Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, toned down Democratic talking points during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Mr. Bondi, who previously served as Florida's attorney general, spent much of the hearing defending himself against accusations of political bias, arguing instead against the federal weaponization of the Justice Department that Mr. Trump and many Americans have endured. pointed out.
“There are only a few particularly egregious examples of rampant corruption within the Department of Justice.”
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island pressed Bondi on whether he intended to politicize the attorney general's office by introducing an “enemies list,” a request Bondi wholeheartedly rejected.
“Senator, to cut to the chase, you are obviously talking about Kash Patel,” Bondi said. answered He referred the White House to President Trump's nominee for FBI director. “I don't think he has a list of enemies. He said it on TV, but I didn't listen.”
“There will never be an enemy list within the Department of Justice,” Bondi added.
Sen. Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, asked a similar question, which Mr. Bondi easily answered. Mr. Durbin suggested that Mr. Trump would use Bondi to weaponize the very same Justice Department that has been going after Mr. Trump and his supporters for the past four years.
“Do you think the January 6 rioters convicted of assaulting police officers should be pardoned?” Durbin pressed.
“Of course, pardons are within the president's power, but if I am asked to look into these cases, I will look at each case and do it on a case-by-case basis, just as I have done throughout my career as a prosecutor. I’m going to give you some advice,” Bondi said.
Bondi added: “If confirmed, I will review all files if asked to advise the president.” “But let me be clear: I condemn all violence against law enforcement officers in this country.”
Durbin's series of questions, particularly when she asked whether she would accept the results of the 2020 election, sought to paint her as an election denier.
“President Biden is the President of the United States and is officially sworn into office,” Bondi said. said. “…I accept the results, of course I accept that Joe Biden is the president of the United States.”
While Democrats focused unsuccessfully on portraying Bondi as a partisan election denier, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley pointed to various instances of political weaponization that have occurred under President Joe Biden's administration.
“There are only a few particularly egregious examples of rampant corruption within the Department of Justice,” Grassley said. said. “The impact of this political contagion on this once prestigious law enforcement agency is devastating.”
“Mr. Bondi, just to be clear, any action you take to change department policy must be for accountability so that the kind of behavior I just described never happens again. It has to be,” Grassley added. “The only way to achieve this is to be transparent.”
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