Issue: Pam Bondi’s response to Democrats during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
I was taken aback when Attorney General Pam Bondi responded to the questions from Democratic senators with personal jabs while her Republican peers stayed silent (“Bondi Grills,” Oct. 8).
Now, it’s not like previous Congressional hearings have been peaceful. They’ve certainly had their share of drama.
But no prior lawmakers would have allowed their colleagues to endure the kind of insults that Bondi was throwing around.
The total lack of response from Republicans on Tuesday was, to me, incredibly noticeable.
Denny Freidenrich
Laguna Beach, California
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings aimed to scrutinize the Justice Department’s activities, but that goal was never met.
Instead, the nation’s leading law enforcement officer resorted to angry personal attacks against Democratic senators. Those senators were just trying to do their jobs, gathering facts for accountability in government.
Even more disgraceful than Bondi’s aggressive behavior was the way Republicans on the committee let the oversight process get undermined.
Jim Palladino
Tampa, Florida
Pam Bondi has shown herself to be a relentless advocate, but not really for American law—more so for her superiors.
She highlighted three problematic immigrants in Chicago: one who brutally killed a 21-year-old, the leader of a Sinaloa cartel, and the son of El Chapo.
It made it seem like all the other undocumented immigrants were just as dangerous.
I remember enough from my education to push back against this kind of smear directed at immigrants of color.
Kimball Sinkoski
Woods Cross, Utah
Pam Bondi was, quite frankly, an embarrassment yesterday.
She dodged all the questions and seemed solely focused on shielding President Trump.
We really need to see some changes in our government.
First off, let’s examine the Epstein files.
We should look into the names of all the affluent men entangled with this child rapist.
And we ought to remind Bondi of her duties.
Clegg Ramone
Manhattan
Issue: Zoran Mamdani’s tweet on October 7th accusing Israel of starting a “genocidal war”.
Zoran Mamdani’s claim that Israel initiated a genocidal war is just a triple affront (“Zoran Memo Sparks Outrage,” October 8).
First, this isn’t genocide; it’s warfare.
Tragically, war results in loss of life.
Second, this conflict was instigated by Hamas.
The group attacked Israel, resulting in 1,200 Israeli deaths and around 250 hostages being taken.
This is fundamentally about Israel’s right to defend itself and its borders.
Third, Mamdani made his statement on the anniversary of October 7th, indicating that while he condemned Hamas’ actions, he equated Israel’s response with genocide.
By doing so, he seems to trivialize the October 7th massacre.
No self-respecting Jewish individual should consider supporting him.
Mark Zeitelman
Manhattan
In a “genocidal war,” countless men, women, and children are stripped and executed, much like the atrocities committed against Jews at Babi Yar by the Nazis in 1941.
True perpetrators of genocide wouldn’t have released violent terrorists in exchange for one kidnapped hostage, as Israel did.
The real inquiry here is whether Mamdani and his followers are so uninformed that they overlook history, or if they are just so biased that they dismiss it altogether.
Matthew Brief
Manhattan
