Americanswers... on 5Live! Why did Pam Bondi, US Attorney General, lose her temper during Epstein Files questioning?
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 17 February 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In fiery congressional hearings last week, US Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the justice department's handling of the Epstein files. Several of Epstein's victims watched heated exchanges as Bondi faced a range of questions, including whether the files were sufficiently redacted, Trump’s role, Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison treatment and whether the Attorney General had met with victims.
Justin, Marianna, Sarah and Anthony also discuss the difficulties for survivors of Epstein’s abuse in obtaining successful prosecutions and self identifying perpetrators. Plus, why have Bill and Hillary Clinton insisted on giving their evidence publicly on what they did and didn’t know about Epstein’s abuse. Both deny any wrongdoing, and Hillary Clinton makes clear she never met Epstein.
And, Barack Obama appeared to confirm the existence of aliens on a podcast. The former president later took to Instagram to row back his remarks, clarifying he saw ‘no evidence’ of extraterrestrials during his tenure. The truth is out there…
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent
GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast
This episode was made by Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:07.2 | We get it. Life is busy. You want to keep up with the news, but there's just too much going on. |
| 0:13.0 | Which is where newscast comes in. We do the work, and when you're ready to dig deeper into the day's news, you just pop us into your ears. |
| 0:23.1 | It does mean we have to put in the hard work, though. |
| 0:26.1 | Listen to newscast every day on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:29.1 | Lots of questions about the Epstein files this week. |
| 0:31.7 | Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, clashing in Congress. |
| 0:36.4 | What we did or didn't learn from her grilling, it was very, very contentious. |
| 0:39.4 | We also talk about Bill and Hillary Clinton. |
| 0:45.0 | Why are they insisting on giving their evidence live when they do testify on Epstein before Congress? |
| 0:53.2 | Plus, has a judge stopped Donald Trump's White House renovations? Does there really only exist now a pile of rubble and nothing more. And does Barack Obama believe in aliens? Sarah |
| 0:56.6 | Anthony and I joined Marianna on Five Live. Welcome to AmeriC Answers. |
| 1:03.3 | AmeriCast. AmeriCast from BBC News. You hear that sound? Oh, I think when I hear that sound, |
| 1:09.8 | it reminds me of money. |
| 1:11.4 | Nicholas Maduro heft around and he found out. |
| 1:14.7 | This is a big coverer and this administration is engaged in it. |
| 1:18.1 | This guy has trumped arrangement syndrome. |
| 1:20.3 | I have four words for you. Turn the volume up. |
| 1:29.7 | Let's start with a topic that feels like it's kind of my cup of tea. |
| 1:34.6 | Before we get into everyone's questions, |
| 1:36.9 | I'd like to know what you think about former US president Barack Obama |
| 1:40.0 | saying that aliens are real. |
... |
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