WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� , pick for attorney general, sought to reassure Democratic senators Wednesday that her Justice Department would not prosecute anyone for political purposes but also refused to rule out the potential for investigations into adversaries of the Republican president-elect.
Her often-testy confirmation hearing centered on concerns that Trump would seek to use the Justice Department's law enforcement powers to exact retribution against opponents, including investigators who investigated him. Democrats pressed her on whether she could maintain the department's independence from the White House and say no to the president if asked to do something unethical, while Republicans welcomed her as a course correction for a Justice Department they believe has pursued a liberal agenda and unfairly resulting in two indictments.
鈥淲hat would you do if your career DOJ prosecutors came to you with a case to prosecute, grounded in the facts and law, but the White House directs you to drop the case?鈥� asked Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat.
鈥淪enator,鈥� Bondi replied, 鈥渋f I thought that would happen, I would not be sitting here today. That will not happen.鈥�
The line of questioning laid bare what Democrats see as the stakes of Bondi鈥檚 appointment, particularly given the pressure Trump wielded on his Justice Department during his first term to advance his personal interests, abandon an investigation into an ally and by following his recusal from an investigation into Trump's 2016 campaign. Heading into another term, he's also called for investigations into perceived foes, including prosecutors and
鈥淚 need to know that you would tell the president 鈥榥o鈥� if you鈥檙e asked to do something that鈥檚 wrong, illegal or unconstitutional,鈥� said Sen. , the committee's top Democrat, who noted that Bondi had represented Trump during .
Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida and the first woman to hold that job, repeatedly stressed that she would not play politics with the Justice Department or pursue anyone for political reasons. She said she would uphold the Constitution and said the public, not the president, would be her client.
鈥淥f course not,鈥� she said when asked by Republican Sen. of Louisiana if she would 鈥渟tart with a name to prosecute and then look for a crime.鈥� 鈥淚 hope no attorney general going forward would ever do that," she added.
But those reassurances did not allay Democratic concerns about her loyalty to Trump. Her testimony at times echoed Trump's campaign trail rhetoric as she refused to denounce some of his more incendiary claims and repeatedly invoked the size of Trump's election win in November 鈥� 鈥淟ook at the map of California, Sen. Schiff. It's bright red鈥� 鈥� as proof of a mandate for sweeping change.
Given a chance by Sen. , a Hawaii Democrat, to reject Trump's characterization of supporters arrested in as 鈥渉ostages鈥� or 鈥減atriots.鈥� Bondi simply said: 鈥淚 am not familiar with that statement.鈥�
She also refused to say she would encourage Trump not to issue blanket pardons of all 1,500 people who have been charged in the attack that left more than 100 police officers injured. But Bondi did denounce violence against police officers, adding: 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to speak for the president, but the president does not like people that abuse police officers, either.鈥�
Bondi also wouldn鈥檛 directly answer when asked whether Trump lost in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden, only going so far initially to say that Biden is the president.
She later said she accepted the election results but also suggested there was fraud, alluding to her time as an advocate for the campaign in Pennsylvania after that election, where she said she saw 鈥渕any things鈥� while on the ground.
鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 want there to be any issues with election integrity in our country.鈥� There is no evidence of widespread fraud that impacted the election's outcome.
She backed up Trump鈥檚 claims that the prosecutions against him amounted to political persecution, saying the Justice Department 鈥渉ad been weaponized for years and years and years, and it鈥檚 got to stop.鈥�
鈥淭hey targeted Donald Trump,鈥� Bondi said. 鈥淭hey went after him 鈥� actually starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him.鈥� She added: 鈥淚f I am attorney general, I will not politicize that office.鈥�
In a heated exchange with Sen. , a California Democrat and frequent target of Trump's ire, she stated that 鈥渆very case will be done on a case-by-case basis鈥� and said 鈥渘o one should be prosecuted for political purposes." But she equivocated when Schiff asked Bondi the Justice Department special counsel who brought two indictments against Trump.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen the file ... I haven鈥檛 looked at anything. It would be irresponsible of me to make a commitment regarding anything ... without looking at the file," she said.
Then, as the two spoke over each other, Bondi said that what she'd been 鈥渉earing on the news is horrible.鈥�
The suggestion that the investigations into Trump were politically motivated has been sharply contested by and Smith. In , Smith said politics played no part in his decisions and the evidence his team gathered was sufficient for Trump to have been convicted at trial on charges of .
and a separate one charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after Trump鈥檚 election win in November, citing longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting criminal cases against a sitting president.
The Justice Department under Garland also investigated Biden over 鈥� no charges were filed 鈥� and named a special counsel to investigate Biden鈥檚 son Hunter, who was convicted of tax and gun crimes before being .
Republicans expressed overwhelming support for Bondi and her planned agenda, which she said includes protecting gun rights, free speech and the border and fighting violent crime and terrorism.
By day鈥檚 end, her confirmation seemed assured in the Republican-majority Senate. Republicans suggested that pointed Democratic questions during the hearing about , was a more pressing concern for Democrats than Bondi.
鈥淚f confirmed, I will work to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice 鈥� and each of its components,鈥� Bondi said. 鈥淯nder my watch, the partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all.鈥�
Even as Democrats expressed concern that Trump would politicize the Justice Department, Republican senators insisted that that's what had happened over the last four years and that Bondi's selection represented an opportunity to change direction.
Sen. , the Republican committee chair, listed years of grievances against the Justice Department, including the Trump-Russia investigation and more recently a Garland-era memo aimed at targeting .
鈥淢s. Bondi, should you be confirmed,鈥� Grassley said, 鈥渢he actions you take to change the department鈥檚 course must be for accountability, so that the conduct I just described never happens again.鈥�
Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer And Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press
