What we covered here
• Attorney General Pam Bondi testified for a contentious 4 and a half hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
• Bondi continuously deflected questions from Democrats on controversial issues, including the Jeffery Epstein files, prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey and legal rationale for using the national guard in US cities.
• The hearing comes one day before Comey is set to be arraigned in federal court. His recent indictment by a federal grand jury was an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.
Our live coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing has ended for the day. Click here to read the takeaways.
Takeaways from Bondi's 4 and a half hour Senate hearing
Democrats and Republicans repeatedly talked past one another throughout the hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi, pointing fingers across the aisle over who was to blame for weaponizing the Justice Department.
• Deflect and attack: Bondi fended off questions on the investigation into accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, National Guard deployments, and investigations into Trump’s political enemies, using quick-one liners to deflect and personal attacks to push back against Democrats.
• Democrats press Bondi on Trump’s influence: Democrats pointed to numerous examples they say show Bondi has failed to keep the Justice Department independent from the whims and wishes of the president.
• Republicans jump on news FBI reviewed senators’ phone records: Several Republican senators pointed to the release of documents the night before Tuesday’s hearing that showed the phone records of eight Republican senators and a House lawmaker were obtained as part of the special counsel’s investigation into Trump and 2020 election interference.
• Bondi and GOP defend going after Comey: Bondi and a former Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee defended the indictment of Comey during Tuesday’s hearing, one day before he’s set to be arraigned on charges that he allegedly lied to Congress in 2020 testimony. Bondi said several times that the Alexandria, Virginia, grand jury that handed up the indictment was a “liberal” one.
Durbin declares Bondi's testimony a "disappointment"
Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, declared that Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony was a “disappointment” as he left the hearing.
“Here she is, Attorney General of the United States, a competent individual, well-spoken individual, and wouldn’t answer basic questions, came in ready to fight.”
He added that her response “kind of diminishes her” and “she should have dealt with this in a professional way.”
The Illinois Democrat also railed on the deployment of National Guard to blue states, telling CNN that it “infuriates me. It’s not necessary.”
“As good as they are, they’re not trained in law enforcement. It is a show of force and it is political theater by Donald Trump,” he added.
Bondi and Schiff sparring provides fitting coda to hearing
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Sen. Adam Schiff devolved into personal barbs near the end of the hours-long oversight hearing, as the California Democrat accused Bondi of using “canned attacks” to avoid answering questions.
In the exchange, Bondi repeatedly interjected as Schiff listed topics that he said Bondi avoided.
Bondi questioned whether Schiff would “apologize to Donald Trump” for participating in impeachment proceedings, and remarking that, had he worked for her, Schiff “would have been fired” after being censured for his role in those investigations.
“You’ve attacked all of us, including President Trump for your entire career,” Bondi said.
Schiff pushed back, saying, “you can attack me after my time is over later, I know you’ve got plenty of canned attacks.”
“Canned attacks on you.” Bondi responded. “No one needs a canned attack on you.”
White House touts Bondi's exchange with Democratic senator to praise AG's testimony
The White House is pleased so far with Pam Bondi’s testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, two officials said.
“She’s doing great,” one White House official told CNN. “Not only is the AG debunking every single bogus Democrat talking point, but she’s highlighting the Democrats’ own hypocrisy and they have no response.”
The official specifically pointed out Bondi’s exchange with Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, when the AG was asked whether she approved closing an investigation into border czar Tom Homan allegedly accepting a bag of cash from undercover FBI agents.
“The Department of Justice and FBI conducted a thorough review, and they found no evidence of any wrongdoing,” Bondi said. “You are also on video outside the White House protesting with a group called CASA, where Antifa members were. Does that mean you are a member of Antifa?”
Another White House official said the attorney general is “giving a masterclass on how to effectively push back on deranged Democrat lies.”
Here are some of the questions Bondi has refused to answer
Attorney General Pam Bondi has repeatedly stonewalled questions from Senate Judiciary Democrats about the many controversies of the second Trump administration and her tenure.
Here are some of the topics she’s avoided:
Comey indictment and DOJ firings: Bondi repeatedly told senators she wouldn’t discuss her conversations with Trump regarding James Comey’s recent indictment and refused to answer questions regarding DOJ attorneys who were fired following their work on January 6 cases or for refusing certain prosecutions of anti-Trump figures.
Acting at the behest of Trump: In response to questions about whether she considered a social media post from Trump a directive to prosecute several perceived enemies of the president, Bondi replied simply: “Trump is the most transparent president in American history, and I don’t think he said anything that he hasn’t said for years.”
The National Guard: Bondi refused to say whether she had discussed deploying the National Guard with the White House. Because of executive privilege, cabinet officials largely decline to share their conversations with the president without authorization.
Jeffrey Epstein: The attorney general repeatedly dodged questions about the so-called “Epstein Files” and Trump’s reported friendship with the disgraced financier, often putting the spotlight back on Democrats to explain their own relationships with associates of Epstein.
Tom Homan investigation: Bondi stonewalled questions for details about the reports that her department closed an investigation into border czar Tom Homan after he allegedly accepted a bag of cash from undercover FBI agents, testifying that investigators “found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing” and warning Democrats to “look at your facts.”
US military strikes on boats in the Caribbean: Democratic Sen. Chris Coons asked Bondi about decision making behind US military strikes on boats traveling off the coast of Venezuela, which the administration has said were “affiliated” with drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations. Coons asked how Bondi concluded the strikes were legal. “I’m not going to discuss any legal advice that my department may, or may not, have given or issued at the direction of the President on this matter,” Bondi said.
Blumenthal says Bondi's testimony is "possibly a new low" for attorneys general
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying her deflections and challenging responses possibly represent a “new low” for her position.
“Her apparent strategy is to attack and conceal. Frankly, I’ve been through close to 15 of these Attorney General accountability hearings, and I have never seen anything close to it in terms of the combativeness, the evasiveness and sometimes deceptiveness,” Blumenthal told reporters outside the hearing. “I think it is possibly a new low for attorneys general testifying before the United States Congress, and I just hope my Republican colleagues will demand more accountability than what we have seen so far.”
“I believe we need legislative reform. We agree on both sides of the aisle that weaponizing justice to target political adversaries, or opponents, or people disliked by the president ought to stop,” he added. “And that’s why I’ve introduced legislation that would provide rights to people who are victims of it. It would provide safeguards against it, and reform of grand juries to make them more transparent and accountable.”
“We need to come together and stop this kind of absolutely venomous, vile attacks on people who legitimately question whether the Department of Justice has been used for political or personal ends,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons echoed the sentiment about Bondi’s testimony.
“She was fully prepared for, with specific and personal comebacks, accusing various of my colleagues, of challenging their integrity or challenging their basis for their questions in a way I’ve not ever seen,” said Coons.
Bondi and Cruz criticize sentence of person who plotted to kill Kavanaugh
During Tuesday’s hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz criticized a federal judge for handing down an eight-year sentence to the person who plotted to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh following the leaked opinion that later overturned Roe v. Wade.
“My prosecutors did an incredible job on that case,” Bondi said, while noting that the Justice Department had announced they would appeal the sentence, which fell 22 years below the federal guidelines and the minimum sentence prosecutors sought.
Bondi and Republicans have highlighted that the individual, Sophie Roske, is a transgender woman and have argued that the judge unfairly considered this fact when determining her sentence.
“The judge also would not refer to the defendant by his biological name,” Bondi said, adding that the judge voiced concern about Roske’s access to gender affirming care.
Roske, who called the police on herself down the street from Kavanaugh’s home in Maryland one summer night in 2022, had brought with her a loaded firearm, knife, pepper spray and burglary tools – telling law enforcement she intended to kill the Justice and then herself.
The judge credited Roske for turning herself in and voiced concern that given recent executive orders from President Donald Trump on the treatment of transgender people in custody, prison would be additionally punitive for Roske.
Bondi: Comey was indicted by "one of the most liberal" grand juries
Attorney General Pam Bondi would not discuss specifics of the Justice Department’s indictment of former FBI Director James Comey last month, but she did defend the effort by arguing the indictment was handed up by a liberal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia.
Asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, whether career prosecutors found insufficient evidence to indict Comey, Bondi responded: “I am not going to discuss pending cases because Comey was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia by, I may point out, is one of the most liberal grand juries in the country.”
Comey was charged over allegations he lied to Congress in 2020 testimony about authorizing leaks while he was FBI director.
He was charged by US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan – a Trump loyalist who was appointed after the prior US attorney, Erik Siebert, resigned under pressure for not bringing charges against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Klobuchar asked Bondi about the removal of Siebert – who resigned after President Donald Trump said he wanted Siebert out – but the attorney general would not discuss the matter.
“I’m not going to discuss personnel decisions,” Bondi said.
Klobuchar presses Bondi on Trump's social media posts urging DOJ to prosecute his enemies
Bondi was asked about a social media post from President Donald Trump in September, addressed directly to the attorney general, where Trump asked directly why several Democrats and a former federal official had not been prosecuted by the Justice Department.
“They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,” Trump wrote. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked Bondi whether she considered the post “a directive to the Justice Department” to prosecute those individuals, including Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“President Trump is the most transparent president in American history, and I don’t think he said anything that he hasn’t said for years,” Bondi said.
Bondi vs. Democrats: Deflect questions, then attack
Attorney General Pam Bondi came prepared for challenges from Senate democrats, using quick one-liners and prepared arguments to dodge questions on the Epstein investigation, national guard deployments, and accusations that she has used the Justice Department for political purposes.
The attorney general fended off questions about her firing of senior prosecutors for what Democrats allege were political reasons, saying “the personnel issue that I’m having right now is that all of my agents, all of my lawyers, are…working without a paycheck because your party voted to shut down the federal government.”
As Democratic senators pushed her on President Donald Trump’s connections to accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the attorney general repeatedly claimed that those same Democrats had connections to another alleged associate of Epstein’s, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.
She also questioned why Democrats hadn’t raised concerns about the Epstein investigation before her term, at one point challenging senators with “did you ask Merrick Garland any of this over the last four years when he sat before you?”
And when Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin pushed Bondi on the legal rationale for sending National Guard troops to Durbin’s state against the governor’s wishes, the attorney general shot back: “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.”
In one exchange during which Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse accused Emil Bove of prosecutorial misconduct during his brief stint as principal associate deputy attorney general, Bondi interrupted Whitehouse to say that his “time has expired.”
After the shocked Democrat regained his time and said the attorney general could answer the question, Bondi was ready: “To correct you for one moment, that would be the Honorable Judge Emil J Bove III to you.”
Bondi deflects when asked about alleged bag of cash to border czar
Attorney General Pam Bondi skirted specific questions about reports that White House border czar Tom Homan accepted $50,000 before the 2024 election over promises of government contracts, stating simply that the investigation was closed.
Bondi repeated her statement that “the investigation of Mr. Homan was subjected to a full review by the FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors.”
Homan has said he has done “nothing criminal” and “nothing illegal.”
“They found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing,” Bondi said as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, continued to ask what, exactly, happened to the $50,000 Homan reportedly received.
“You’re welcome to talk to the FBI,” Bondi said.
Bondi turned the repeated questions back on Whitehouse — a tactic she has used throughout the hearing — accusing the senator of working “with dark money groups all the time.”
“The questions here are actually pretty specific,” Whitehouse said. “So having you respond with completely irrelevant far-right internet talking points really is not very helpful here.”
Asked about Epstein client list, Bondi presses Durbin on flight logs
When pushed on the Justice Department’s bungled release of records related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Attorney General Pam Bondi quickly tried to shift the focus to Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.
“You know Senator Durbin, I find it very interesting that you refused repeated Republican requests to release the Epstein flight logs in 2023 and 2024,” Bondi shot back. “Why did you fight to not disclose the flight logs, Senator Durbin?”
Durbin asked why Bondi had claimed on Fox News in February that the infamous “client list” from Epstein was sitting on her desk to be reviewed but never released such a list.
“Senator Durbin, if you listen to my entire clip on that, I said I had not reviewed it yet, but it was sitting on my desk,” Bondi said, “and I said I had not yet reviewed it.”
“Our memo on Epstein clearly points out that there was no client list,” she added.
Durbin and Bondi clash over deployment of National Guard to Chicago
Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Attorney General Pam Bondi clashed over questions about the legal rationale for the Trump administration to send National Guard troops to Durbin’s state against the governor’s wishes.
Durbin pressed Bondi on her conversations with the White House about consultations before the Guard deployment was approved. Bondi responded she would not disclose conversations with the White House.
“What’s the secret? Why do you want to keep this secret?” asked Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The American people don’t know the rationale behind the deployment of National Guard troops in my state.”
“Currently the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will,” she added.
Durbin responded that he had asked a “simple question” on the legal rationale for deploying the National Guard and it became “grounds for a personal attack.”
Bondi said later during Durbin’s questioning that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel were “on the way to Chicago,” too.
Bondi accuses Biden's FBI of "secretly investigating" Republicans
Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed allegations from Republican senators that the Biden administration improperly spied on them, calling it a “betrayal of public trust.”
Senate Republicans, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, said Monday that the FBI, as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s January 6 investigation, used court orders in 2023 to obtain the phone records of nine GOP lawmakers.
That phone records of some lawmakers were seized in the probe was made public in court documents as Smith’s investigation was ongoing, and there is no indication that the Republican senators were targets of the probe.
Still, Bondi accused the FBI of “secretly investigating” Republicans to “take President Trump off the playing field.”
“They were playing politics with law enforcement powers and will go down as a historic betrayal of public trust,” she said. “This is the kind of conduct that shatters the American people’s faith in our law enforcement system.”
Durbin addresses deployment of the National Guard to US cities
During his opening statement Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi on what he called the unlawful deployment of National Guard members in cities across the US, including most recently Chicago.
“Attorney General, you’re focusing on helping President Trump play strongman on television,” Durbin said. “He has illegally deployed troops to Chicago and other American cities and has threatened to send more.”
Durbin highlighted comments from Trump who said such deployments would be the “training grounds for our military” to ‘fight the enemy within.”
“Chicago is not the enemy. Our fellow Americans are not the enemy,” the senator said.
Grassley begins with grievances against Biden's DOJ and FBI
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley opened the hearing Tuesday by rehashing a series of grievances against the Biden administration and former Justice Department officials.
Grassley, an Iowa Republican, recounted years-old allegations that the FBI improperly investigated whether the Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia.
“To our average constituent this is all history,” Grassley said.
He continued, “We’re pointing this all out because we can’t have this repeated in the United States. … It’s time for accountability.”
Bondi to testify on a Justice Department under the microscope
Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify Tuesday on a Justice Department faced with increasing accusations of chaos and politicization.
Bondi is likely to face tough questioning from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee who have accused the attorney general of using the weight of the department to go after President Donald Trump’s perceived enemies.
That accusation came to a head in late September, when the DOJ secured an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, a longtime adversary of the president.
But the Comey indictment was only the latest in a series of moves that critics say are political in nature — including an investigation into whether Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who sits on the Judiciary Committee, committed mortgage fraud.
The agency’s handling of the so-called “Epstein files” has also caused concerns among some Republican allies of the administration. Lawmakers are still pushing for unreacted documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
DOJ involved in crime crackdowns in major cities
Justice Department officials are participating in long-running efforts by the Trump administration to crackdown on cities it says has high rates of crime.
The efforts are controversial, as many of the cities are run by Democratic elected officials who are opposed to the surge in federal resources from the FBI, the US Marshals, and agents from other law enforcement branches of the DOJ.
Efforts are currently underway in Washington, DC, Chicago, Memphis and Portland. And a similar crackdown took place in Los Angeles over the summer.
Bondi and other top DOJ officials have reported an increased number of arrests in the cities, and say that officials are seizing a large amount of illegal firearms.
Each of the crackdowns are run alongside a major immigration enforcement operation run by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The administration has also deployed the National Guard as part of some of the immigration operations, a move that is being challenged in court.
Epstein files among topics Bondi may be pressed on
The handling of the Epstein Files has been a problem for Bondi all year.
After releasing some documents early this year to conservative influencers and promising more, the Justice Department and FBI in July released a memo stating that there was no evidence that Epstein kept a “client list” or was murdered.
Almost immediately, the DOJ and FBI faced fervent pushback from some critics, who accused officials of hiding information about the case. Bondi has stated there are no additional files that can be made public, as many include identifying information of victims or uncharged individuals that legally cannot be made public.
The battle reached Capitol Hill as lawmakers demanded all case files be made available to them for review. The DOJ has since released documents, though most of them were already publicly available.
Lawmakers are still working to get more information on two fronts: a probe is already underway by the House Oversight Committee, and there is an effort by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who is seeking to compel the DOJ to release a full, unredacted version of the documents.
