Former Florida A.G. Pam Bondi does Trump's bidding during Senate hearing dodging Epstein files and political vengeance questions

News and views for Florida's Left Coast

Former Florida attorney general and Donald Trump’s handpicked lawyer to lead his Justice Department spent a contentious four hours before a Senate committee yesterday defending herself and her boss.

Senators peppered Pam Bondi with questions ranging from the location of the Epstein files to her misuse of power in persecuting Trump’s political enemies. It made headlines all over the country.

Bondi, as we know, has been a slavish devotee of Trump for more than a decade. In 2013, she got a much-needed $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation while she was Florida’s A.G. At that time, multiple states were suing Trump University for fraud, and Florida was considering joining the lawsuit. After the donation, Bondi said no.

Her loyalty to Trump is unquestioned. So, it follows that Trump had to be pleased with her performance. I can only imagine the conversation afterward:

Dear Leader: Pam. You did a great job up on the Hill today. You got them bigly. You’re a wonderful minion.

Bondi: Thank you, Your Majesty. I am here to do your bidding.

Dear Leader: Damn straight. Hold on, got some ketchup on my tie. OK. Yeah, uh, what were we talking about?

Bondi: You were saying how much you liked the way I stonewalled Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat from Rhode Island) when he asked about those photos of you with half-naked women in the Epstein files.

Dear Leader: Half naked?

Bondi: And you said you were very pleased with the way I dodged all those questions about that bag filled with fifty grand in cash that (Border Czar) Tom Homan got, how I told Peter Welch (Democrat from Vermont) not to slander him.

Dear Leader: I did? Dammit. Ketchup’s dripping everywhere.

Bondi: You did, Your Highness. And I assume you’re still pleased with our indictment of (former FBI director James) Comey.

Dear Leader: Yes. Lock him up! And all the rest. So many enemies. It’s all a hoax. I won, I won, so much winning…

And so on.

Here’s what Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, had to say to Bondi’s face:

“Our nation’s top law enforcement agency has become a shield for the president and his political allies when they engage in misconduct.

“In eight short months, you fundamentally transformed the Justice Department and left an enormous stain on American history. It will take decades to recover.”

And this is exactly what Trump wanted when dug through his Rolodex of Florida connections and handed the Justice Department over to her.

For a thorough look at what actually took place in the hearing, I commend Ron Filipkowski’s report on the Meidas+ website. You can find it here:

Senate Minority Leader Adam Schiff’s catalog of some questions Bondi refused to answer:

• You were asked whether you consulted with career ethics lawyers, as you promised you would do during your nomination hearing.

• When you approved the president receiving a $400 million gift from the Qataris, you refused to answer that question.

• You were asked who or what role you may have played, or who played the role in asking that Trump’s name be flagged in any of the Epstein documents gathered by the FBI? You refuse to answer that question.

• You were asked whether Homan kept the $50,000 bribe money. You refuse to answer that question.

• You were asked whether Homan paid taxes on the $50,000 bribe money. You refused to answer that question.

• You were asked, did career prosecutors find insufficient evidence to charge James Comey? You refused to answer that question.

• You were asked, how are military strikes on these boats in the Caribbean legal. And you refuse to even answer that question.

• You are asked, did you discuss indicting James Comey with the president? You refused to answer that question.

• You were asked, did you approve the firing of antitrust lawyers who disagreed with the Hewlett-Packard merger? You refused to answer that question.

• You were asked whether you support a restoration fund for violent insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol on J6. (January 6, 2021). Refused to answer that question.

• You were asked whether you were firing career professionals just because they worked on J6 (January 6, 2021) investigations. You refuse to answer that question.

• You were asked by my colleague whether you believe government officials, like immigration officials, have to abide by court orders. You wouldn’t answer that question.

What do you think? Share your views by clicking on the COMMENTS link at the end of this newsletter. Thanks!

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RELATED:

Pam Bondi decided not to sue Trump University — and got a $25,000 donation from Trump

3 takeaways from Bondi’s combative DOJ oversight hearing

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Tropical Storm Jerry is expected to reach hurricane strength soon but will pose no threat to Florida or the United States. No other disturbances on the National Hurricane Center threat map to be concerned about at this time.

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Quote of the day

“You disbanded the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and the National cryptocurrency enforcement team, despite the growing threat of foreign election interference and the drastic rise in cryptocurrency crimes. You forced out almost 75 percent of the Civil Rights Division’s career attorneys while hate crimes are on the rise. You fired more than 100 immigration judges. While the immigration case backlog is more than 3 million. You cut the public integrity section from 30 prosecutors to two, while political corruption skyrocket.”

— Sen. Dick Durbin to Pam Bondi during Senate hearing

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Florida factual

Pam Bondi served as Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019. She’s a fourth-generation Floridian, born in Tampa in 1965, and a University of Florida grad.

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Thank you for reading the Tropic Press newsletter. You also have access to the Tropic Press website for additional and previous posts, copies of the Monthly Memo, an archive of posts from our advice columnist, Miss Mingo, occasional guest commentaries, and information about The Strange Files series of mysterious adventures and other books.

J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. When he’s not blogging, he’s in training for the Florida Man Underwater Ping Pong Championships. Forward this email to your friends. They will love you for it.

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