From the start, Pam Bondi’s Senate confirmation hearing was dominated by a central question: Is she loyal to Donald Trump or to the Constitution?
Bondi was quickly put on the defensive Wednesday, quizzed about her appetite for retaliating against politicians, prosecutors, judges and journalists, as Trump has repeatedly promised to do.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked her to detail under what circumstances she’d prosecute journalists for engaging in First Amendment activity.
“I will not politicize that office. I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation,” she assured.
Bondi was also forced to preview her willingness to work alongside Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, a conspiracy-spreading MAGA loyalist who has published a political “enemies list” and entertained closing the bureau’s Washington headquarters.
Bondi incorrectly dismissed the existence of that enemies list and called him “the right person at this time for the job.” However, she said the DOJ will not engage in political vengeance.
“There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice,” she testified under oath.
Still, Bondi doubled down on her previous claim on TV that she would “prosecute the prosecutors, the bad ones,” referring to the likes of special counsel Jack Smith and other federal prosecutors who investigated Trump for a litany of crimes.
One concern about Trump’s ability to influence the DOJ is whether he would end a Watergate-era department policy meant to prevent career prosecutors from doing the president’s bidding. Sources familiar with the Trump legal team’s priorities have told NOTUS that they expect a change to be under consideration. Bondi was asked whether she’d maintain current rules that impose strict limits on communication between the White House and DOJ.
“If you were confirmed, will you maintain, defend and enforce that long-standing contacts policy?” Whitehouse asked.
“Senator, yes, I will meet with White House counsel, and I will meet with the appropriate officials and follow the contacts policy,” she promised.
Throughout the hearing, Bondi toed the same line as all of Trump’s closest lieutenants — refusing to state affirmatively that Trump lost the election to President Joe Biden in 2020.
When asked about her take on the infamous Jan. 2, 2021, call in which then-President Trump intimidated Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” to flip the election there, Bondi claimed she’d never even heard it.
“It’s my understanding that is not what he asked him to do,” she said, floating the possibility that the request was “maybe taken out of context.”
She also refused to clarify her stance on Trump’s promise to pardon the rioters who took part in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, an issue that could come up in the very first days of the incoming Trump administration as the AG must advise a president on such matters.
“I have not seen any of those files,” she said, but later added, “I condemn any violence on a law enforcement officer in this country.”
Bondi briefly came under fire over a scandal involving her interactions with Trump — one that dates back to 2013, when she was Florida’s attorney general and Trump made a $25,000 donation to her political campaign through his nonprofit. The gift came at a time when several state attorneys general were considering an investigation into Trump University, which Bondi ultimately refused to partake in.
Records later unearthed in 2021 showed that contrary to claims by Trump’s campaign and company executives, Trump Organization employees were indeed notified this donation was to a political group, which would have been illegal. The event led to the closure of the Trump Foundation charity.
Republicans on the committee were widely welcoming of Bondi, with Sen. Lindsey Graham calling Bondi’s nomination “an easy decision.”
“Being Trump’s lawyer prepares you for many things,” he joked.
The toughest line of questioning came from the newest member of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Adam Schiff, leading to a tense exchange between the two former prosecutors.
“Just tell us, are you aware of a factual predicate to investigate Jack Smith, yes or no?” Schiff asked.
“Senator, what I’m hearing on the news is horrible. Do I know if he committed a crime? I have not looked at it,” Bondi replied.
The matter is personal for Schiff, who is also on Trump’s growing list of political enemies on whom he’s vowed to exact vengeance.
“Let me ask you a different simple question. The president also wants to jail Liz Cheney,” he said, referencing the co-chair of the Jan. 6 committee that uncovered how Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election. “Sitting here today, are you aware of any factual basis to investigate Liz Cheney, yes or no?”
Repeatedly calling an issue a hypothetical, Bondi said, “No one has asked me to investigate Liz Cheney. We’re all so worried about Liz Cheney, Senator. You know what we should be worried about? The crime rate in California right now is through the roof. Your robberies are 87% higher than the national average. That’s what I want to be focused on, Senator, if I’m confirmed as attorney general.”
“What you’re suggesting today by your nonanswer is you don’t have the independence to say no to the president,” he shot back.
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Jose Pagliery is a reporter at NOTUS.