Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s attorney general pick, declined to explicitly say she would defy Mr. Trump’s pressure at a confirmation hearing Wednesday, but she promised generally that “the politics will play no role” in this matter. decide who to investigate.
Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee predicted that Ms. Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, would be easily confirmed. Both sides expressed relief that Mr. Trump’s first choice, former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, stepped down to make way for Ms. Bondi, who has prosecutorial experience and a more balanced temperament.
But the all-day hearing had some contentious moments as Democrats repeatedly accused her of dodging basic yes-or-no questions on election denial, potential lawsuits against political enemies of Mr. Trump — and how she would respond to Mr. Trump’s attempts to influence the party. the actions of the department.
“Politics needs to be taken out of this system,” said Bondi, who repeatedly returned to her argument that the Justice Department had been misused and misdirected under the Biden administration. “This department has been militarized for years and years, and it must stop. »
Ms. Bondi, 59, has sought to project the image of a tough, independent, crime-fighting prosecutor, and she has repeatedly expressed her loyalty to Mr. Trump and her belief that he was a victim of prosecution. politically motivated by the Biden administration.
She did not support Mr Trump’s claim that the special prosecutor who brought two criminal charges against him, Jack Smith, should be kicked out of the country, but said what she had “heard on the news” about his conduct was “horrible”.
Asked if she would investigate Mr. Smith, or anyone else, at Mr. Trump’s request, she added that she would exercise independent judgment, consistent with the law.
Perhaps encouraged by the likelihood of her confirmation, Ms. Bondi was quite effusive in sharing her thoughts on several controversial topics she would face during her term.
She suggested that whatever pardons Mr. Trump would consider for those convicted in connection with the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, they would be limited to those who did not violently attack security forces. order.
“I’m not going to speak for the president, but the president doesn’t like people who mistreat police officers either,” she said.
His response was neither a prediction nor a promise, but it touched on one of the big questions about Mr. Trump’s intentions once he is sworn in: who, exactly, among those accused or convicted of the crimes of January 6, 2021, will be sentenced? a pardon?
At times the session, which lasted more than five hours, seemed like a prelude to the as-yet-unscheduled confirmation hearings for Kash Patel, Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, part of the Justice Department. Ms. Bondi has fended off attempts to link her to Mr. Patel, who has compiled an enemies list of people he could investigate, and who is considered an ally by some members of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory movement QAnon .
Asked about Mr. Patel’s position within the group, she said: “I look forward to hearing his testimony on QAnon before this committee.” »
Ms Bondi also dismissed suggestions she supported investigating the journalists as Mr Patel suggested she do.
“To attack the media simply because they are the media is wrong, of course,” she said.
Ms Bondi claimed she had never heard of Mr Patel’s list of enemies, despite his central role in his appointment. This was one of several instances in which she used this tactic to avoid discussing widely publicized remarks – including Mr. Trump’s infamous call with Georgia election officials on seeking more votes after the 2020 election.
Ms. Bondi drew heavily on her experience as a Florida prosecutor to explain how she would run the Justice Department. She has repeatedly said the department has lost its way and needs a major change of direction.
She repeatedly clashed with Democrats on the committee — particularly California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam B. Schiff — and at times appeared to revert to her former role as a Trump campaign surrogate, lashing out preemptively to his Democratic interrogators.
Mr. Schiff asked her if she saw any factual basis for investigating members of the congressional committee that examined the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Ms. Bondi declined to answer, calling the question hypothetical, and when asked to respond, she retorted that he should be more concerned about the crime rate in California.
Mr. Padilla demanded yes or no answers to questions about claims she had made regarding the 2020 election. Ms. Bondi did not provide one-word answers, but instead offered longer responses which Mr. Padilla interrupted, prompting him to accuse him of trying to intimidate him. “I guess you don’t want to hear my answer,” she said.
Ms. Bondi, who represented Mr. Trump during one of his impeachment proceedings, faced deep skepticism from Democrats about her ability to resist all efforts by Mr. Trump to prosecute his political opponents. Republican members of the committee named Ms. Bondi as a qualified choice who would prioritize border security, one of Mr. Trump’s favorite issues — and end political interference in the Justice Department, which they say was a tool of President Biden.
When Democrats asked Ms. Bondi about the possibility that Mr. Trump would try to militarize the department or abandon a deal that the White House opposed, she disagreed. Ms Bondi told the committee she would not have accepted the appointment if she had thought it could happen.
But it has already happened under Mr. Trump: during his first administration, he suggested that James B. Comey, then the director of the FBI, drop an investigation into his national security adviser. Mr. Comey did not intervene in the matter and was subsequently fired.
She also refused to go back on her past vow during a television interview that “prosecutors will be prosecuted, the bad ones.” Pressed on this statement, Ms Bondi replied: “none of us are above the law”.
Ms Bondi also faced questions about his role as a lobbyist from the time she joined the company Ballard Partnerswho has close ties to Mr. Trump, in 2019. She registered as a lobbyist for Qatar and has represented major companies, including Amazon, Uber and General Motors, records show.
Ms. Bondi, who was a Democrat until 2000, emerged from a crowded Republican primary to win the race for Florida attorney general in 2010. During her eight-year term, Ms. Bondi unsuccessfully tried to unseat and weakening the Affordable Care Act, opposed expanding legal protections for the LGBTQ community and cultivated a national reputation supporting efforts to combat human trafficking.
As the sniping subsided, Mr. Schiff — her most aggressive interlocutor — offered her a gentle warning about the challenges she will face.
“Our concern arises when that loyalty to the president conflicts with your duty,” Mr. Schiff said, insisting that such a moment would occur because it happened to his predecessors. “This has happened to everyone, it will come to you, and what you do at that time will define your tenure as attorney general.”