After watching the confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary committee concerning the nomination of Pam Bondi to become United States Attorney General I endeavored to try and capture a word that best summed up Ms. Bondi. Shill was the only one that seemed to do her justice.
Bondi became the replacement for the failed and ludicrous nomination of former Congressman Matt Gaetz to this position. While Bondi, by virtue of her service as Attorney General for the State of Florida, appears to be qualified for this position a closer examination of her ties and advocacy of Donald Trump’s specious claims that the 2020 election was “stolen,” along with her tacit endorsement that prosecutors in the Justice Department and Special Counsel’s office in the prosecution of Donald Trump should be targeted for prosecution themselves, renders her unfit for this position.[1]
Bondi first came to national attention when it was revealed that in 2013, while serving as Attorney General for the State of Florida, she declined to join other state attorney generals in litigation against Trump University and it was further revealed that her political action committee had solicited a $25,000 campaign contribution from the Trump Foundation. The contribution was later determined to be unlawful expenditure by the Trump Foundation.[2]
Following her tenure as Attorney General of Florida, Bondi became a regular defender of Trump on cable television and during his first impeachment trial. Bondi was also one of Trump’s premier election deniers including refusing to acknowledge that Trump had lost the 2020 election during her confirmation hearing.[3] Indeed, when it came to questions about Trump prosecuting the prosecutors who investigated and charged him, Bondi became the “Artful Dodger,” ducking questions about her own calls for these prosecutors to be charged. In an appearance on Fox News she declared, “you know what’s going to happen. The Department of Justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted, the bad ones. The investigators will be investigated. …They were hiding in the shadows. But now they have a spotlight on them and they can all be investigated, and the house needs to be cleaned out. Because now we know who most of them are; there is a record of it, and we can clean house next turn, and that’s what has to happen.”[4]
If one needs a barometer to gauge how influential and independent Bondi will be if confirmed, one needs only look to her testimony during her confirmation hearing about the prospect of pardons for the January 6 insurrectionists. In response to questions about whether she would recommend pardons to Trump, she responded that “she condemned ‘any violence’ against law enforcement officials but added that she had not reviewed the files from those cases and would need to ‘ look at each case and advise on a case-by-case basis.’”[5] Five days later, apparently without any consultation or input from Bondi, Trump issued a blanket pardon to all January 6 insurrectionists and directed the Department of Justice to dismiss all pending cases.
Bondi’s nomination and likely confirmation to be the United States Attorney General confirms two beliefs that I have long held. First, is that there are people who are successful in politics that could never be successful in anything else. Second, is that simply because someone has been elected to public office does not mean they are the best qualified for that office.
Following her tenure as Attorney General of Florida, unlike most individuals leaving such a position, she did not join a prestigious law firm. Instead, she joined a lobbying firm that included Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming Chief of Staff and became a “talking head” on Fox News.
Surely, the Nation can do better for its eighty-seventh Attorney General.
[1]“What to Know about Trump’s Attorney. General Pick Pam Bondi as she faces questioning on Capitol Hill,” Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press, January 15, 2025.
[2]“Pam Bondi a $25,000 Donation and Trump University: Questions Remain,” by Eric Lipton, New York Times November 22, 2024.
[3] “How Pam Bondi Boosted Trump’s Election Fraud Claims in a Key Swing State,” by Beth Reinhard, Washington Post, December 16, 2024
[4]“ it’s not just Kash Patel. Many Trump Picks Have Suggested Retribution.” Aaron Blake, Washington Post, December 23, 2024.
[5] “AG pick Bondi Says No Enemies List Won’t Rule Out Probes of Trump Foes,” Jeremy Roebuck and Mark Berman, Washington Post, January 15, 2024