Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for attorney general, did not explicitly say she would resist Trump’s pressure during her confirmation hearing Wednesday, but she made a full promise that “politics will not be involved.” did. Decide who to investigate.
Both Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee expected Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, to be easily confirmed. Both sides are concerned that former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s top choice, has stepped aside to make way for Bondi, who has experience as a prosecutor and has a more balanced temperament. He expressed his relief.
But Democrats are concerned about how she will deal with election denialism, the potential prosecution of Trump’s political opponents, and his attempts to influence the presidential election. The day-long public hearing was at times controversial, as he repeatedly accused him of dodging questions that require answers of “” or “no.” Department initiatives.
“Politics has to be taken out of this system,” Bondi said, repeatedly returning to his claims that the Justice Department has been abused and misguided under the Biden administration. “This sector has been weaponized for years and years and years, and it has to stop.”
Ms. Bondi, 59, has sought to project an image of an independent and tough crime-fighting prosecutor, citing her loyalty to Mr. Trump and her belief that he is the victim of politically motivated prosecutions by the Biden administration. repeatedly stated.
She did not support Mr. Trump’s argument that special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted two criminal cases, should be expelled from the country, but said she had “heard on the news” about Mr. Trump’s actions. “It was terrible,” he said.
Asked if he would investigate Smith or anyone else in response to Trump’s orders, he added that he would exercise independent judgment in accordance with the law.
Perhaps because his chances of confirmation were high, Bondi shared his thoughts fairly extensively on some of the controversial topics he would face in his administration.
She said any pardons Trump would consider for people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol would be limited to people who did not commit violence against law enforcement officials. He suggested that it would be possible.
“I’m not going to speak for the president, but he also doesn’t like people who abuse police officers,” she said.
Her answer wasn’t a prediction or a promise, but it touched on one of the big questions about Trump’s intentions once he takes office. That is, exactly who among those indicted or convicted on January 6, 2021 will be charged with the crime. What about forgiveness?
The meeting, which lasted more than five hours, appeared to be a prelude to the yet-to-be-scheduled confirmation hearing for Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to head the FBI, part of the Justice Department. there were. Ms. Bondi promoted an enemy list of people to be investigated and attempted to link herself to Ms. Patel, who is seen as an ally by some members of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory movement QAnon. I refused.
When asked about Patel’s position on the group, she said, “I look forward to hearing Mr. Patel’s testimony about QAnon before this committee.”
Mr. Bondi also dismissed suggestions that he would support a reporter’s investigation, as Mr. Patel had suggested.
“It is of course wrong to go after the media just because they are the media,” she said.
Mr Bondi claimed he had never heard of Mr Patel’s list of opponents, even though it was central to his nomination. This is one of several times she has used that tactic to avoid controversy over widely circulated comments, including Trump’s infamous phone call with Georgia election officials about getting more votes after the 2020 election. This was one of the examples.
Mr. Bondi drew heavily on his experience as a Florida prosecutor to explain how he would run the Justice Department. She repeatedly declared that the department had lost its way and needed a major course correction.
She has repeatedly clashed with Democrats on the committee, particularly Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam B. Schiff of California, and at times returned to her old role as a Trump campaign surrogate, leading to Democratic questioning. It appeared that he took the lead and attacked the government violently.
Schiff asked her whether there was a factual basis to investigate members of the congressional committees that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Bondi declined to say the question was hypothetical, and when pressed for an answer, retorted that people should be more concerned about California’s crime rate.
Padilla asked for a “yes” or “no” answer to questions about claims he made regarding the 2020 election. Ms. Bondi did not answer in one word, instead giving a long reply, which Ms. Padilla cut off and accused Ms. Bondi of trying to bully her. “I guess you don’t want to hear my answer,” she said.
Bondi, who represented Trump in one of his impeachment cases, faced deep skepticism from Democrats about whether he could withstand Trump’s efforts to prosecute his political opponents. Republicans on the committee say Bondi is the right person to prioritize border security, one of Trump’s favorite issues, and end political interference in the Justice Department, which they have repeatedly said is a tool for President Biden. was nominated.
When Democrats asked Bondi about the possibility that Trump might try to weaponize the department or drop a lawsuit opposed by the White House, she disagreed with that premise. Ms Bondi told the committee that she would not have accepted the nomination if she had thought such a thing could happen.
But something similar happened under Trump. During his first administration, Mr. Trump suggested then-FBI Director James B. Comey halt an investigation into his national security adviser. Comey did not intervene in the incident and was later fired.
She also refused in a television interview to retract her past vow that “bad prosecutors will be prosecuted.” When asked about this comment, Bondi said: “None of us are above the law.”
Bondi has also faced questions about his role as a lobbyist since joining Ballard Partners, which has close ties to Trump, in 2019. She registered as a lobbyist for Qatar, Amazon, Uber and, records show, General Motors.
Bondi, a Democrat until 2000, fought his way through a crowded Republican primary to win the 2010 election for Florida attorney general. During his eight-year term, Mr. Bondi unsuccessfully tried to overturn and weaken the Affordable Care Act and opposed its expansion. It strengthened legal protections for the LGBTQ community and developed a national reputation for supporting anti-trafficking efforts.
Once the sniping subsided, her most aggressive interrogator, Mr. Schiff, gently warned her of the difficulties she would face.
“What we’re concerned about is when your loyalty to the president conflicts with your duty,” Schiff said, noting that such moments occur as they have happened to her predecessors. He claimed that there was. “It happens to everyone, and it will come to you. What you do in that moment will determine your attorney generalship.”
