WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected numerous questions about Justice Department investigations into President Donald Trump’s political rivals while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Her refrain?
“I am not going to discuss personal matters or pending litigation in my office.”
Rather than addressing questions regarding the alleged weaponization of her justice department, Bondi flipped the script, pointing to instances in which she claimed the Biden administration had politicized the department.
On Monday night, Republicans made public FBI documents that demonstrated how Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 2022 inquiry into the Jan. 6 insurrection had secretly gathered metadata on the contacts of eight Republican senators.
At the Tuesday hearing and in an X post, Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) described the incident as “worse than Watergate.” Bondi called it an “unconstitutional abuse of government power.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and others falsely claimed that agents had engaged in wiretapping.
Bondi also emphasized the perceived success of the Trump administration’s deployment of federal agents to U.S. cities and blamed Democrats for the continued shutdown. When pushed, she launched direct attacks on the committee’s Democratic senators.
“I wish you’d love Chicago as much as you hate President Trump,” she said to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) when asked if the White House consulted the department on whether to deploy troops to Chicago.
The Justice Department has been under scrutiny for the recent indictment of former FBI director James Comey on charges of making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding in relation to testimony he gave before the Senate in 2020. Comey has maintained his innocence, saying he never knowingly gave false testimony before Congress.
Trump has long called for charges against Comey, whom he has attacked for the investigation into his campaign ties to Russia during the 2016 election.
This indictment itself came mere days after Trump made a direct call for the Justice Department to prosecute several of his political rivals: Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Letitia James, the New York attorney general.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Critics say this direct pressure undermines the independence of the DOJ, whose prosecutorial decisions are expected to be insulated from political influence.
At the Tuesday hearing, several Judiciary Committee Democrats pointed to Trump’s post as evidence that the department was succumbing to the president’s influence.
“Far from ending weaponization of justice, I would submit, Madam Attorney General, that President Trump has embodied it,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
The fervor over Comey’s indictment has been compounded by the department’s handling of the Epstein files.
Since Trump took office in January, pressure has been mounting from his supporters and others within the Republican Party, who have called for more transparency around the investigations into Epstein, the late financier and convicted child sex offender.
On Tuesday, Bondi largely dodged questions about Epstein’s client list.
Still, committee Democrats continually expressed concern about the state of the Justice Department.
“What was once the Department of Justice, has become the department of revenge and corruption,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). “Rather than pursuing cases without fear or favor, this DOJ seeks to favor the president’s friends and instill fear in his alleged enemies.”
