Attorney General Pam Bondi is on the Hill this week, and she is taking fire from all sides.
Bondi, however, is not one to sit idly by and allow people to attack her, so she fired back at Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) with a direct hit.
While Bondi certainly caught the Connecticut lawmaker by surprise in a stirring moment of strength, we are starting to see some cracks that may not bode well for the AG moving forward.
We have seen political figures get creative with their military service records in the past, and Blumenthal was one of them.
While in Norwalk in March 2008, Blumenthal stated, "We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam. And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it -- Afghanistan or Iraq -- we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”
In reality, Blumenthal received five draft deferments, then enlisted in the Marines in April 1970, which guaranteed he would never be sent to Vietnam. During his six-year hitch, he was stationed in D.C. and Connecticut, leaving the Marines in 1976 as a sergeant.
Blumenthal later apologized for his comments, saying his representation was a mistake, but I find that hard to believe considering how hard he worked to ensure he would not be sent to Vietnam during the war.
Blumenthal insinuated that Bondi was up to no good while questioning her during yesterday's Judiciary Committee hearing, stating, "In the merger that took place involving American Express GBT (Global Business Travel), I understand that Brian Ballard, a longtime backer and head of the law firm where you worked, was instrumental in lobbying the Justice Department to drop that lawsuit. … What conversations did you have with Mr. Ballard?"
Bondi fired right back, "Sen. Blumenthal, I cannot believe that you would accuse me of impropriety when you lied about your military service. You lied -- you admitted you lied to be elected a U.S. senator.”
She continued, "How dare you? I’m a career prosecutor. Don’t you ever challenge my integrity. Do not question my ability to be fair and impartial as attorney general, or anything regarding my former firm, Ballard Partners."
I like Bondi, but there have been some missteps during her time as AG, and since she is working for Donald Trump, they tend to get blown out of proportion. Unfortunately, Bondi's missteps have made her an easy target.
First, there is the Epstein file debacle, which goes back to Bondi stating that she had a client list on her desk, or at least that is how her statement was perceived. There have also been a few embarrassing hearings in which government attorneys from Bondi's DOJ were clearly unprepared. The most recent of those was a hearing regarding illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia earlier this week.
Ty Cobb, former White House counsel during the first Trump administration and now a critic of the president, unloaded on Bondi after her testimony on the Hill, stating, “She tried to mislead the MAGA faithful with regard to Epstein by saying, well, we’ll try to get the grand jury minutes knowing that there was nothing in the grand jury minutes that would shed any light on this. It is just all a deception game. This is basically designed to affect the credibility of various institutions, the Justice Department the Congress today.”
He continued, “The lack of respect that’s being shown for the institutions that have driven America to the leadership of the world is shocking, but it is right out of the authoritarian handbook.” He later called her one of the most “reprehensible attorney generals” we have ever had.
I believe Bondi is getting a raw deal, at least for the most part, but there is no denying that attorneys on her watch have been caught off guard in the courtroom more than once. I had really high hopes for Bondi when she was nominated, and I was happy she was confirmed, but something tells me that it is unlikely she will last this entire administration. At some point, I think she will fall on the sword and be shown the door.
