Democrat.
Bondi shot back: “Why did you fight to not disclose the flight logs, Senator Durbin?”
Durbin falsely claimed that he “did not” fight against” Blackburn’s subpoena, adding, “I asked you if you wanted any documents like flight logs to put it in writing. You never did.”
Blackburn shot back: “Yes, sir, I did. And your staff knows that I did. We’ll submit once again, the information to you. We’ve done that several times, but we’ll be happy to once again send it to you. I think your staff doesn’t show that to you.”
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Bondi made it clear with her opening statement that she planned to correct many lies from Democrats in recent weeks.
“They are a critical reminder of our central mission here at the Department of Justice protecting the safety and security of the American people.
That is why, even when the government is otherwise shut down because of the Democrats, the department’s law enforcement officers and prosecutors are hard at work, fighting crime, keeping our streets safe and protecting you from the threats, foreign and domestic.
When I was confirmed as the 80 seventh attorney general of the United States, I took office with to mangles to in the weapon, is nation of justice and return the department to it’s core mission of fighting violent crime as to ending the weapon possession of justice.
We learn that former FBI secretly investigated you and your colleagues why they wanted to take president,” Bondi began.
“Trump off the playing field. They were playing politics with law enforcement powers and will go down as a historic. The trail of public trust, this is the kind of conduct that shatters the American people’s faith in our law enforcement system. We will work to earn that back every single day,” she added.
“We are returning to our core mission of fighting real crime. While there is more work to do, I believe in eight short months we have made tremendous progress towards those ends.
Our federal surges in Washington D.C. in memphis are a perfect example of how the Department of Justice should operate week created strong partnerships with local leadership working hand in hand with both cities to send resources where they were needed. Most, the results speak for themselves,” she added.
“Despite the unprecedented degree of activism we’ve seen from the lower courts, we have never ignored a court order and why would we we have secured a historic 20 two victories at the Supreme Court alone with more to come,.
Our civil rights attorneys are fighting discrimination and anti Semitism. Our criminal attorneys are prosecuting violent criminals and foreign terrorist every single day. I look forward to continuing this work at the Department of Justice and I look forward to testifying before you today,” Bondi added.
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
