Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is vying to become the next Attorney General. But as she was grilled this week with questions from a bipartisan committee of Senators, some experts worry her allegiance to President-elect Donald Trump will prevent her from fairly carrying out the duties of the job.
Earlier this week, Bondi stopped by Capitol Hill to be questioned in an over 4-hour hearing by both Democrats and Republicans. For the former, Senators from all over the country laid out what some of the stakes in her appointment are, particularly given the pressure Trump wielded on his Justice Department during his first term to advance his personal interests, including by demanding that the-then FBI director abandon an investigation into an ally and by firing his first attorney general following his recusal from an investigation into Trump's 2016 campaign.
"I need to know that you would tell the president 'no' if you're asked to do something that's wrong, illegal or unconstitutional," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Il.), the committee's top Democrat, who noted that Bondi had represented Trump during the first of two Senate impeachment trials.
Throughout her meticulous meeting, Bondi, who is the first woman to be attorney general of Florida, repeatedly stressed that she would not play politics with the Justice Department or pursue anyone for political reasons.
Following the high-profile confirmation hearing, former U.S. Attorney and legal analyst Glenn Kirschner warned about making Bondi the next, warning about a potential lack of independence of the Justice Department during Trump's second term.
"Are we confident that [Bondi] will be a fair and impartial Attorney General on behalf of all of the American people?" Kirschner recently asked viewers in a YouTube video. "Will she be independent of Donald Trump's worst instincts? Or is she just going to be another Bill Barr?" referencing Trump's former AG who regularly referred to unfounded worries about election interference or fraud in 2020.
Kirshner also explained that throughout his tenure in the Justice Department, he worked for several attorneys general. However, he is mostly worried about Bondi's seeming loyalty to Trump and how that could affect the future of the country, pointing out her refusal to denounce FBI director nominee and controversial figure Kash Patel for his incendiary comments on the Democratic Party, and her alleging to have never heard Trump's demand to "find me 11,780" votes so he could win the 2020 election.
"I have to say, what I saw of Pam Bondi today, some of what she said, and some of what she refused to say, made me wince, and worse, it made me concerned for the future independence of the Department of Justice," Kirschner warned.
Republicans have expressed overwhelming support for Bondi and her planned agenda, which she said includes protecting gun rights, free speech and fighting violent crime and terrorism. Bondi's confirmation is seemingly assured in the Republican-majority Senate, with the GOP pointing out that questions about Patel— which were among the most contentious ones— was a more pressing concern for Democrats than Bondi.
"If confirmed, I will work to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice— and each of its components," Bondi said. "Under my watch, the partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all."
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