Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday expressed issues with the Division of Justice’s monitoring of lawmakers’ search historical past of the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata, although he questioned whether or not the surveillance was intentional or a mistake — although the information was compiled for the legal professional basic’s analysis binder at Wednesday’s Home Judiciary listening to.
“I don’t suppose it’s acceptable for anyone to be monitoring that. So, I’ll echo that to anybody within the DOJ. And I’m certain it was an oversight, that’s my guess, OK?” Johnson mentioned.
Home Speaker Mike Johnson speaks within the Rayburn Reception Room after formally unveiling the Frederick Douglass Press Gallery on the Capitol, Feb. 12, 2026.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Photos
On Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of “spying” on her search history when the congresswoman visited the Division of Justice earlier this week to view unredacted files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Since Monday, lawmakers have been allowed to go to the DOJ to evaluate the unredacted recordsdata on 4 laptop kiosks.
Images from Reuters from a House Judiciary Committee hearing at which Bondi appeared on Wednesday present printouts titled: “Jayapal Pramila Search Historical past” and embody a diagram of a number of paperwork from the DOJ’s Epstein recordsdata that Jayapal searched.
The Justice Division on Thursday afternoon mentioned that in the course of the evaluate of the unredacted Epstein recordsdata, “DOJ logs all searches made on its techniques to guard towards the discharge of sufferer data.” The DOJ didn’t provide any rationalization for why Bondi had a printout of Jayapal’s search historical past.
U.S. Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi holds a chunk of paper labelled “Jayapal Pramila Search Historical past”, in reference to U.S. Consultant Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a member of the Home Judiciary Committee, in the course of the committee’s listening to on oversight of the Justice Division, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2026.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters
Johnson, who obtained Jayapal’s account of the episode in a telephone name with the congresswoman Wednesday night, added that members ought to “have the correct” to view recordsdata at “their very own pace and with their very own discretion.”
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace additionally mentioned she believed the DOJ was monitoring her as she performed her evaluate of the unredacted paperwork.
Throughout the aisle, Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries mentioned he was not stunned that the DOJ tracked their search historical past “as a result of the bar is so low.”
“There is no such thing as a backside for the Trump administration, for Pam Bondi, for the opposite sycophants who’re a part of this corrupt administration,” Jeffries mentioned on Thursday.
Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz mentioned every lawmaker who opinions the unredacted Epstein recordsdata receives a selected login to signal on to a pc to see the paperwork — as an alternative of terminals which can be open to make use of, which Moscowitz referred to as “suspicious.”
“I imply, I am not embarrassed that the paperwork I used to be taking a look at, so I do not know that it is a huge gotcha. Nevertheless it’s inappropriate. We should always have been knowledgeable of that,” Moskowitz mentioned.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz holds up a Trump Bible as he questions Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi within the Home Judiciary Committee on the Capitol, Feb. 11, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Jayapal informed reporters on Thursday that there “must be an entire new course of” the place lawmakers are assured that the Division of Justice “just isn’t spying on us and retaining our search histories after which utilizing it towards us.”
“Surveilling us and spying on us after which utilizing it in a ‘burn e book’ binder towards us, is totally unacceptable, and so the method has to vary immediately,” Jayapal informed ABC Information Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O’Brien. “They can not save our search histories. They can not spy on us, and that is what we’re demanding.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal listens throughout a listening to earlier than the Home Democratic Steering and Coverage Committee on the Capitol, Feb. 12, 2026.
Alex Wong/Getty Photos
Jayapal mentioned there “must be accountability,” including Democrats are “taking a look at all of the choices for that.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the rating Democrat on the committee main the Bondi listening to Wednesday, mentioned in an announcement that he plans to ask the DOJ’s inspector basic to launch an inquiry into the matter.
Jayapal mentioned she would welcome Republican collaboration within the course of.
“I believe that there are a number of Republicans that do not like this. They had been additionally spied on after they went and so I hope that this generally is a bipartisan effort to say that is completely inappropriate. It has to cease,” she mentioned.
However the chairman who presided over Wednesday’s listening to, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, dismissed issues that the DOJ monitored lawmakers’ search historical past.
“I imply come on, it’s fairly wealthy. It is fairly wealthy to listen to the complaints after, after what the DOJ has carried out to Republican members of Congress beneath Jack Smith,” Jordan mentioned, referencing “Arctic Frost,” which captured telephone logs of a number of Republicans.
Jordan contended that the DOJ had his telephone data for 2 and a half years, in addition to former Speaker of the Home Kevin McCarthy.
“They knew who the speaker was calling earlier than votes, who he was calling after votes, when the decision occurred, how lengthy it lasted, the place he was at,” Jordan mentioned. “And now they’re elevating this situation? Like, OK.”
Jayapal urged Republicans to “be constant about this.”
“I’ve labored with a number of colleagues throughout the aisle, together with Chairman Jordan, on [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] and surveillance. It is a prime instance of that,” she mentioned.
