Bondi Faces Senate Questioning On DOJ Oversight

Dick Durbin (00:00):

Masquerading as federal prosecutors like Alina Habba, who said she would use her position to "turn New Jersey red" and Sigal Chatha who once said that a Black political opponent was "should be hanging from an effing crane". The President and Attorney General attempted to bypass the Senate to install these unqualified extremists. Where do you find these people? Courts have ruled that both Ms. Habba and Ms. Chatha are serving in their roles illegally, jeopardizing countless prosecutions by your office. Why? And that's just one example of how the Department of Justice is making America less safe.

(00:44)
Attorney General Bondi shut down the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, OCDETF, which has dismantled thousands of criminal organizations. And you diverted thousands of FBI, DEA and ATF agents and DOJ prosecutors from their critical missions to carry out the president's mass deportation agenda. Attorney General Bondi, not surprisingly, federal drug prosecutions have dropped to the lowest level in decades. Let me repeat that. Federal prosecutions for drug crimes have dropped to the lowest level in decades on your watch.

(01:20)
Department of Justice has also unilaterally terminated 373 grants that provide critical funding to state and local law enforcement to the tune of a half a billion dollars. The 2026 Trump budget would slash a high intensity drug trafficking areas program known as IDA by more than a third from 300 million to 196 million. Instead of taking common sense steps that are proven to help reduce crime, Attorney General, you're focusing on helping President Trump play strong man on television. He has illegally deployed troops to Chicago and other American cities and has threatened to send more. The Justice Department defends this dubious legal basis for these deployments and diverts DOJ personnel and their components to assist in these efforts.

(02:07)
These deployments basically target Democratic-run cities and Democratic leaders ignoring many Republican-led areas of our country with even higher crime rates and making clear that this is for political theater, not public safety. One particular chaotic raid in Chicago Tuesday last week aided by the FBI and ATF, which you supervised, in the middle of the night, federal agents pulled women and children out of their beds, crashed down the doors to their homes, destroyed their apartments, zip-tied children and others, and detained immigrants and U.S. citizens alike for hours in vans. When one witness complained about the treatment of the small children, an agent laughed at her and said, "F them kids."

(02:56)
On Friday, a federal judge appointed by President Trump held that deploying the National Guard in Portland is illegal. White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller accused her of "legal insurrection". At a time of rising threats to federal judges, this kind of language is inexcusable. Last week, the President and Secretary Hegseth summoned senior military officials to a political pep rally at Quantico where the President said he wanted to use American cities as "training grounds for our military" training grounds for our military to fight the "enemy within". Chicago is not the enemy. Our fellow Americans are not the enemy. It is abhorrent for the President who is supposed to represent all Americans regardless of political party to describe anyone who disagrees with him in this manner.

(03:53)
To my Republican colleagues who claim the previous administration weaponized the Department of Justice, President Biden retained President Trump's FBI Director Christopher Wray, who President Trump then fired. President Biden never directed the Attorney General to prosecute his political opponents. President Biden never fired his own political appointees for refusing to prosecute his targets. What has taken place since January 20th, 2025 would make even President Nixon recoil. This is your legacy Attorney General Bondi. In eight short months, you have fundamentally transformed the Justice Department and left enormous stain in American history. It will take decades to recover. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (04:34):

Thank you. Would you please rise so I can swear you? Do you affirm the testimony you're about to give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Please be seated and give us your opening statement.

Pamela Bondi (05:02):

Thank you, Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Durbin and every member of this committee. I'm grateful for the opportunity to testify in front of you today. First, please join me in remembering as you said, Chairman Grassley, all the Jewish people who lost their lives in the October 7th attacks two years ago today. Also, please let's pray for all the hostages and the families of all of those individuals. They're a critical reminder of our central mission here at the Department of Justice, protecting the safety and security of the American people.

(05:41)
That is why even when the government is otherwise shut down because of the Democrats, the department's law enforcement officers and prosecutors are hard at work fighting crime, keeping our streets safe and protecting you from the threats foreign and domestic. When I was confirmed as the 87th Attorney General of the United States, I took office with two main goals, to end the weaponization of justice and return the department to its core mission of fighting violent crime. As to ending the weaponization of justice, we learned that former FBI secretly investigated you and your colleagues. Why? They wanted 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.

(06:31)
This is the kind of conduct that shatters the American people's faith in our law enforcement system. We will work to earn that back every single day. We are returning to our core mission of fighting real crime. While there is more work to do, I believe in eight short months, we have made tremendous progress towards those ends. Our federal surges in Washington, D.C. and Memphis are a perfect example of how the Department of Justice should operate. We created strong partnerships with local leadership working hand-in-hand with both cities to send resources where they were needed most. The results speak for themselves. We have made more than 3,800 arrests here in Washington while seizing more than 365 illegal guns. In Memphis, we have already made more than 300 arrests and close to 80 illegal guns in just a week.

(07:32)
We are replicating that tough-on-crime approach throughout this country. Under the leadership of Director Kash Patel, the FBI is doing outstanding investigative work to keep American people safe. The FBI just conducted months-long operation called Summer Heat, which resulted in over 8,600 arrests from June to September, more than 6,500 arrests fell under the FBI's Violent Crime and Gang Program. Under the leadership of Administrator Terry Cole, the DEA has seized 47.9 million fentanyl pills and 4,500 kilos of Fentanyl powder. That represents 370 million deadly doses, 370 million. The DEA is dismantling violent cartel drug trafficking networks across this country, including the seizure of nearly 470 million in criminal assets. Under the leadership of Gady Serralta, our U.S. Marshals have been the tip of the spear on federal surges and protecting judges and elected officials. Our Marshals have arrested more than 51,000 fugitives nationwide since January 20th. Under the leadership of acting director Dan Driscoll, ATF has taken more than 23,000 illegal guns off our streets, 3,400 of those guns have been linked to trafficking between the U. S. and Mexico. My attorneys have done incredible work advancing President Trump's agenda and protecting the executive branch from judicial overreach. We've been sued more than 400 times since January 20th. Judges have issued more than 90 temporary restraining orders against us, more than the previous several administrations combined.

(09:22)
Despite the unprecedented degree of activism we've seen from the lower courts, we have never ignored a court order and why would we? We have secured a historic 22 victories at the Supreme Court alone with more to come. Our civil rights attorneys are fighting discrimination and anti-Semitism. Our criminal attorneys are prosecuting violent criminals and foreign terrorists every single day. I look forward to continuing this work at the Department of Justice and I look forward to testifying before you today. Thank you, Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (10:09):

I forgot to turn on the microphone. Let me start over again. We have 10 minute rounds. I've asked Senator Blackburn to chair between 10:30 and 11. I hope that we can have good decorum during this hearing. Treat each other with respect. General Bondi, just in case you get cut off with something that you don't get to answer your question when that senator's done, if you ask me for a little bit of time, not a lot of time, but a little bit of time to finish your answer, I'd be glad to give that to you.

(10:56)
So starting myself, you inherited a bloated bureaucracy. It requires reorientation to better serve your nation of the department. That would include reassessing grants disguised to help Americans, but many were partisan pet projects. It also requires reallocation of resources to better serve the American people. On this issue, I've got two questions. What updates can you share with the committee about your review and grants that DOJ has reassessed? Just give us some examples. I know-

Pamela Bondi (11:53):

Sure. Thank you, Chairman. During my appearance at the department's budget hearings, I acknowledge that some grants were mistakenly terminated and we have made a process to correct that. All grant termination appeals will be individually considered for alignment with our current policies, which are strengthening law enforcement and protecting victims. Recipients are given the opportunity to appeal a grant termination consistent with the rules by writing to the Assistant Attorney General. Of the 5,800 discretionary grants that were reviewed, only 376, approximately 7% were terminated. So far, OJP has turned back on 18 awards, 17 appeals have been denied and the rest are actively being reviewed with decisions expected soon.

Chuck Grassley (12:52):

My colleagues on the other side claim that your department has reallocated resources to immigration enforcement and it's had a negative impact on law enforcement. We know that drugs and crimes are very much a part of immigration enforcement, so these attacks are clearly off the mark. Explain your view of these misguided assertions.

Pamela Bondi (13:21):

Chairman, every day, our FBI, DEA, ATF, and now U.S. Marshals working on a task force with Homeland Security are out there keeping Americans safe and getting illegal aliens out of our country, many of whom have committed violent crimes in this country. Our agents will continue to fight violent crime in this country working hand in hand. One example is right here in Washington, D.C. We have the D.C. task force that has been incredibly successful. We are so proud of the work that that has done. We have been working hand in hand, hand in hand with the local officials here in D.C. and we are very proud of that work and we're taking that to Tennessee and around this country to keep Americans safe.

Chuck Grassley (14:18):

I won't repeat the things I've said about Arctic Frost, but we had this recent revelation yesterday of my Republican senators being targeted by the government underscoring the point about Arctic Frost. When taken in context with widespread government weaponization against Trump and conservatives in the last decade, the conducts arguably is worse than Watergate. So I got two questions along this line. How many Department of Justice and FBI personnel have been held accountable for their partisan and constitutional questionable conduct and what was their punishment? If you could give a few examples or follow up in writing since there's so many people that fall into this category.

Pamela Bondi (15:19):

Yes, Senator. Yes, Chairman, we will.

Chuck Grassley (15:22):

So you want to answer that in writing. Yeah. Okay.

Pamela Bondi (15:24):

Yes. The exact number I can answer in writing, yes.

Chuck Grassley (15:28):

Okay. On the same subject, was Attorney General Garland, Director Wray and/or President Biden's White House aware of the FBI targeting Republican senators? Did they approve it? Now let's be clear. Either they knew and allowed it to happen or they didn't know, and if they didn't know, it points to the lack of oversight of Jack Smith's runaway case.

Pamela Bondi (16:00):

Chairman Grassley, that's what we've been talking about when we refer to the weaponization of government. Operation Arctic Frost was an unconstitutional, undemocratic abuse of power. During Arctic Frost, the FBI also placed 92 linked Republican individuals and Republican groups such as Charlie Kirk's Turning Point on their list. This is the kind of conduct that shattered the American people's faith in our government as I said in my opening statement. We are ending this weaponization. Our FBI is targeting violent criminals, child predators, and other lawbreakers, not sitting senators who happen to be from the wrong political party. Several of your colleagues sitting at this dais were targeted and others. We will continue to stop that throughout the Justice Department. That is the ultimate weaponization of government.

Chuck Grassley (17:04):

Have you sought grand jury secrecy waivers so that all of Arctic Frost documents can be produced to Congress, and if not, do you plan to do that?

Pamela Bondi (17:17):

Chairman Grassley, I will be working directly with the Director Patel on this issue and there's not much more we can say about the issue for obvious reasons at this time.

Chuck Grassley (17:28):

Okay. Public Safety Officers Benefit Program, PSOB provides benefits to law enforcement and first responders if they're disabled or killed in line of duty. Affected family members may also benefit. My oversight and a government accountability office report shows that some claims have taken thousands of days to conclude. PSOB applicants have also informed my office that they've been left in tears with disrespectful ways they've been treated by the government. Question number one and two in this area, but I'll start just with one. What actions have been taken to hold DOJ officials accountable for their failures to manage the program and treat applicants with respect?

Pamela Bondi (18:25):

Chairman Grassley, as stated earlier, there have been many terminations from the Department of Justice and we stand by all of those. Many of those are subject to active litigation. This Department of Justice will treat everyone with respect and we will do everything in our power to help citizens of this country. Please reach out to us with any individual cases and I will personally look at them for you, Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (18:48):

Okay, so if you'll provide that information. That was my second question. So now let's go on to regarding the initial FBI 1023 document that I made public last Congress. That document mentioned one, text messages, two, audio recordings, and three, financial records that allegedly approved bribery scheme with the Biden family and foreign interest. I asked Director Patel if his predecessors made any effort to determine whether these records existed. He answered no. What steps has the department taken to determine whether these records exist one way or another? This matter ought to be put to rest.

Pamela Bondi (19:43):

Chairman Grassley, I know Director Patel is working hard on this with the members of the FBI.

Chuck Grassley (19:52):

Okay, so we don't know if these records exist or you just can't say that publicly at this point?

Pamela Bondi (20:00):

I don't want to discuss any of that publicly [inaudible 00:20:02].

Chuck Grassley (20:02):

Okay. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act includes a safeguard to prevent political weaponization. The reauthorization mandated certain members and their staffs shall be entitled to attend any proceedings of the FISA court. Former Biden DOJ Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen drafted a privacy agreement that allowed the department to hide information from Congress during FISA proceedings. Matt Olsen made a career out of targeting President Trump and his allies, so it's not surprising that he would attempt to hinder congressional oversight or cover-up for the Biden regime. I want to make sure that you get rid of the ridiculous and misguided Olsen memo. When can you tell me that will be done?

Pamela Bondi (20:58):

We will notify you, Chairman Grassley. Thank you.

Chuck Grassley (21:00):

Okay, Senator Durbin.

Dick Durbin (21:04):

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Madam Attorney General, let me ask you this question. Were you consulted by the White House before they deployed National Guard troops to cities in the United States?

Pamela Bondi (21:17):

I'm not going to discuss any internal conversations with the White House.

Dick Durbin (21:23):

You won't even say whether you talked to the White House about this?

Pamela Bondi (21:26):

I'm not going to discuss any internal conversations with the White House with you, Ranking Member.

Dick Durbin (21:32):

I noticed that. What's the secret? Why do you want to keep this secret? The American people don't know the rationale behind the deployment of National Guard troops. In my state, the word is, and I think it's been confirmed by the White House, they're going to transfer Texas National Guard units to the State of Illinois. What's the rationale for that?

Pamela Bondi (21:50):

Yeah, Chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government and you're sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump, and currently the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.

Dick Durbin (22:11):

I've been on this committee for more than 20 years. That's the kind of testimony you expect from this administration. A simple question as to whether or not they had a legal rationale for deploying National Guard troops becomes grounds for a personal attack. I think it's a legitimate question. It's my responsibility. She refuses to answer as to whether she had any conversation with the White House about deploying National Troops to my state. That's an indication I'm afraid where we are politically in this place.

(22:37)
Let me ask you another question. If you will hold on a second, make sure I got the right page of facts here. You testified under oath when you last before this committee that before your appointment to Attorney General, you had served as a representative of some sort for the royal family of Qatar. There was an issue that came before you in May when President Trump accepted a $400 million luxury jet from the royal family of Qatar for temporary use as Air Force One before its permanently gifted to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation. The Constitution unequivocally bestows on Congress the part of control whether any officer of the United States, including the president, may accept a gift "from any king, prince of foreign state," and this gift clearly violates the statutory regime enacted by Congress. You've refused to answer a letter I sent to you five months ago asking the legal rationale you relied on to advise President Trump to accept this unprecedented gift from your former legal client. Can you make a promise today that you will disclose that?

Pamela Bondi (23:48):

Disclose what, Ranking member?

Dick Durbin (23:51):

I assume there was a letter or some sort of statement from your office to the White House to advise them that you felt it was permissible?

Pamela Bondi (24:00):

First, to address my role with Qatar, as I addressed with you during my confirmation hearing, I disclosed it in my SJQ. In private practice, I worked for Qatar for anti-human trafficking for the World Cup. That was my only involvement and I made that very clear and I'm very proud of everything I've done with anti-human trafficking. Obviously in preparing any advice for the president on a jet or anything else, we consult with the Office of Legal Counsel. The confidentiality applies to their input as well. And Chairman, if you would approve and vote to approve as Chairman Grassley, excuse me, Ranking Member, as Chairman Grassley said, my employees, we would answer your letters a lot faster. Yet you're stalling them at every stop.

(24:50)
And to go back to your previous question, your city has a murder rate five times higher than New York's, 571 homicides last year. If you were serious about protecting your people, you would be asking this administration for help. You're saying that we're coming into your state and your city, we are there to help make America safe and Illinois safe, whether or not you want to.

Dick Durbin (25:24):

I believe cutting federal grant programs to law enforcement in my state and across the nation does not make us any safer and you've done just that. You've supplanted that decision by sending in National Guard troops to California and other places. That is a situation where the governors have not asked for that help. If you truly wanted to do this on a bipartisan basis, you wouldn't defy a governor. You would work with them. I'm prepared to do that. I'm prepared to work with this administration, but cutting these grants to law enforcement does not make us any stronger as a nation or give us the tools we need to reduce crime in Chicago. Now, I'd just like to ask you, when it came to this Qatar situation, did you consult with the ethics office in the Department of Justice before making your decision on this gift of a jet?

Pamela Bondi (26:12):

Chairman, I didn't gift a jet to anyone. My office of legal counsel provides confidential advice to the President, to the White House, period. And you're conflating two issues. Cutting grants, I was very clear about what grants we've cut and what grants we haven't, only 7%. And if you have a grant in Illinois that you think that I've cut that is protecting law enforcement officers or your people, you personally call me and I will work with you to turn that grant back on. I think many of the Democrats here can tell you, I have worked with them to turn grants back on. There's an appeal process. Tell me a specific grant that I have turned off in Illinois that would help law enforcement and I will work with you, but you have not done that.

Dick Durbin (27:04):

Did you take a look? Did you take a look?

Pamela Bondi (27:06):

The National Guard is on the way right now as we speak. Oh, by the way, so is Director Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. You're sitting here grilling me and they're on their way to Chicago to keep your state safe.

Dick Durbin (27:17):

Madam Attorney General, it's my job to grill you. Investigation of your agency is part of my responsibility and this committee. You may not like the experience, but others have weathered the storm and answered questions in a respectful manner.

Pamela Bondi (27:33):

Can you tell me the grants, Ranking Member, please?

Dick Durbin (27:35):

Take a look at the President's budget on HIDTA grants. What happens to it in his proposed budget?

Pamela Bondi (27:41):

I'd be glad to meet with you on the grants.

Dick Durbin (27:42):

It's cut by one-third from $300 million to 196. That's one example of a grant that works and your administration has suggested cutting it in the budget lies ahead. I want to ask you about items in a letter I sent you in July that you have not answered. In February, you made a public claim that the Epstein client list was "sitting on my desk right now for review". You then produce already public information and no client list at a major media event hosted at the White House. Attorney General Bondi, why did you publicly claim to have the Epstein client list waiting for your review and then produce nothing relevant to that claim?

Pamela Bondi (28:24):

Senator Durbin, if you listen to my entire clip on that, I said I had not reviewed it yet, that it was sitting on my desk along with the JFK files, the Martin Luther King files, and I said I had not yet reviewed it. And if you see our memo on Epstein, you will see our memo on Epstein clearly points out that there was no client list, our July 6th memo. You also didn't let me respond to the HIDTA question. The budget transfers $196 million for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to the Office of Justice Programs, OJP. The Justice Department will continue to administer those grants under OJP in 2026.

Dick Durbin (29:12):

Going back to the Epstein files, according to another whistleblower who made a protected disclosure to my office, you pushed the FBI to review approximately 100,000 Epstein-related records on an arbitrarily short deadline in March, and the FBI was directed to flag any documents that mentioned President Trump. Nothing came of that review until July when DOJ and FBI released an unsigned memo stating "there's no incriminating client list". Why was the July 7th memo unsigned?

Pamela Bondi (29:43):

The July 7th memo came from the FBI and the Department of Justice. Director Patel answered those questions very clear. And Senator Durbin, I find it very interesting that you refused repeated Republican requests to release the Epstein flight logs in 2023 and 2024. You fought that. Did you take money from Reid Hoffman, campaign donations?

Dick Durbin (30:07):

Never.

Pamela Bondi (30:07):

Who was a huge Epstein friend. Why did you fight for years? Why did you fight to not disclose the flight log, Senator Durbin?

Dick Durbin (30:19):

I can tell you I did not refuse. One of the senators here wished to produce those logs and I asked her to put it in writing and she never did.

Pamela Bondi (30:26):

Yeah, I think Senator Blackburn would quarrel with you on that. But that's up to the two of you.

Dick Durbin (30:29):

Well, I will quarrel with you as to Reid, somebody that you mentioned, I never heard of.

Pamela Bondi (30:33):

Reid Hoffman.

Dick Durbin (30:34):

So who gave the order to flag records related to President Trump?

Pamela Bondi (30:41):

To flag records for President Trump?

Dick Durbin (30:44):

To flag any records which included his name.

Pamela Bondi (30:48):

I'm not going to discuss anything about that with you, Senator.

Dick Durbin (30:51):

Eventually you're going to have to answer for your conduct in this. You won't do it today, but eventually you will. I yield, Mr. Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (30:57):

I got to interject something here before I-

Pamela Bondi (30:57):

Mr.

Sen. Blackburn (31:00):

Mr. Chairman?

Chuck Grassley (31:00):

… get something here before I get to him.

Sen. Blackburn (31:01):

Mr. Chairman? Mr. Chairman. Since Senator Durbin referred to me, I would really appreciate the opportunity to correct the record-

Chuck Grassley (31:12):

Proceed.

Sen. Blackburn (31:12):

… because Senator Durbin knows I repeatedly asked for those flight logs. I brought up the subpoena. You even shut down the committee because you didn't want that and you know I submitted that in writing and you continue to misrepresent that, and I am not going to let that record stand.

Chuck Grassley (31:35):

Okay.

Dick Durbin (31:36):

Mr. Chairman?

Chuck Grassley (31:37):

Go ahead, Senator Durbin.

Dick Durbin (31:38):

I just want to make it clear that the reason the committee business ended was that your side invoked the 2R rule. Point number two is I asked you if you wanted any documents like flight logs, to put it in writing. You never did.

Sen. Blackburn (31:51):

Yes sir, I did and your staff knows that I did. We'll submit-

Dick Durbin (31:55):

Well-

Sen. Blackburn (31:55):

… once again-

Dick Durbin (31:56):

Send me a copy of it, please.

Sen. Blackburn (31:57):

… the information to you. We've done that several times, but we'll be happy to once again send it to you.

Dick Durbin (32:03):

I disagree.

Sen. Blackburn (32:03):

I think your staff doesn't show that to you.

Chuck Grassley (32:07):

Okay. Well, as I started to say about the Emolument Clause and Democrats bringing that up in regard to Qatar, back in March of 2016, they didn't care anything about my bringing up the Emolument Clause in regard… I wrote to the Obama Justice Department. That letter was based on Secretary Clinton's 2009 to 2013 financial disclosures when she was Secretary of State. Those disclosures showed that her husband participated in at least 62 events with foreign states. Some of those were speaking events with connections to foreign governments, and some speaking events were financially supported by foreign governments. Two examples. Bill Clinton received hundreds of thousands of dollars for appearance sponsored by Middle Eastern governments. Bill Clinton also received $200,000 for a speech connected to the Chinese government, and I don't recall getting any help from my Democrat colleagues on that investigation. Senator Graham.

Sen. Graham (33:21):

Good morning.

Pamela Bondi (33:24):

Good morning.

Sen. Graham (33:25):

Thank you. So I want to make sure I got this clear. If a Democrat or a Republican senator has a problem with a grant that's been canceled or reduced, you would be glad to talk to them?

Pamela Bondi (33:38):

Yes, Senator, and I have been doing that as well.

Sen. Graham (33:41):

There have been Democratic members who called you?

Pamela Bondi (33:44):

They have spoken to my office. Yes, Senator.

Sen. Graham (33:46):

And you've tried to respond?

Pamela Bondi (33:48):

On either side of the aisle. Of course, if it has anything to do with law enforcement or victims.

Sen. Graham (33:52):

And that includes Senator Durbin. If he's got a problem, he can call you and you'll try to respond.

Pamela Bondi (33:57):

Absolutely.

Sen. Graham (33:58):

Thank you. How many illegal immigrants are in Chicago? Does anybody know?

Pamela Bondi (34:09):

I do. Countless. What we have seen since January 20th, Senator Graham, is a 1000% increase in violent attacks against our ICE officers.

Sen. Graham (34:26):

Right. But I just want to know, is there like 10 or a 100,000? Does anybody know?

Pamela Bondi (34:33):

There have been multiple and we have made multiple arrests, of course, involving violent gangs in Chicago, throughout Illinois.

Sen. Graham (34:41):

Right. Right. So the only reason I ask that, is Chicago a sanctuary city? Do they help ICE deal with illegal immigration or they're a sanctuary city? Do you know?

Pamela Bondi (34:55):

They're not cooperating, and I would ask that I wish Senator Durbin would condemn the governor for not cooperating with our law enforcement officers.

Sen. Graham (35:03):

The only reason I mention this, if you're a sanctuary city, any place in the country, you're making it difficult for the rest of us because word gets out, if you get to a certain city, maybe Chicago being one of them, that you're home free and that just encourages more illegal immigration. Do you deal with that? Agree with that?

Pamela Bondi (35:22):

I do, Senator Graham. And can I add something to that?

Sen. Graham (35:25):

Sure.

Pamela Bondi (35:26):

Please. One of our biggest wins was against the Sinaloa Cartel, and that came in Chicago. The state of Illinois has a Trust Act which prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with our federal immigration authorities. And that's what I was trying to talk to Senator Durbin about.

(35:45)
On September 15th, our partners at ICE arrested an illegal alien from Mexico for beating a 21-year-old man to death. He had been imprisoned in Illinois prior to the murder, and was released under Illinois Trust Act. We filed multiple lawsuits in Illinois for sanctuary policies, specifically in-state tuition for illegal aliens, and obstructing employers from verifying citizenship. You can't make this up. On September 5th, a federal grand jury in Chicago indicted a major Sinaloa Cartel boss, narco-terrorism, guns and drug charges. On July 11th, we announced a guilty plea for Ovidio Guzman Lopez. You may know him as the son of El Chapo, one of the worst narco-terrorists in the world. In the world, Senators.

Sen. Graham (36:42):

In Chicago?

Pamela Bondi (36:43):

In Chicago. In Chicago. He entered a guilty plea to drug conspiracy and two counts of knowingly engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise in the state of Illinois. I could continue with fentanyl, I could continue with child predators in Illinois.

Sen. Graham (37:02):

Well, thank you. I think I've seen numbers, over a 100,000. So Chicago and other sanctuary cities, you're making it harder for us to deal with illegal immigration by doing what you're doing, and I am glad President Trump is trying to change those policies, and if you need the National Guard to bring order out of chaos, so be it from my point of view.

(37:25)
Now let's get back to the topic sort of at hand here about how the law is being used politically. In September 2022, attorney General James from New York basically said in a campaign that she would go after Trump, his business transactions, and his family with full force. November the 15th, 2022, Trump announces his candidacy for president. November 2022, 3 days after Trump announced his reelection campaign, Jack Smith was appointed by Garland to be special counsel to look at classified information, document mishandling, and trying to undermine the 2020 election.

(38:16)
In March, president Trump was indicted in Manhattan of 2023, just after announcing, 34 felony counts, and what they did is they took misdemeanors and turned them into felonies by using a legal theory that no one in the history of Manhattan had ever been charged with. June 2023, a federal grand jury in the district court for the Southern district of Florida indicted President Trump on 37 charges regarding classified information.

(38:52)
Now all I can say is that taking a hammer to a hard drive and bleach bid apparently doesn't make the cut. Having documents in the garage of President Biden doesn't make the cut. In August of 2023, he was indicted yet again regarding the 2020 election. So all I can say is that in September 27th, Jack Smith's team asked for my phone records and seven other senators'. Now that's just the 2024 election.

(39:34)
Comey. Are you aware of the fact that in August, Comey then director CIA, I mean excuse me, the FBI, August of 2016 was in a meeting at the White House where it was discussed that… by Brennan, then CIA director, that there was intelligence that maybe the Clinton campaign was trying to cook up a narrative that Trump was a Russian asset?

Pamela Bondi (40:06):

Senator, I believe that has been reported publicly, but I cannot comment on that.

Sen. Graham (40:10):

Well, okay. Well, I'm just telling you now. This is a campaign for president in 2016. In July, they open up Crossfire Hurricane. In August, they have a discussion in front of President Biden that there's intel that maybe this is generated by his political opponent. Nothing happened. In September, are you aware of the fact that the intelligence community sent a memo to the FBI director detailing intelligence that suggests it's Clinton's campaign is behind the idea that Trump is colluding or cooperating with the Russians?

Pamela Bondi (40:49):

Senator, I believe that has been reported.

Sen. Graham (40:50):

And that was addressed to the FBI director and Mr. Strzok, this memo. Are you aware that he told this committee, "I don't recall that?" The FBI director?

Pamela Bondi (41:00):

Senator, I can't discuss anything-

Sen. Graham (41:02):

Well, I can tell you this. What the hell would you recall? You're the sitting FBI director, there's a campaign for president going on. You've opened up an investigation believing that the Republican candidate may be a Russian asset, and now all of a sudden less than a month later, two months later, you have two inquiries, two events to suggest it may be his political opponent. Did anybody in the FBI inform the FISA court or anyone else about this activity that you know of?

Pamela Bondi (41:35):

I can't discuss that matter, as you know Senator Graham.

Sen. Graham (41:37):

Should they have? Is there a requirement by law enforcement to tell the court if their warrant has been sought, or a defendant that there's exculpatory information out there about you?

Pamela Bondi (41:50):

In general, of course, Senator.

Sen. Graham (41:52):

So to the country, the FBI director gets an memo from the intel community, this may be all a political plot by his opponent. They didn't do a damned thing. Are you familiar with the Steele dossier?

Pamela Bondi (42:06):

Yes, Senator.

Sen. Graham (42:07):

That was the dossier prepared and paid for by the Clinton campaign. Are you aware that it was that document was used to get a warrant on five different occasions against Carter Page, an American citizen?

Pamela Bondi (42:20):

Yes, senator. And that has been reported.

Sen. Graham (42:21):

Are you aware of the fact in February 2017, after Trump is president, the person who gave Christopher Steele the information, the Russian guy, told the FBI, the information I provided you was all bar talk hearsay and not reliable. Are you aware of that?

Pamela Bondi (42:40):

Yes, Senator.

Sen. Graham (42:42):

Was there ever an effort by the FBI to tell the FISA court about evidence that the man who helped prepare the document retracted his statement?

Pamela Bondi (42:53):

I can't discuss that, Senator.

Sen. Graham (42:55):

Should there have been?

Pamela Bondi (42:56):

Can't discuss that either.

Sen. Graham (42:57):

You wonder why we're looking at Comey? Give me a break. Why are we looking at Comey? Because he ran an FBI and personally knew about exculpatory information and let it slide. How in the hell can two FBI agents interview a man who says the document you're using against a sitting president to suggest he may be a Russian agent, or Carter Page, that is now no longer reliable? How does that not get to the court? Can you tell me how that doesn't get to the court? You can't, can you?

Pamela Bondi (43:36):

I can't, Senator and I can't-

Sen. Graham (43:38):

Can you tell me why my phone records when I'm the chairman of the Judiciary Committee were sought by the Jack Smith agents? Why did they ask to know who I called and what I was doing from January 4th to the 7th? Can you tell me that?

Pamela Bondi (43:57):

No, Senator, and there were eight senators in total.

Sen. Graham (44:01):

Do you think that was an abuse of power?

Pamela Bondi (44:04):

Senator, I cannot discuss whether there is or is not an ongoing investigation. If I may add one thing, they also wasted $50 million on what you just described trying to put President Trump in jail prior to the election.

Chuck Grassley (44:18):

Before Senator Whitehouse, I want to introduce into the record what is called the Durham Annex. The Annex is a declassified appendix to John Durham's report about Crossfire Hurricane. The Durham Annex contains information exposing a reported Clinton campaign plan to falsify and tie President Trump to Russia. For years I've fought to assemble and publicize all the facts surrounding Durham investigation, Crossfire Hurricane, and related matters. The Durham Annex was declassified as a large part because of Attorney General Bondi.

Sen. Kennedy (45:03):

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (45:05):

Yeah.

Sen. Kennedy (45:06):

May I ask you a question?

Chuck Grassley (45:08):

If I can answer it, yes. Go ahead.

Sen. Kennedy (45:10):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are you going to hold a separate hearing on your whistleblower account of the FBI investigation of eight United States Senators?

Chuck Grassley (45:22):

I think we need, my answer to your question is I think we need to wait until we see what the FBI can report and whether it's necessary to have a hearing right now. I haven't ruled one out, but I haven't made a decision.

Sen. Kennedy (45:37):

And what year do you think that will happen in?

Chuck Grassley (45:41):

I want the FBI to be a thorough investigation of it and report to us what information they can give us and I don't know how long that'll them.

Sen. Kennedy (45:51):

With respect, are you giving them a certain period of time?

Chuck Grassley (45:54):

I have not given them a certain period of time. I'll discuss that matter with my staff and see if that needs to be done.

Sen. Kennedy (46:02):

Okay. If civil suits are filed against the perpetrators at the FBI, will that facilitate your investigation?

Chuck Grassley (46:10):

Well, what's the question again?

Sen. Kennedy (46:14):

If the eight senators who were spied upon sue the hell out of the Department of Justice, and the perpetrators involved, will that facilitate their investigation and/or yours? I guess what I'm getting to is, I don't understand why we don't have a separate hearing. I find this breathtaking.

Chuck Grassley (46:34):

Yeah. It's just been 24 hours since the FBI investigated on it. Please give me an opportunity to sort through all this.

Sen. Kennedy (46:44):

Fair enough. I just don't want to wait 24 years to get an answer.

Chuck Grassley (46:47):

Yeah. We do have an active investigation going on through my staff. I want to make that very clear. Mr. Whitehouse. Or Senator Whitehouse.

Sen. Whitehouse (47:00):

Thank you, Chairman Ms. Bondi, good morning.

Pamela Bondi (47:05):

Good morning.

Sen. Whitehouse (47:06):

What became of the $50,000 in cash that the FBI paid to Mr. Homan in a paper bag, evidently?

Pamela Bondi (47:31):

Senator, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch recently stated, the investigation of Mr. Homan was subjected to a full review by the FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing.

Sen. Whitehouse (47:47):

And that was not my question. My question was what became of the $50,000 in cash that the FBI delivered, evidently in a paper bag, to Mr. Homan?

Pamela Bondi (47:59):

Senator I'd look at your facts.

Sen. Whitehouse (48:06):

Are you saying that they did not deliver $50,000 in cash to Mr. Homan?

Pamela Bondi (48:09):

Senator, as recently stated, the investigation of Mr. Homan was subjected to a full review-

Sen. Whitehouse (48:14):

A different question.

Pamela Bondi (48:15):

… by FBI agents-

Sen. Whitehouse (48:16):

That's a different question.

Pamela Bondi (48:18):

… by Department of Justice prosecutors. They found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Sen. Whitehouse (48:24):

That's a different question. What became of the $50,000? Did the FBI get it back?

Pamela Bondi (48:31):

Mr. Whitehouse… Excuse me. Senator Whitehouse, you're welcome to talk to the FBI.

Sen. Whitehouse (48:36):

They report to you. Can't you answer this question?

Pamela Bondi (48:38):

Senator Whitehouse, you're welcome to discuss this with Director Patel.

Sen. Whitehouse (48:43):

Did Homan keep the $50,000?

Pamela Bondi (48:49):

As Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch recently stated, the investigation of Mr. Homan-

Sen. Whitehouse (48:56):

Never mind. Never mind. I can see I'm not going to get a straight answer from you to a very simple question.

Pamela Bondi (49:02):

… [inaudible 00:49:00] full review by the FBI I agents and the DOJ. They found no credible evidence of wrongdoing. You're very concerned about money and people taking money and you rail against dark money-

Sen. Whitehouse (49:10):

Wait second. Wait a second. Wait a second.

Pamela Bondi (49:13):

… yet work with dark money groups all the time, Senator Whitehouse.

Sen. Whitehouse (49:16):

Did you know whether or not in that investigation they looked at whether the 2024 $50,000 payment to Mr. Homan was declared by him on his tax returns?

Pamela Bondi (49:32):

Senator, I would be more concerned if I were you when you talk about corruption and money, that when you pushed for legislation that would subsidize your wife's company.

Sen. Whitehouse (49:42):

The questions here are actually pretty specific. So having you respond with completely irrelevant far right internet talking points really is not very helpful here. I'd like, Mr. Chairman, you generally like to have us be able to get answers to no and we'll follow up with a QFR. And to the extent Patel wants to answer, that would be great as well. What happened to the $50,000? Did Homan keep it? Did the FBI get it back? If he kept it, did he put it on his tax returns? Pretty simple questions.

(50:24)
Homan was the same guy who said there was a deal with Eric Adams. He said, if Adams doesn't come through, I'll be back. I'll be in his office up his butt saying where the hell is the agreement we came to, which brings us to the OPR investigation of prosecutorial misconduct by Emil Bove because he was also involved in that transaction. What became of the OPR investigation of prosecutorial misconduct by Emil Bove?

Pamela Bondi (50:57):

Yeah. Senator Whitehouse, to correct you for one moment, that would be the Honorable Judge Emil J. Bove III to you.

Sen. Whitehouse (51:04):

Not at the time of this. He was an employee of the Department of Justice, and what became of the OPR investigation into his-

Pamela Bondi (51:11):

It's all pending litigation-

Sen. Whitehouse (51:12):

… conduct?

Pamela Bondi (51:13):

… Senator. I can't discuss pending litigation nor personnel matters.

Sen. Whitehouse (51:19):

OPR customarily publicly says when there is an investigation, and at the end of it they provide a summary. Why can't you say whether there is an OPR investigation and whether if it's concluded there's a summary?

Pamela Bondi (51:34):

Senator, I'm not going to discuss personnel matters.

Sen. Whitehouse (51:39):

Even public ones?

Pamela Bondi (51:40):

Senator, I'm not going to discuss personnel matters.

Sen. Whitehouse (51:44):

So Kash Patel told this committee that his grand jury testimony after immunization, after initially pleading the Fifth was, and I quote, "sealed by the Department of Justice." How and when and why was his testimony sealed? And by whom?

Pamela Bondi (52:10):

Senator, I'm not going to discuss any testimony, especially testimony that could be sealed, with you.

Sen. Whitehouse (52:17):

No, the question is, was it or was it not sealed?

Pamela Bondi (52:20):

Senator, I'm not going to discuss that with you.

Sen. Whitehouse (52:25):

Well, he also said that he worked with the Department of Justice to have his transcript released publicly. How and when was his transcript released? Presumably, if he released it publicly, that's something you can discuss because it's public.

Pamela Bondi (52:45):

Well, Senator, I believe you discussed that with Director Patel.

Sen. Whitehouse (52:49):

And I'm asking you because he said the Department of Justice made this decision, and you run the Department of Justice.

Pamela Bondi (52:56):

I would refer that to Director Patel.

Sen. Whitehouse (52:58):

Even though you run the Department of Justice, and he testified that the Department of Justice released his transcript publicly?

Pamela Bondi (53:07):

If it is released publicly, we will get you a copy, Senator, gladly.

Sen. Whitehouse (53:12):

"If" being a rather important word there, when your FBI director testified that that was fact. Treasury compiles suspicious activity reports referred to often as SARS, that DOJ receives automatically, hundreds related to accounts of Jeffrey Epstein. How many of those Treasury SARS did you or Director Patel investigate?

Pamela Bondi (53:50):

Senator, I'm not sure if your concerned because you took money, I believe, did you, from Reid Hoffman, one of Epstein's closest confidants, not only once but twice in 2018 and 2024, if that's correct. But Senator, did you ask Merrick Garland any of this over the last four years when he sat before you?

Sen. Whitehouse (54:13):

Why don't-

Pamela Bondi (54:13):

This investigation has been going on, this investigation was closed. Did you ask Alex Acosta that?

Sen. Whitehouse (54:19):

… why don't I ask you, when you and Patel came to office, you said you would look into this. There were hundreds of suspicious activity reports. Some people would deduce from the fact that they're called suspicious activity reports, that there might be suspicious activity. And yet you seem to have looked at zero of those suspicious activity reports involving Jeffrey Epstein accounts.

(54:48)
Let me ask you something else. There's been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein's safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing?

Pamela Bondi (55:11):

You know, Senator Whitehouse, you sit here and make salacious remarks once again trying to slander President Trump left and right when you're the one who was taking money from one of Epstein's closest confidants, I believe. I could be wrong, correct me, Reid Hoffman, who was with Jeffrey Epstein on multiple occasions, and the senator sitting right next to you tried to block the flight logs from being released. Yet you're grilling me on President Trump and some photograph with Epstein? Come on.

Sen. Whitehouse (55:45):

The question is, did the FBI find those photographs that have been discussed publicly by a witness who claimed Jeffrey Epstein showed them to him? You don't know anything about that? Okay.

(56:08)
Here's what some… Well, let we cut to something else. The Marshals Service is supposed to protect our federal judges. I have asked repeatedly for the Marshals Service to let me know if they are investigating or being inhibited from investigating, whether or not there is orchestration of threats against federal judges, whether under either conspiracy laws or racketeering enterprise laws, or aiding and abetting laws, whatever. But as you know, there's the person who says the threat and then there may very well be somebody orchestrating the threat behind them. Is the Marshals Service allowed to investigate orchestration of threats, and do you know if they've taken one step to do so?

Pamela Bondi (57:10):

May I answer the question, Chairman Grassley? The time has expired.

Sen. Whitehouse (57:15):

I think it's the convention of the committee that if I've started my question in my time, you may answer the question.

Pamela Bondi (57:21):

I was asking the Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (57:24):

Okay, before I go to Cornyn-

Sen. Whitehouse (57:26):

She wants to answer the question, Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (57:27):

Oh, please go ahead. I thought you said you didn't want to answer. I'm sorry.

Pamela Bondi (57:30):

Yes, Senator. Thank you. Senator Whitehouse, I would be happy to sit down with you regarding any threat to any federal judge in this country. We take threats very seriously. I will set a meeting with you, with Director Serralta of the U.S. Marshals, and I will be there and we will talk about any threats on federal judges.

Sen. Whitehouse (57:55):

Including orchestration?

Pamela Bondi (57:56):

Who threatened them or who orchestrated them.

Sen. Whitehouse (57:58):

Bingo. Thank you.

Chuck Grassley (58:00):

Before Cornyn speaks, I get kind of amused about my democratic colleagues bringing up Treasury's suspicious activity reports regarding Epstein. When Senator Johnson and I issued our Biden family reports in 2020, we used information from these very same types of documents. And you know what? We were criticized by our Democratic colleagues for doing so, and for years they ignored the evidence of the Biden family criminality. I don't think my colleagues can have it both ways. Senator Cornyn.

Sen. Cornyn (58:40):

General Bondi, six out of 10 Americans say they live from paycheck to paycheck, and I'm sure that includes a lot of federal employees, Border Patrol, FBI agents, people who support them, frontline prosecutors. Do you find it somewhat inconsistent that our Democratic colleagues claim to support law enforcement and the rule of law, but yet they vote to deny those same individuals the pay which they've earned?

Pamela Bondi (59:21):

Yes, Senators, our law enforcement agencies, DEA, ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals, and all the other federal agencies, Homeland Security, Treasury, all the agencies, all of my federal prosecutors, all of our employees are working tirelessly, National Security, around the clock to keep this country safe and to keep this world safe. Yet the Democrats voted to shut the government down, and they are out there working without a paycheck with families at home, risking their lives every single day. Thank you for pointing that out, and thank you for caring, Senator Cornyn.

Sen. Cornyn (01:00:07):

So let's get back to some basics. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land, is it not?

Pamela Bondi (01:00:15):

Yes, sir.

Sen. Cornyn (01:00:15):

Applies to all Americans, the entire country. Federal law likewise applies to the entire nation, does it not?

Pamela Bondi (01:00:26):

Yes, Senator.

Sen. Cornyn (01:00:28):

And so when federal law enforcement agents go to cities like Chicago to enforce federal law, they are acting within their authority, are they not?

Pamela Bondi (01:00:40):

Yes, Senator Cornyn.

Sen. Cornyn (01:00:41):

So on what legal basis would a governor or a mayor say, we're going to deny or prevent a federal law enforcement agent from enforcing federal law? What would be the legal basis for them to do that?

Pamela Bondi (01:01:00):

You know, Senator, there is not one. And as I stated, there were 571 homicides in Chicago last year, and that's why right now, director Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch are on their way to Chicago. I've been been to Memphis, they're in Chicago right now to protect the people of Illinois.

(01:01:22)
And what Senator Graham, the point he was trying to make earlier was that when you don't cooperate with law enforcement, if I was a TDA member, if I was a Sinaloa cartel, narco-terrorist, you know where I'd go? Chicago. Because they're not enforcing the law. And they're running their operations, as I stated earlier, two of the biggest terrorists, narco-terrorists, we arrested right in Chicago because it was a safe haven for them. And they're operating these networks around our entire country. So we are going to keep our entire country safe. We're going to protect all Americans. If

Pamela Bondi (01:02:00):

If these Senators aren't going to vote to open our government to let these people, our people work with paychecks, they're going to do it anyway whether or not the locals are cooperating with them. We're going to be there protecting all Americans in this country, Senator Cornyn.

Sen. Cornyn (01:02:18):

I find it, the comparison between the nation's Washington D.C. here in the nation's capitol where the mayor has welcomed the federal law enforcement agents, which is I've travel around, the city are providing a level of deterrence against crime that I have not seen before. And Washington, D.C. happens to be one of the most dangerous metropolitan areas in the country. So seeing what the response has been by local officials here in Washington D.C., seeing how the public here who visits here as tourists from Texas and elsewhere, how they're welcoming this federal law enforcement presence. It strikes me as a stark contrast between what we've seen in places like Chicago, and I just don't understand how elected officials are sworn uphold the law on the constitution of the United States could take the position that, "No, we don't want a safer community in our major cities that have a high level of crime like Chicago." Doesn't it strike you as bizarre?

Pamela Bondi (01:03:34):

Senator Cornyn, I don't understand it either because we've been working hand-in-hand right here in D.C. with Mayor Bowser. She has been an incredible partner at making D.C. safe again. We've been working with her. We've been working with the police chief, we've been working with their staff and the numbers speak for themselves. 3,156 arrests, 294 illegal guns seized. I think the number's probably higher today. Car jackings down 87%, violent crime down 45% right here in the nation's capitol. I have been out there countless times before they go out on the streets and I'm watching the D.C. Metro Police. I'm watching them with the Transit Authority police who of course keep our metros safe. I'm watching them with our DEA, FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Treasury agents, and HHS has even provided doctors out there to help the team.

(01:04:42)
And what they are, they're a team and they are working hand-in-hand. If you couldn't see their shirts on their insignia, you wouldn't know what agency they were with. I've truly never seen a partnership like that in my career and it's working together, and that's what Illinois is refusing to do. And I wish these senators, I wish Senator Durbin would condemn the governor of Illinois and have him work with us, with us like we're doing now in Memphis. We have the governor of Memphis. We have our two great U.S. senators in Memphis. We have the mayor of Memphis, the same, the chief working hand-in-hand there.

Sen. Cornyn (01:05:24):

Last week, maybe the week before last, I lose track of the day, is we had the head of the Metropolitan Police Union for the District of Columbia here, and I asked him about violent crime in our communities. And I asked him whether there was a straight line from the open border policies of the Biden administration, which helped facilitate the cartels from exporting their poison to the United States only to then find it distributed by criminal gangs who then engage in violence in our communities like Chicago to protect their territory and the profits that go along with that illegal drug trafficking. But I want to ask you about another aspect of the open border policies and that has to do with one of the least reported tragedies and scandals associated with the Biden open border policies.

(01:06:27)
And that has to do with the 500,000 children sometimes called unaccompanied children, UACs. 500,000 children that the Biden administration allowed to be placed with sponsors in this country that were largely unvetted and subjecting them to who knows what, and then abandoning them by taking the position that it's not the federal government's responsibility, it's local child protective agencies that have to follow up on these kids. So they couldn't tell you whether they were being trafficked, recruited into gangs, whether they were going to school, whether they were getting the healthcare that they need. They couldn't tell you because they didn't care. So I know President Trump's administration, the Department of Justice in particular has located 22,000 of these 500,000 children. Could you talk to us a little bit about your efforts to rescue these children that had been abandoned by the Biden administration?

Pamela Bondi (01:07:32):

Yes, and Senator, thank you for asking that question. President Trump cares deeply about our children of this country and children from around the world. This is horrific what has been happening in our country. Law enforcement has arrested approximately 458 sponsors. Now, what these sponsors are? They lie to ORR, many of them to have an unaccompanied alien child. Some of them later exploit and abuse these children. They're not parents, they're not guardians. They're coming into this country. They were coming into this country without any ramification across the Mexican border until Donald Trump became president again and that's when it stopped. We are doing everything in our power to find and arrest these people who are exploiting these children and find these children throughout our country.

(01:08:39)
One of those cases we charged a Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in Cleveland with lying to government because he became the sponsor of a young girl, and of course we found he was later sexually abusing her. That's one of many cases, Senator Cornyn, that I can talk about. And Donald Trump will not rest until all of these sponsors are found and these children are found and protected.

Sen. Cornyn (01:09:08):

Thank you.

Senator Blackburn (01:09:10):

Senator Klobuchar, you're recognized.

Senator Klobuchar (01:09:12):

Thank you. Attorney General Bondi, good morning. I'm going to start on different subject.

Pamela Bondi (01:09:18):

Good morning.

Senator Klobuchar (01:09:19):

On behalf of families in my state. And I wanted to thank the FBI and the local justice officials in Minnesota, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the work that they did, catching the murderer in the horrific murder of my friend, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting of Senator John Hoffman. Just last month, my state was again shaken to its core when a mass shooter attacked Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota shooting through the stained-glass windows injuring 21 people, including 18 kids, killing little Fletcher, little Harper, an eight and a ten-year-old, murdering them when they're in mass praying, twelve-year-olds protecting eight-year-olds. I know we've spoken about these tragedies and we both agree that this kind of violence, whether in Minnesota or at a Mormon church in Michigan or the assassination of Charlie Kirk has no place in our politics or in our democracy.

(01:10:25)
In 2018, after the Parkland shooting, you were Attorney General and there was a bill called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. And the bill banned bump stocks, enacted red flag laws and raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm in Florida from 18 to 21. And you actually defended the law in court from a challenge from the NRA and we know that I'm in favor of an assault weapon ban. I look at these bills and I think, does this hurt my uncle Dick in the deer stand? We have a proud tradition of hunting in Minnesota. I don't think they do. But as I talked to Director Patel and he told me in the chair you are sitting in right now that assault weapon ban could prevent future attacks.

(01:11:14)
I talked to him about better background checks, about red flag laws, and then that perhaps we could find common ground on what actually happened in Florida, which would be to at least change the minimum age for purchasing assault weapon because we've got 18 to 20 year olds commit gun homicides at over triple the rate of adults 21 years and over, even though that wouldn't have helped in Annunciation Church because he was a few years older, she was a few years older. But as you know, the shooter at Parkland was 19 years old and the shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde were both 18 years old. So given your efforts in Florida, do you agree that at least raising the age for purchasing assault weapons could reduce the number of these shootings?

Pamela Bondi (01:12:04):

Senator, first, that's pending litigation and I can't discuss that at all. The 21 is pending litigation. I cannot discuss that.

Senator Klobuchar (01:12:12):

In Florida.

Pamela Bondi (01:12:12):

But if I could go back-

Senator Klobuchar (01:12:14):

I really do know this time-

Pamela Bondi (01:12:15):

The 21 age is pending litigation. I can't discuss that. But Senator, back to what you said about what happened in Minnesota, there is no place for that and I believe I spoke to you after that. Horrific, horrific, these murders. And I'm so sorry that that happened and all of my federal agencies were partnering with state agencies working hand-in-hand in Minnesota. What I can tell you about the Second Amendment is this is the most pro-Second Amendment DOJ in American history as you know. But we want to keep guns, as you said, where they should be, in the hands of law-abiding American citizens while keeping them out of the hands of criminals and gangs. Since January 20th, the ATF and FBI have seized more than 30,000 illegal guns.

Senator Klobuchar (01:13:16):

You gave these statistics. I have 10 minutes.

Pamela Bondi (01:13:17):

30,000.

Senator Klobuchar (01:13:18):

You have given these statistics and I truly appreciate those statistics, but what I was just trying to get at was something where maybe we could find common ground on a bill that you actually defended in court in a state which Director Patel seemed open to, and that was looking at could we at least raise the age to 21 of the purchase of an assault weapon federally while states look at banning these weapons overall given these little babies that this gun is used to kill. So we can talk about it later, but that was my question and you don't want to answer it because of-

Pamela Bondi (01:13:51):

No, it's pending litigation, Senator.

Senator Klobuchar (01:13:53):

Okay. But your views on this is not pending litigation. So I want to get to the independence of the Justice Department. At your nomination hearing, I specifically ask you to provide assurance to every member of this committee that the Justice Department will only follow the facts and the law and the White House will play no role in the cases investigated or brought. You stated in response, this was you, "Politics will not play a part in my decisions." And you also said, "The Justice Department must be independent and must act independently." Do you believe that you have upheld that commitment?

Pamela Bondi (01:14:33):

I absolutely have upheld that commitment, Senator. I pledge that I would end the weaponization also of the Justice Department and that America would once again have a one tier system of justice for all and that is what we are doing in this country.

Senator Klobuchar (01:14:50):

We saw this with the president directing an investigation prosecution of Chris Krebs, the former head of cybersecurity, Lisa Cook, who is a current governor of the Federal Reserve, Director Comey, and the President, and I know you have said that you will not discuss discussions you've had with the President about Comey. Is that correct? That you won't testify here about that? Because I was going to ask you if you received advice, instruction, or request from anyone at the White House to direct the department to engage in any investigations, prosecutorial actions, including decisions not to investigate or prosecute anyone?

Pamela Bondi (01:15:34):

I'm not going to discuss any conversations.

Senator Klobuchar (01:15:36):

Okay, but then how about the truth social post on September 20th, 2025 in which the President said, "We can't delay any longer, Pam," using your name, "Not bringing criminal charges are killing our reputation," his words, "… and credibility." And then goes on to tell you to prosecute a member of this committee, to prosecute the Attorney General of New York and to prosecute James Comey. Do you consider that a directive to the Justice Department?

Pamela Bondi (01:16:08):

Senator Klobuchar, 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.

Senator Klobuchar (01:16:17):

Okay. It has been reported that you initially pushed back against request by Senior Trump administration officials to push out or fire the acting U.S. Attorney in Virginia, Erik Siebert, who's a conservative Republican who made the decision that Comey, that the evidence was not there to prosecute Comey. What made you change your opinion?

Pamela Bondi (01:16:43):

I'm not going to discuss personal decisions.

Senator Klobuchar (01:16:45):

Okay. Is it true that the career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia found that there insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against former director Comey?

Pamela Bondi (01:16:56):

I am not going to discuss pending cases because Comey was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia by, I may point out, one of the most liberal grand juries in the country.

Senator Klobuchar (01:17:09):

Okay. Let's go on to other firings or terminations. Last week, the Justice Department fired at least two senior attorneys in the Eastern District of Virginia, including the Office's National Security Chief Michael Ben'Ary. It is reported that his firing came following criticism from a right-wing social media commentator who wrote, "One can only assume he was part of the internal resistance in the Comey indictment. In fact, he did not work on the Comey case. Instead, he was working on pursuing justice for service members killed in Afghanistan." How does firing a twenty-year national security prosecutor enhance public safety?

Pamela Bondi (01:17:50):

Senator Klobuchar, I'm not going to discuss personal decisions. But the personal issue that I'm having right now is that all of my agents, all of my lawyers are working. My agents are on the street working without a paycheck because your party voted to shut down the federal government.

Senator Klobuchar (01:18:10):

Unfortunately, the house isn't even back here. They're 18 days off the job to even meet with us, to come up with a resolution that we would like to discuss with them about saving people's healthcare. Let's move on to the Antitrust Division. Did you authorize your chief of staff to overrule top officials in the Antitrust Division to settle the challenge to the Hewlett Packard Enterprises Juniper Networks merger?

Pamela Bondi (01:18:36):

Senator Gail Slater runs my antitrust unit and she is doing an excellent job on many, many cases. As you know, that is a pending case.

Senator Klobuchar (01:18:48):

Okay.

Pamela Bondi (01:18:49):

In any merger, just to clarify, in any merger, Senator, there is a deal struck with our office and with the corporations involved, but then that also goes to a court to certify in any merger, in any merger. It's a multi-step process.

Senator Klobuchar (01:19:08):

Okay. I will ask some further questions about antitrust.

Pamela Bondi (01:19:12):

And that process is still pending.

Senator Klobuchar (01:19:12):

I just had one other thing. DOJ can now take the extraordinary step of subpoenaing journalists. Has the Justice Department issued any subpoenas to journalists under the updated guidance?

Senator Blackburn (01:19:24):

Time is expired.

Senator Klobuchar (01:19:25):

Okay, I'll ask those on the record.

Senator Blackburn (01:19:26):

You may respond, Ms. Bondi.

Senator Klobuchar (01:19:30):

You can respond, she said.

Pamela Bondi (01:19:31):

Oh. Senator, my office in April restored the Justice Department's long-standing norm on this issue. It was AG Garland who had deviated on the media investigations policy, allowing self-identified journalists using the self-serving status as a shield against being held accountable for endangering our nation's security. We have taken that policy back to the norm and I can't comment on whether we have or have not or do or do not have pending investigations, Senator Klobuchar.

Senator Blackburn (01:20:21):

Time has expired. Senator Lee, you're recognized.

Senator Lee (01:20:23):

Attorney General Bondi, thank you for being here today and thanks for your service as Attorney General of the United States. I want to start by thanking you for acknowledging a moment ago the importance of protecting the rights of the law-abiding in a country where there are hundreds of millions of guns. One of the most alarming, not to mention unconstitutional things a government could do is to disarm the law-abiding. It would be unfair, it would be fatal to many. It would be contrary to our constitutional system. I appreciate you standing up for that. I'm also grateful for you standing up for Gail Slater, the Assistant Attorney General over the Antitrust Division. I have full confidence in her and I can tell you do as well. More broadly, Attorney General Bondi, through your leadership, you've returned the Department of Justice to its core mission and its core mission of course involves protecting the American people, upholding the law, upholding the constitution, and making sure that justice in our system is applied even-handedly, fairly, consistently as the law requires, without fear, favor or political bias making those decisions.

(01:21:33)
With you as Attorney General at the helm of this great department, the Department of Justice has strengthened its efforts to secure our borders against what has been an unprecedented influx of illegal immigration. It's disrupted sophisticated networks of criminals including people who profit immensely and have profited over the last five years roughly from a massive human trafficking and drug smuggling operation. And it also just demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the safety of American citizens. Your work has sent a clear message to criminal organizations and to criminally minded people everywhere, foreign and domestic, the rule of law in the United States will be enforced, and those who prey on the vulnerable will face especially swift and unpleasant consequences.

(01:22:33)
I'd also like to commend you and FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino for your collaboration with state and local law enforcement in my home state of Utah in assisting with the prompt apprehension of the shooter in the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk just a few weeks ago at Utah Valley University. Your leadership has helped reaffirm that the Department of Justice exists to preserve the rule of law, to protect the peace, the safety of the American people, and ensure that our constitutional republic endures for many generations to come. Now due to the open border policies that we had in the previous administration, a number of individuals, a number that is unknown and unknowable, but that is estimated to be in the many millions, somewhat estimated at the low end be in the 10 million range. Others say more like 15. Others say it's more than that.

(01:23:35)
But this unknown and unknowable number of individuals came across our border illegally and an unknown number or percentage of those people are individuals who pose significant security risks, including some were suspected terrorists. They were all allowed to enter the United States without proper vetting, in many cases without any vetting at all. What progress have you made so far, Attorney General Bondi, in solving some of those issues related to the illegal immigration of an estimated 10, 15 million, maybe more over the last four years?

Pamela Bondi (01:24:15):

Senator Lee, we are working hand-in-hand with Kristi Noem, of course, the director of Homeland Security. She has been doing an incredible job. All of our agencies are working in partnership with them at the direction of President Trump. He ran on the promise of making America safe and closing our borders and that's what he did on day one. He has also declared many of these transnational gangs as terrorist organizations, which is exactly what they are. They have been coming into our country from Mexico, from Venezuela, from other countries. They have been setting up shop right in our country. They are narco-terrorists and it is going to stop and it is stopping under his watch. Our task forces are working hand-in-hand with Homeland Security, Director Patel, Deputy Director Bongino have been going nonstop to make America safe again. That's not just a slogan, that's protecting everyone in this room. That's what we're doing as a country. We don't care if you live in Chicago, we don't care if you live in Florida. We don't care if you live in Utah.

(01:25:28)
President Trump wants everyone to be safe, including right here in Washington D.C., and that's what he's been doing. Not only that, Senator Lee, the surge, I'm sorry about my voice. The surge of drugs in this country has been horrific over the last four years. DEA, they have seized 4,500 kilos of Fentanyl powder and 50 million Fentanyl pills, which I said earlier represents 370 million deadly doses of Fentanyl. These transnational gangs, it's all about drugs and money and they're destroying our country. They're destroying our children. And a lot of this Fentanyl, as we know, is made, the precursors in China. They're coming in our country through Mexico and now other places, and under Donald Trump, it's going to stop because he has secured our borders, Senator Lee.

Senator Lee (01:26:27):

We're very grateful for that effort. It's interesting to note moreover that under the leadership of your predecessor, the Department of Justice, the FBI and others who routinely appear before this committee, when asked about the human smuggling operation going on across our southern border, routinely denied that Fentanyl was coming in in significant quantities through the human trafficking operation. They stated never with any evidence, never with any ability to back it up to prove this was the case, that these things were coming across the points of entry through vehicles, through trucks and otherwise. We know that not to be true and we appreciate your work and exposing that. Now, in recent months, going along with this law enforcement effort, there's been a disturbing trend. It's a disturbing trend that seems to be on the increase in recent days and weeks. That is a rise of violence directed at federal law enforcement officers engaged in immigration related arrests, including direct physical threats, organized riots outside of detention facilities. And most tragically of late, a fatal shooting targeting an ICE facility in Dallas.

(01:27:44)
Then just yesterday it was reported that a cartel member in Chicago put a bounty. That's right, a bounty, out there offering $2,000 on information about any ICE officer and $10,000 for those who kill an ICE officer. Now, keep in mind this information is not for kicks and giggles. It is not for a game of trivial pursuit. That information for which the cartel member would pay $2,000 is there so that others can kill an ICE officer and get $10,000. That's what that is. Can you discuss what protections are essential to ensuring the safety of ICE officers and their families and why requirements to display personal information and prohibiting them from ever wearing any kind of covering would represent a totally unacceptable indefensible risk to their public safety?

Pamela Bondi (01:28:42):

Senator Lee, our federal agents have been doxed, and many of you know what that means. It has happened to you on both sides of the aisle. Our federal agents' lives have been threatened. We fought. Well, we spoke with Apple and Google to get the ICEBlock app taken down. That was reckless and criminal and that people were posting where ICE officers lived. We worked with both Apple and Google to take that down. Threatening the law-

Senator Lee (01:29:18):

It's stunning, I would add here that it took as much work as it did by you to get them to take that down. Remember, in the days following January 6th, they took down all kinds of things including a social media app called Parler based on very thin evidence that was later largely rebutted suggesting that people had been manipulating Parler in order to plan the January 6 attack. That wasn't true and they took it down. I'm glad they have taken this block ICE app down, but it's a shame that it took as long as it did and as much work on your part to get them to take it down.

Pamela Bondi (01:29:51):

I will tell you, they were cooperative and to correct myself, it was where they were going that the jobs they were doing, and that's what's been happening because hundreds of organized rioters, Senator Lee, are showing up where our ICE officers are. And as you know, they have fireworks, they have gas masks. They don't want our officers to be protected with their identity, yet they're wearing gas masks, they're wearing goggles. And they were ramming car-

Senator Lee (01:30:17):

So it's okay for them to be safe. It's okay for antifa to be safe. It's okay for those doing the bidding of international violent drug cartels to be safe, but heaven forbid our ICE officers should be safe.

Pamela Bondi (01:30:28):

Thank you, Senator Lee.

Senator Blackburn (01:30:30):

Time is expired. Senator Coons, you're recognized.

Senator Coons (01:30:37):

Thank you, Senator Blackburn, and thank you to the committee for holding this oversight hearing. Attorney General Bondi, thank you for your service and for being with us. I want to start with an area where I think we have a lot to agree on. In May, your Bureau of Prisons issued a directive to expand the availability of home confinement. The directive said it was rooted in the principle of smart, fair criminal justice reform and explained that smart reform and public safety can go hand-in-hand. And that second chances are not just possible, they're necessary for a justice system worthy of the American people. There's more to do to implement this directive, but I appreciated the BOP's recognition of these principles. Could you briefly speak further about the work BOP Director Marshall and Deputy Director Smith, himself, a former inmate, are doing with regard to reform and what opportunities you see for us to do more?

Pamela Bondi (01:31:30):

Thank you Senator Coons, and you have been a champion of that and we believe in second chances. As a career prosecutor, I know that most people, even violent criminals are going to be locked up and then they're going to be released, and that's why we need everyone to be a productive member of society. I believe in halfway houses and that's part of what the First Step Act did. It gives people a second chance at life, and that's what Billy Marshall and Josh Smith have been doing working hand-in-hand at the Bureau of Prisons. I talk to them constantly and they are working so hard. In fact, they inherited a dysfunctional and neglected agency and they are taking, despite more than $450 million being appropriated between 2019 and 2024, we found that funds had been diverted away from the Department of the Prisons, the Bureau of Prisons.

(01:32:33)
And so they are doing everything to create more halfway houses and to give inmates everything they need to be successful upon release. But also, by keeping America safe. And I just learned from Billy Marshall, we just made an incredible case that someone, I believe the case was in Texas, one of our federal prisons.

Pamela Bondi (01:33:00):

No one was monitoring this and there was someone who was caught with a drone dropping off recently, cellphones, paraphernalia.

Senator Coons (01:33:10):

Let me follow up on that point if I might, Attorney General.

Pamela Bondi (01:33:13):

… many things that could cause violence within our prisons and allow criminal cartel networks to function within our federal prisons. And that's what a lot of this money is going for, to make our prisons safe within and so these criminals cannot function while they are in prison. But one good thing I can also add, is we have given inmates… I think we've over doubled the amount of minutes they can have on their phones, so they can talk to their family members because we believe that is important.

Senator Coons (01:33:44):

One of the challenges federal probation officers face is massive caseloads. And I am about to introduce, hopefully reintroduce soon, a bill with Senator Lee that would improve our federal supervised release system by focusing resources on those who really need to be supervised and providing incentives to reduce oversight of those who've really made progress and who've changed the direction of their lives. It is broadly supported by law enforcement and a variety of policy groups and I'd love to work with you on that, Madam Attorney General.

Pamela Bondi (01:34:16):

Yeah. Senator, can I just add, because I just got the numbers. So what we have is 8.7 billion dollars for the Bureau of Prisons, and what that does is it adds 587 correctional officers to help with the things that we just discussed. 95 million for new hires. We have to recruit and we have to retain. We know that's a really tough job to be a corrections officer. And that's why Josh Smith is such a valuable part of that team with Billy Marshall. And I would welcome working with you on that. And President Trump is the one who signed the First Step Act because he believes in second chances. We all do. Thank you, Senator Coons, for that question.

Senator Coons (01:35:00):

One of the things I have been concerned, even upset about, is how early in this administration at the behest of DOGE, the department cut hundreds of grants totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, many of which serve critical public safety needs, supporting victims, assisting with reentry, violence prevention, including in my own home state. This was literally defunding the police. And I have some concerns about how DOJ is putting at risk public safety by assigning thousands of agents and prosecutors away from drugs, firearms, corruption, violent crime, to help ICE arrest people without criminal records.

(01:35:39)
You've indicated a willingness to review any grant that a member of Congress has concerns about and noted a number of them have been restored on appeal, and I appreciate that willingness to admit some misjudgments or mistakes in some of the many grants that were canceled. But can you assure us this process is going to be fixed going forward so better decisions are made at the start and not just after appeals. And can you assure us that we are not leaving doors wide open for crime and criminality in our communities and over-focusing on arrest and deportation of those without criminal records?

Pamela Bondi (01:36:15):

Yes, Senator. Thank you for that question. And as I said earlier, we are reviewing all the grants and I believe we have, I'd say, turned some back on for Senators who have called. It doesn't matter what state you're from, if it's a law enforcement grant, if it's protecting victims, let us know, and we will work with you. And I'm not sure if we have done any in your state yet, but I would be happy to work with you on that.

(01:36:39)
What I can tell you is there have been out of the 5,800 discretionary grants that were reviewed, only 376 around the country, 7% were terminated. 225 of the grant recipients have appealed that termination, and so far, we've turned back on 18 of those. 17 appeals have been denied, and the rest are being actively reviewed. If any of you know of any of those that you believe should, call me, should be turned back on, call me. We don't want to jeopardize anything that's hurting-

Senator Coons (01:37:12):

I will be calling.

Pamela Bondi (01:37:12):

Please do. And Senator, to go to what you said about the FBI and my federal agencies and being pulled to work on immigration cases, they're working hand-in-hand because we believe that… We have ICE officers out there as we just discussed, I don't want to repeat that, who are being harmed. We're going to work with them. And I have directed all of my law enforcement agencies to work with ICE to make sure they're safe in Chicago, to make sure they're safe in Memphis, to make sure they're safe right here in Washington D.C.

(01:37:43)
But also, at President Trump's direction, we are not stopping the core function of what we're doing and that is fighting violent crime. And I think Director Patel made that very clear with all of the arrests that our FBI have been making on violent criminals. And there's so much that we can't talk about here, but if any of you are on the Intel Committee, you know, we are fighting terrorists around this country every single day. Our lawyers are shut down right now. They're not getting paid. The crime is not stopping. They're working around the clock to not only keep our country safe, Senator, but to keep our world safe and they will continue to do that.

Senator Coons (01:38:24):

Madam Attorney General, I think all of us hate that there's a shutdown, and its impact on the federal workforce, and are working to find a way out of this shutdown, but one that will also restore cuts to healthcare. We could spend a lot of time on that, but let's focus on, if I could, two more questions related to your service as the attorney general. The government's asserting the authority to summarily kill people. It sends our cartel members through military strikes against boats on the open ocean in the Caribbean. Congress has never authorized such a use of military force, and it's unclear to me how the administration has concluded that these strikes are legal. I'm concerned with what the limiting principle is, whether the government could summarily kill people, it just declares are cartel members as well as unlawful combatants inside the United States or if they were American citizens.

(01:39:11)
This isn't about defending cartels. These aren't hypothetical questions. President Trump assembled military leaders and said they would be needed to fight the enemy from within and to train in cities in the United States that he describes as chaotic and violent. Due process is the cornerstone of our Constitution. I'm deeply concerned about the authority our president seems to be asserting to summarily kill people suspected of criminal activity outside the law. As the chief lawyer for our federal government, you have a unique responsibility to ensure maintenance of our constitutional standards. How did you conclude that these strikes on ships or boats in the open ocean are legal?

Pamela Bondi (01:39:55):

Senator Coons, 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. Regarding Venezuela, what I can tell you is Maduro is a narco-terrorist and we announced a historic… I announced $50 million dollar reward for his capture to bring him to this country to face charges. He is currently under indictment in our country. Drugs coming from Venezuela are killing our children at record levels. They have been flowing into this country.

Senator Coons (01:40:34):

And members of this committee are as passionate as you at protecting our families and our communities from fentanyl. But we also need to protect our sailors on the high seas who are conducting freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea from just an abject violation of international norms and standards about how we interdict ships on the high seas. We can push back on fentanyl and drug trafficking. Many of my colleagues have done so as former U.S. attorneys or prosecutors or attorneys general, but we have to do it in a way that is in keeping with the core values of our Constitution.

(01:41:08)
My colleagues have pressed you on a number of recent actions, particularly in the Eastern District of Virginia. My colleague, senator Klobuchar did. And I just wanted to add my voice to those who have expressed real alarm at how in your confirmation hearing you said you would be leading a department that would look forward, yet public statements by President Trump urging you to go after and to indict and to prosecute specific named people seem to have led to dramatic and sudden action by the department. I am gravely concerned about what is no longer a hypothetical question, which you refused to answer in your confirmation hearing, but is a real question about when or if the president demands you prosecute individuals because he views them as opponents or enemies, what you will do and what your limiting standard is, because the recent episode around the indictment of James Comey left me very concerned about the direction of the department.

Pamela Bondi (01:42:06):

We're a minute and a half over, Senator. Chairman, may I answer?

Senator Coons (01:42:11):

Yes.

Pamela Bondi (01:42:13):

Senator Coons, as you have stated in the past, no one is above the law. And James Comey is a pending case right now. It's a pending indictment. He was indicted by one of the most liberal grand juries in the country by our U.S. Attorney Lindsay Halligan.

Senator Coons (01:42:30):

Right.

Pamela Bondi (01:42:31):

Right here in Virginia. And it's a pending case, so I'm not going to discuss the facts of a pending case.

Senator Coons (01:42:37):

But you can understand the alarm about the circumstances of the indictment immediately following President Trump demanding that you take action to indict and prosecute that specific individual.

Pamela Bondi (01:42:48):

Your time is up.

Senator Coons (01:42:50):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (01:42:50):

Before Hawley, I, without objection, introduce two documents into the record. First one is the expanded scope of Arctic Frost. The second document is a list of Republican groups and people that Arctic Frost targeted including Charlie Kirk's group, Turning Point USA. These documents show the political weaponization of the Biden administration against Republicans. Senator Hawley.

Senator Hawley (01:43:20):

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Attorney General Bondi, good to see you. Welcome. I've been listening closely in this hearing, and I've heard over and over from my Democrat colleagues concerns about targeting political enemies, and they've accused you of all manner of things and the current president. I've also heard them said, and I just wrote it down, because I wanted to be sure I heard it correctly. I've heard them say that Joe Biden never targeted his political enemies. Joe Biden never directed his attorney general to target his political opponents. Huh, that's interesting.

(01:43:50)
Because I could have sworn that yesterday we learned that the FBI tapped my phone. Let's look at it. We've got a list. Tapped my phone, tapped Lindsey Graham's phone, tapped Marsha Blackburn's phone, tapped five other phone of United States Senators. Gee, it sure looks like targeting political opponents to me, and yet I haven't heard a word from that side of the dais about any concern whatsoever. We've got nothing but concerns today, but no concern at all for a justice department that is tapping the phones of sitting United States Senators because who knows why, they don't like them. They're members of the opposition party. They're Republicans, they're conservatives. You've seen this document, Attorney General Bondi, what was going on here? Who ordered this? Who ordered the tapping of the phones of United States Senators?

Pamela Bondi (01:44:47):

Senator Hawley, I cannot discuss the details of that right now for very good reason.

Senator Hawley (01:44:53):

You're going to do a thorough investigation into this I trust. Is that correct?

Pamela Bondi (01:44:57):

We will be looking at all aspects of this, and I have talked to Director Patel at length about this.

Senator Hawley (01:45:01):

And you're going to figure out who was involved in this, who signed off on it, who knew about it. You're going to get to the bottom of all of it, is it correct?

Pamela Bondi (01:45:09):

Yes, and I've spoken to Director Patel about it and he's committed to doing this as well.

Senator Hawley (01:45:13):

Well, I can tell you, we already know many of the details. We already know that this was ordered by the Special Prosecutor jack Smith, who reported directly to the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland. And we know that Jack Smith was on his witch hunt because he was directed to do so by the President of the United States Joe Biden. Let's just remember, let's take a walk down memory lane. April 2nd, 2022, the New York Times, "Garland Faces Growing Pressure. The Times says, "As recently as late last year," that would've been 2021, "Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle he believed former President Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted." It goes on to say that Biden, rather, "was frustrated with Garland and wanted him to take decisive action against Trump."

(01:46:02)
Here's what we're talking about. Trump of course was a private citizen at the time. So he appoints his own hit man, Jack Smith, who goes after the president, former president who goes after members of this body. The thing about it though that really strikes me is, is that it didn't stop with members of the United States Senate, did it, Attorney General Bondi? It didn't stop here at all. I mean just as egregious, maybe more so than tapping the phones of US Senators is this memo that I know you've seen before. Let's just look at it again. This is an FBI memo from the same time period I might add, from the same time period in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation attempts to recruit informants into Catholic parishes in this country.

(01:46:46)
So here you have an administration that is activating the FBI against its political opponents and tapping the phones of United States Senators. Can I just say that again for my colleagues? For the benefit of my colleagues on the other side of the dais, tapping the phones of United States Senators. This isn't hypothetical, this isn't maybe what will you do in the future? This isn't, "Oh gee, can you imagine a situation?" This happened. This happened. And this happened, the targeting of Catholics in this country, because Joe Biden and his FBI didn't like Catholics who went to a certain kind of mass.

(01:47:22)
I mean, good God in heaven. What is happening to this country? What happened under Joe Biden? Or then how about this, the infamous school board memo where Merrick Garland at the direction of the White House issued a memo activating the FBI's counterterrorism division against parents who attended school board meetings and had the temerity to ask what their kids were being taught. And some of those parents were treated like this. Let's just remember. Let's remember how parents were treated, treated like this man, a parent at a school board meeting, I think in Virginia, who was drug out of the school board meeting. He's bloodied there. You can see it.

(01:48:03)
And what was the response of Joe Biden's DOJ and FBI? It was to issue a memorandum saying that people like this ought to be investigated by the counterterrorism unit, and unbelievably, they were. They were. Or how about this? Let's remember Mark Hauck and the pro-lifers who were prosecuted for what? For going to a clinic, an abortion clinic, and praying on a sidewalk outside the abortion clinic. This is Mark Hauck and his beautiful family at mass. This man at the direction of Joe Biden's FBI, this man had an FBI SWAT team come to his door in the early morning hours with his beautiful children there, terrorizing them with weapons drawn. He was then arrested and prosecuted, and fortunately, a jury acquitted him.

(01:48:54)
This is what was happening under Joe Biden. United States Senators spied upon, former presidents, the political opponents of the president of the time, targeted, prosecuted. Pro-lifers, targeted, prosecuted. Catholics, targeted, prosecuted. 92 conservative organizations put under surveillance, targeted for potential prosecution. Gee, I don't know. Would you call that an example of weaponization, Attorney General Bondi? Do you think that's a fair characterization?

Pamela Bondi (01:49:29):

Senator Hawley, that is the ultimate weaponization. And weaponization under Donald Trump has ended. It has ended. Harmeet Dhillon is running our civil rights unit and she is doing an incredible job. No longer will parents be targeted. No longer will parents who care about whether their elementary school children have to read a transgender book, be targeted and told they cannot have any say in their child's education. That has ended under this administration. People can worship freely, whether they're Catholics, at synagogues, or Muslims. Everyone can worship freely. That was the ultimate weaponization. They were targeting Catholics. No longer. They have been targeting so many American citizens throughout this country. And Senator Hawley, you have been a champion of this, and thank you for being a champion of that. But under Donald Trump's watch, it has ended.

Senator Hawley (01:50:29):

I think about some of the abuses of power in this country's history, and there's been sadly a lot of them by members of the executive branch over the years, whether it's Watergate, whether it's what J. Edgar Hoover did in his time at the FBI, spying on many public figures, RFK, MLK, JFK, you name it. And I just have to say what we now know happened in the last years under this administration surpasses all of that. It surpasses all of it. Not just for the interference in the legislative branch, not just for the blatant disregard, for the separation of powers, not just for the blatant disregard for the First Amendment, but for the targeting of ordinary American citizens who can't afford lawyers, who can't afford to mount a defense, who when the FBI knocks at their door or comes with the SWAT team, they don't know what to do. It is absolutely a disgrace.

(01:51:15)
It is a stain on the history of this country and on the conscience of this country, what this administration did in the last four years. So here's what I think needs to happen. Madam Attorney General, I think we need a special prosecutor to be appointed whose sole responsibility will be to get to the bottom of what has happened in every instance that I have just named. I think we need to know exactly who approved the wiretaps on United States Senators, who knew about it? What agents were involved at DOJ or the FBI? I think we need to know exactly who signed off on the Catholic memo, the spying memo. Who was involved with it? How far did it go? I think we need to know exactly who authorized the prosecution of Mark Hauck, who terrorized pro-lifers and tried to intimidate them? I think we need to know.

(01:52:03)
Mr. Chairman, this committee needs to do oversight hearings. We need to have thorough hearings into what has happened these last four years, and this abuse that has now just been uncovered. Because we have to ensure that it stops. As you just said, Attorney General Bondi, we have to ensure that it stops. This chapter in American history needs to come to a close, never to be opened again. The use of the most powerful law enforcement bodies in the world against ordinary citizens and political opponents must end once and for all, and we have a chance to do it and it needs to be done with a thorough investigation, full transparency. And those who violated laws need to be prosecuted. I thank you for what you're doing, Attorney General Bondi. I hope that you will launch a thorough investigation. I hope you'll appoint a special prosecutor. Mr. Chairman. I hope we'll hold hearings and with that I yield.

Chuck Grassley (01:52:57):

Yeah. Before I call on Blumenthal, I want to, without objection, introduce into the record a document that General Bondi helped to declassify. The document is a RAY-FBI analysis of Nellie Orr's false statements to Congress. Orr never suffered consequences for advancing this phony Trump-Russian narrative in attempting to cover up her involvement in the hoax with false statements. Yet time and again, the American justice system has been weaponized against President Trump and his associate, and I've already talked about Peter Navarro in regard to that. The DOJ's inaction on Nellie Orr's criminal referral, despite the obvious incriminating evidence provided in the FBI's own analysis, undermines public trust, the rule of law, thanks to Director Ray's utter failure. Senator Blumenthal.

Senator Blumenthal (01:53:57):

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Just so the American people understand, this issue of weaponization of justice goes to the core of the integrity of our criminal justice system. And I think we can all agree that no individual, no group should be targeted simply because they are a political opponent or because the President of the United States has some personal animosity toward them. You've just said that President Trump is the most transparent president in history, tragically and chillingly. You may be right when it comes to criminal justice, because far from ending weaponization of justice, I would submit, Madam Attorney General, that President Trump has embodied it, and we have a record. It is a public record of his express instructions that certain individuals be investigated.

(01:55:08)
The Attorney General of New York, Tish James, my colleague, Adam Schiff, the former Assistant Director, Chris Krebs, the DHS former Chief of Staff, Miles Taylor. There's a list. And he has been transparent. In fact, five days before the indictment of James Comey, he put this post up as instructions to you. He didn't mince words. He was very open and public that you should indict James Comey and others because they are guilty as hell. No more delay, now. Five days before you indicted, or a grand jury at your instructions indicted James Comey. I'd like to know from you what conversations you've had with President Trump about the indictment of James Comey?

Pamela Bondi (01:56:15):

Senator, I am not going to discuss any conversations I have or have not had with the President of the United States.

Senator Blumenthal (01:56:24):

Did you see that post?

Pamela Bondi (01:56:25):

You're an attorney, you have a law degree, and you know that I'm not going to do that. I also find it fascinating because I'll keep fighting to ensure that law enforcement and the judicial process move forward without political interference. No one is above the law, not even the president. That's a quote from you, Senator Blumenthal in 2017.

Senator Blumenthal (01:56:49):

Well let me ask you then. When you saw that post-

Pamela Bondi (01:56:52):

"No one is above the law." That was your quote.

Senator Blumenthal (01:56:54):

When you saw that post, did you talk to anybody in the White House?

Pamela Bondi (01:57:01):

I am not going to discuss any conversations I have nor any investigations, nor-

Senator Blumenthal (01:57:07):

So you are unwilling to tell this committee about conversations with the White House-

Pamela Bondi (01:57:13):

… any pending investigations. And if I may continue-

Senator Blumenthal (01:57:16):

… regarding James Comey's indictment?

Pamela Bondi (01:57:16):

And if I may continue.

Senator Blumenthal (01:57:16):

Let me show you a picture.

Pamela Bondi (01:57:18):

James Comey was indicted by one of the most liberal grand juries in the United States.

Senator Blumenthal (01:57:26):

The night before James Comey's indictment, you had dinner with the President of the United States. Pretty intimate group.

Pamela Bondi (01:57:34):

Actually, there were a lot of people there that night. That's a great picture.

Senator Blumenthal (01:57:37):

Was James Comey discussed at that dinner?

Pamela Bondi (01:57:40):

I love that picture. That's a great picture. And there were a lot of people there that night. I think the entire cabinet was there.

Senator Blumenthal (01:57:46):

Did you discuss James Comey with the President of the United States? He was sitting just to your left.

Pamela Bondi (01:57:52):

Well, two seats down, yes, two seats down. And I'm not going to discuss any conversations I had or not have with the President of the United States.

Senator Blumenthal (01:58:02):

I'm going to take that as a yes, because the American public is entitled to know, Madam Attorney General-

Pamela Bondi (01:58:05):

The entire cabinet was at that dinner, too, Senator.

Senator Blumenthal (01:58:06):

… whether you took instructions from President Trump after he told you very directly to indict James Comey, which is weaponization of the Department of Justice.

(01:58:20)
I want to agree with my colleague, Senator Hawley, that weaponization of our justice system must end. That's the reason that I proposed legislation, and I challenge him and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join me in legislation that would create a statutory right of action for people who are selectively or maliciously prosecuted for political reasons. It would codify your manual, the Department of Justice manual, on Political prohibitions against political considerations, in charging decisions, and prohibit the White House from intervening, President Trump and any other president, from intervening in charging decisions. It would make reforms to the grand jury process.

(01:59:14)
You've just said this grand jury was liberal. We should reform the grand jury process to ensure that the government is not abusing its power and authority and it will require transparency and accountability reforms at DOJ so that you will, and other attorneys general, be held accountable for these kinds of decisions. Will you join me in supporting that kind of reform?

Pamela Bondi (01:59:38):

Senator Blumenthal, I find it so interesting that you didn't bring any of this up during President Biden's administration when he was doing everything to protect Hunter Biden, his son. And I think you just saw what Director Radcliffe just released.

Senator Blumenthal (01:59:53):

This is an effort to be positive and constructive.

Pamela Bondi (01:59:53):

If I can finish answering the question. I'm not going to yell over you. I'm not going to get in the gutter with you. But information, information that the Biden administration told them not to investigate Hunter Biden's involvement with Ukraine. And I'm not going to be lectured to you about integrity-

Senator Blumenthal (02:00:13):

Let me move to another topic that I'm hoping that you will review these legislative proposals and support them.

Pamela Bondi (02:00:14):

… by someone who lied about being in the military just to be elected as senator.

Senator Blumenthal (02:00:19):

The merger between Hewlett-Packard Enterprises and Juniper Network was settled. You authorized the settlement. It was the subject of a lawsuit to block it. The settlement produced virtually no concessions from Hewlett-Packard. It was a settlement that prompted criticism from the anti-trust division. Did you authorize that settlement yourself?

Pamela Bondi (02:00:57):

As I stated earlier, Gail Slater is doing an incredible job running the anti-trust unit. And as I stated earlier, that is still a pending matter, as you should know with a law degree-

Senator Blumenthal (02:01:10):

Well, you then fired, did you not, two-

Pamela Bondi (02:01:11):

… that all mergers… If I can finish answering the question.

Senator Blumenthal (02:01:14):

I'm going, with apologies, interrupt you, because my time is limited.

Pamela Bondi (02:01:15):

If I could finish. No, I'm answering the question. No, well then don't ask me a question.

Senator Blumenthal (02:01:20):

Let me just ask you, did you-

Pamela Bondi (02:01:23):

As I said, you have a law degree. You know that not only are mergers agreed upon, but they have to go to a court of law to be approved. It's a multi-step process. And as I said earlier, that is still pending, and I have full faith in Gail Slater.

Senator Blumenthal (02:01:40):

And Ms. Slater reportedly objected to the settlement.

Pamela Bondi (02:01:43):

Reportedly.

Senator Blumenthal (02:01:44):

And moreover-

Pamela Bondi (02:01:46):

Moreover.

Senator Blumenthal (02:01:47):

Two of her top officials were fired, Roger Alford and Bill Center. Did you authorize and direct those firings after they objected to the settlement?

Pamela Bondi (02:01:59):

I am not going to discuss personnel matters or pending litigation in my office.

Senator Blumenthal (02:02:06):

Let me ask you about another merger. The merger involving two home healthcare agencies on favorable terms likely to drive up costs for millions of America. The transportation department's rule to provide compensation to travelers impacted by airline caused flight delays, which was canceled. The merger of Sky Dance and Paramount after Paramount's ownership took a number of steps favorable to the president. These kinds of mergers belie the claims that President Trump himself has made, that this administration will stop big corporate mergers that ultimately benefit the owners of those corporations rather than consumers or ordinary everyday Americans.

Pamela Bondi (02:03:14):

Senator-

Senator Blumenthal (02:03:14):

Let me ask you about particularly-

Pamela Bondi (02:03:17):

… you just listed a… You just gave a list of many mergers.

Senator Blumenthal (02:03:19):

I have a question for you.

Pamela Bondi (02:03:20):

Can you talk to me about the issue with these mergers?

Senator Blumenthal (02:03:23):

I do have a question. In the merger that took place-

Pamela Bondi (02:03:31):

Which merger? You've listed many.

Senator Blumenthal (02:03:33):

…involving American Express, GBT, I understand that Brian Ballard, long-time backer and head of the law firm where you worked, was instrumental in lobbying the Justice Department to drop that lawsuit. It was dismissed. So, it's not subject to a court review. What conversations

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:00):

… Did you have with Mr. Ballard?

Pamela Bondi (02:04:03):

Senator Blumenthal, I cannot believe that you would accuse me of impropriety when you lied about your military service.

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:14):

I am not asking you-

Pamela Bondi (02:04:17):

You lied. You admitted you lied to be elected a US Senator.

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:21):

I am not accusing you of impropriety.

Pamela Bondi (02:04:21):

You lied.

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:21):

I'm asking you about conversations-

Pamela Bondi (02:04:21):

How dare you? I'm a career prosecutor.

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:22):

… with Mr. Ballard-

Pamela Bondi (02:04:23):

Don't you ever challenge my integrity.

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:26):

… you had apparently.

Pamela Bondi (02:04:26):

I have abided by every ethics standard. Do not question my ability to be fair and impartial as Attorney General and anything-

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:35):

You'll answer that through another of my colleagues.

Pamela Bondi (02:04:36):

… with my former firm, my Ballard Partners.

Senator Blumenthal (02:04:38):

Thank you.

Chuck Grassley (02:04:40):

Senator Lee has asked for the chair [inaudible 02:04:44].

Mike Lee (02:04:43):

Yeah, just wanted to note for the record, the Paramount merger that he referenced was not within the Department of Justice's ambit. That was at the FCC, not the Department of Justice. Attorney General Bondi would've had nothing to do with that.

Chuck Grassley (02:04:55):

Thank you.

Mike Lee (02:04:56):

Thanks.

Pamela Bondi (02:04:56):

And that was why I asked Senator Lee, he didn't know that, he was reading off a script.

Chuck Grassley (02:05:01):

Before I call on Senator Kennedy, it's laughable about my Democrats friends expressing fear and concern at the Justice Department's recent attempts at holding parties responsible for their actions. I can only ask where have they been in the last few years? They had no problem watching the Biden Administration and his White House use all of its might and power to attack Trump and associates. And now even Republican senators have been selected to have their telephone records made public, or not public but, well, I guess they're public now. But Biden weaponized our institutions and didn't hear a peep from the other side. Now every investigation and prosecution under this administration, people are going to be held accountable for their actions. Senator Kennedy, or?

Sen. Kennedy (02:05:57):

I want extra time, Mr. Chairman.

Chuck Grassley (02:06:00):

Okay.

Sen. Kennedy (02:06:01):

Man, this is, enough is enough.

Chuck Grassley (02:06:03):

Well, Cruz was next, but he wasn't here.

Sen. Kennedy (02:06:06):

Senator Cruz was next.

Chuck Grassley (02:06:08):

Okay. Senator Cruz, if you're ready, go ahead.

Ted Cruz (02:06:13):

Well, thank you, but I will welcome Senator Kennedy providing color commentary throughout my question.

Sen. Kennedy (02:06:18):

I would be happy to, if we ever finish this hearing this year.

Ted Cruz (02:06:25):

And I'll point out, Senator Kennedy has a new book about testing negative for stupid. So, I hope I test negative for stupid. I hope I meet the threshold of the book title.

Sen. Kennedy (02:06:33):

You do meet it and I talk in the book about the tattoo of the Backstreet Boys on your back.

Ted Cruz (02:06:41):

Look, I can't help that you don't want to reach young people. I think young people are the future, damn it, and I'll do whatever steps are needed.

Sen. Kennedy (02:06:47):

Backstreet Boys?

Pamela Bondi (02:06:48):

God, no. That would be on Vice President Vance's playlist, I heard, that got hacked.

Ted Cruz (02:06:58):

General Bondi, welcome. I apologize for injecting you in the middle of Senator Kennedy's antics. We can't help him. Thank you for the job you're doing. You are doing a tremendous job keeping this country safe, and our families are safer because you are on that wall. Our families are safer because you are returning the Department of Justice to its core function, which is enforcing the law and locking up bad guys. We saw for four years under the Biden Administration we saw the Department of Justice politicized and weaponized, and we saw them refuse to do their core function. More than 12 million illegal aliens flooded into this country and the Biden Justice Department seemed to think its job was letting murderers and gangbangers and rapists go.

(02:07:57)
And the results in just a few months that you've been able to produce are tremendous. Arrests of violent criminals are up 125% since the Biden Administration. Fentanyl trafficking prosecutions have risen 42% since fiscal year 2023. DOJ has coordinated with DHS to remove over 220,000 criminal illegal aliens this year alone. Under your leadership as Attorney General, you have helped rescue 4,000 children from predators and helped arrest 1,300 child predators and 285 human traffickers. In my home state of Texas, Operation Soteria Shield, resulted in the rescue of 109 children. Thank you, Attorney General Bondi. Texans are safer because you are serving, Americans are safer because you are serving. You have a big task cleaning up the messes of the Biden DOJ. One of the most egregious failures of the Biden Justice Department was its refusal to protect judges and Supreme Court Justices. As you know, in May of 2022, an unknown individual leaked to Politico the draft of the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health Organization, the opinion that finally overturned Roe versus Wade. That leak was a crime. It was a theft of government property under 18 U.S.C. Section 641, and it was an unauthorized disclosure of confidential information under 18 U.S.C. Section 1905. General Bondi, do you agree that leaking that opinion was a criminal act?

Pamela Bondi (02:09:55):

Senator, I can't discuss anything regarding that matter. That should answer your question.

Ted Cruz (02:10:03):

Well, I will say this. The leak occurred in 2022, so the five-year statute of limitations has not expired. And I'm going to ask you, if it is not happening already, to direct the FBI to investigate and find the leaker. The leaker has not been exposed, the leaker has not been identified, and the FBI has far greater investigatory tools at its disposal than does the Marshal service. And when it comes to defending the rule of law, when it comes to the integrity of our court system, having partisan law clerks, and I believe in all likelihood it is a law clerk who leaked it, leaking opinions designed to try to pressure the court politically is a gross subversion of the integrity of the court. And so, I would ask you as Attorney General to direct the FBI to use every resource possible to investigate to find the leaker, and when you identify the leaker, to prosecute the leaker for that criminal conduct, General.

Pamela Bondi (02:11:07):

Thank you, Senator Cruz.

Ted Cruz (02:11:10):

All right, I want to turn secondly, after that decision was leaked, I believe the leak was part of a broader effort to intimidate and to threaten and harass justices into trying to get them to change their decision. And we saw mobs assemble outside the homes of multiple justices. Do you agree, General, that the mobs that came outside the homes of justices were there to intimidate the court and to try to influence the justices' decisions?

Pamela Bondi (02:11:51):

100%.

Ted Cruz (02:11:54):

Well, as you know, federal law, in particular 18 U.S.C. Section 1507, makes it a crime to picket or parade outside a judge's home, "With the intent of influencing that judge's decision." That statute is crystal clear. And I will point out, these protests happened in 2022. So just like the leak, the five-year statute of limitations has not expired on these protests. But unfortunately, the Biden Department of Justice didn't give a damn about prosecuting this statute because President Biden and Merrick Garland and the political hacks at DOJ disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs, and were perfectly fine turning a blind eye to violent protesters threatening the justices and their children.

(02:12:48)
You may recall I questioned Attorney General Garland about this statute, and he admitted under oath that not a single protester had been prosecuted and he blamed the Marshal Service. He said the problem was the Marshals, "Didn't make arrests." Well, subsequent documents told a different story. Internal training materials obtained reveals that the Marshals were explicitly instructed not to arrest protesters under Section 1507. So the reason there was no arrest is because a political decision was made that we like what the protesters are protesting for and we, the Department of Justice are not going to protect the safety of justices. We're going to allow them to be victims of an intimidation and threatening campaign.

(02:13:41)
Just as I asked you with regard to the Dobbs opinion, I would ask you to direct the FBI to review the footage of these protests, to review the evidence that exists in terms of who engaged in it. And will you commit that anyone who you can prove violated 18 U.S.C. Section 1507 will face consequences and face prosecution?

Pamela Bondi (02:14:08):

Senator, we currently have 63 ongoing investigations involving judges and officials throughout this country. That scene that you're showing will not happen under my watch, it will not happen under Donald Trump's presidency. It doesn't matter if you're a liberal judge or a conservative judge or justice, that will not happen.

Ted Cruz (02:14:31):

Amen, and that point that General Bondi made is very important. I would be equally outraged if you had nuts in front of the liberal justices, I'd say arrest them and throw them in jail. Violence is unacceptable regardless of whether I agree or disagree with your politics. And violence, particularly fueled by rhetoric by irresponsible politicians, violence can result, and tragically it resulted in one deranged individual traveling from California to Maryland with the intention of murdering Justice Brett Kavanaugh. As you know well, this deranged individual was arrested outside the Justice's house, he was arrested with a kill kit. He was arrested with a gun, with handcuffs, with duct tape, with zip ties, and with the intention of murdering Justice Kavanaugh, very possibly murdering Justice Kavanaugh's wife and two daughters, and potentially murdering two other Supreme Court justices.

(02:15:35)
As you know, just this week, a left-wing Biden appointed judge sentenced this attempted murderer, this attempted assassin to just eight years. The Department of Justice asked for 30 years.

Pamela Bondi (02:15:50):

That's right.

Ted Cruz (02:15:51):

And that judge downward by 22 years, why? Because this left-wing judge said that the attempted murderer was transgender. And because he identifies as transgender, apparently it's okay to try to kill a Supreme Court Justice if your politics are sufficiently woke. Now I know you have said the Department of Justice is going to appeal and you absolutely should. I called this week, I believe this judge should be impeached, because the judge has demonstrated she is completely unfit to be a federal judge. And what is your view of the justice of this sentence of just eight years for the attempted murder of a Supreme Court Justice?

Pamela Bondi (02:16:33):

I was speaking with our prosecutor, Ms. Mao, who did an incredible job on this case. She did an incredible job, and yet, this judge gave eight years. And the judge also would not refer to the defendant by his biological name. Referred to him by the pronouns and was concerned about the treatment that this individual would get regarding a sex change while in prison. And we are appealing that sentence, I immediately said we are appealing that sentence.

Ted Cruz (02:17:08):

Thank you.

Pamela Bondi (02:17:09):

But my prosecutors did an incredible job on that case.

Ted Cruz (02:17:14):

And the judge wanted to put him in a women's prison.

Chuck Grassley (02:17:17):

Before Senator-

Pamela Bondi (02:17:18):

Not going to happen. Excuse me, I'm sorry, Chairman. That's not going to happen in the Bureau of Prisons now.

Ted Cruz (02:17:24):

Good.

Chuck Grassley (02:17:24):

Before Senator Hirono, without objection, I'd like to introduce three FBI 1023 forms into the record. The first 1023 form I made public last Congress. This is the one that Director Patel said his predecessors did fully investigate. The second and third 1023 forms relate to the first, in that they referenced potential Biden family criminal conduct. Senator Johnson and I made these two public, and we simply want to know whether the government has investigated, what it found, and if not, why not. Senator Hirono.

Mazie Hirono (02:18:07):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Bondi, FISA section 702 will expire in six months. In response to my questions for the record, at your confirmation hearing, you said you did not have experience with FISA, but if confirmed, you would consult with experts at DOJ. Now, you've had that opportunity. Do you support adding additional safeguards for searching Americans' communications in the 702 database?

Pamela Bondi (02:18:41):

Senator, Section 702 is a vital source of foreign intelligence and instrumental in keeping Americans safe. We also take individuals' rights of American, they're individual rights of all Americans very seriously, and many statutory reforms to FISA have incorporate safeguards. They have to incorporate safeguards to protect our civil liberties. The Department of Justice looks forward to working with you to discuss anything regarding 702.

Mazie Hirono (02:19:15):

I appreciate that.

Pamela Bondi (02:19:16):

I believe my staff. And Senator, I also want to thank you for this hearing. Your staff met with my staff and I greatly appreciate that.

Mazie Hirono (02:19:24):

Thank you. We're going to be working on 702, so I appreciate the openness to further amending 702.

(02:19:31)
At your confirmation hearing, you assured me that it is a Department of Justice's decision to determine what cases will be prosecuted. Last month the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was forced out. President Trump then posted the message behind me asking about prosecuting James Comey. You then appointed a new US Attorney who within days secured an indictment against James Comey. That social media post behind me saying, "What about Comey was directed to Pam?" Are you the Pam that the president was referring to?

Pamela Bondi (02:20:15):

I'm sure I was.

Mazie Hirono (02:20:17):

So, it's very clear to me that when the president posts something like that, that he considers the DOJ to be his law firm and you, his lawyer. And in fact, very shortly after the post to you, Comey gets indicted.

(02:20:33)
Last year, President Trump's new border czar, now border czar, Tom Homan, was videotaped taking a bag with $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents, after suggesting he could help with government contracts. Sounds like a bribe. Two weeks ago, DOJ officials reportedly shut down the bribery investigation into Mr. Homan. Ms. Bondi, did you approve closing the Homan investigation, bribery investigation?

Speaker 1 (02:21:08):

Just get rid of that.

Pamela Bondi (02:21:12):

Senator Hirono, as I stated earlier, the Department of Justice and the FBI conducted a thorough review and they found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing. You were also on video outside the White House protesting with a group called CASA where ANTIFA members were. Does that mean you're a member of ANTIFA?

Mazie Hirono (02:21:40):

I simply asked the question as to whether or not you approve the shutting down of the investigation of Mr. Homan. I have to assume that you did because the FBI reports to you, but the American people would look at the situation where this person is taking a $50,000 in cash, no less, and that you testify today that a thorough investigation was done. Now I have to assume, I conclude that since no wrongdoing was determined, that in answer to Senator Whitehouse's question, he kept the money. He kept the money and I hope that he put that on his tax returns as income.

(02:22:24)
Next question. Over 1,200 rioters were convicted of charges related to January 6th. President Trump has since pardoned nearly all of them. As if that weren't enough, last month, there were reports that a lawyer for the January 6th rioters met with senior DOJ officials about setting up a compensation fund. A compensation fund like the one that Congress set up after 9/11 to compensate these rioters. Miss Bondi, is anyone at DOJ considering setting up a compensation fund for January 6th rioters? Yes or no?

Pamela Bondi (02:23:08):

Senator, I have had no meetings or discussions about a fund.

Mazie Hirono (02:23:13):

So, would you support such a fund? Would you okay, such a fund?

Pamela Bondi (02:23:18):

Senator, you can send me the information on the fund and I'd be happy to look at it.

Mazie Hirono (02:23:22):

No, but do you think that's a good idea to… This is what I'm getting at, because to actually set up a fund and to have people talking with your senior people at DOJ political people about creating a fund, and you won't let us know what you think about that. That's pretty unbelievable.

(02:23:41)
On January 30th of this year, the Trump DOJ's Antitrust Division sued to block the merger of two tech companies. Then, well-connected lobbyists met with your political deputies who overruled the career staff and approved the merger. So, there's a settlement on that. And separately, the DOJ sued Ticketmaster last year for monopolizing concert tickets and forcing consumers to pay outrageous fees. Ticketmaster has hired the exact same lobbyists who met with senior DOJ political people regarding the merger of the two tech companies. So my question is, Miss Bondi, have lobbyists met with your political deputies about the Ticketmaster case?

Pamela Bondi (02:24:37):

Senator Hirono, as I stated earlier, I am not going to discuss anything that is ongoing. Gail Slater runs the Antitrust Office, and Gail Slater-

Mazie Hirono (02:24:49):

[inaudible 02:24:50].

Pamela Bondi (02:24:50):

If I can finish, Gail Slater is doing an incredible job running my antitrust unit.

Mazie Hirono (02:24:55):

It's highly likely, Miss. Bondi, that the same lobbyists who met with your people basically got rid of the antitrust case.

Pamela Bondi (02:25:04):

Senator, I don't think a lot of people liked that you were out protesting with ANTIFA.

Mazie Hirono (02:25:08):

I would say that they're probably meeting with you right now.

(02:25:09)
Next question. You have fired dozens of career prosecutors because they worked on cases involving President Trump or January 6th rioters. For example, one career federal prosecutor who secured over 100 convictions in Florida. He also spent time in DC prosecuting January 6th cases. He received an outstanding review only two days before you signed a memo firing him. The memo cited no reason for his firing. Are you firing career prosecutors solely because they worked on cases like January 6th that the president doesn't like?

Pamela Bondi (02:25:55):

Senator Hirono, I am not going to talk about personnel matters with you.

Mazie Hirono (02:26:00):

Yes or no? Well, we all know that hundreds of career prosecutors have left the DOJ, and literally hundreds were told, and you've lost. The DOJ has lost-

Pamela Bondi (02:26:11):

Yeah, Senator, are you familiar with the one that threw a sandwich at an ICE officer? A Homeland Security officer?

Mazie Hirono (02:26:18):

Here is the reason-

Pamela Bondi (02:26:18):

Are you familiar with the one who went out on her lunch break and was making obscene gestures?

Mazie Hirono (02:26:23):

Miss Bondi, would you say that DOJ losing these career prosecutors and the thousands of hours of experience they have prosecuting criminals, that is not a reassuring situation.

Pamela Bondi (02:26:36):

Senator, many employees took the fork in the road and resigned. DOJ is hiring committed prosecutors who will actually come into the office and work and not work remotely-

Mazie Hirono (02:26:47):

I think we all know that-

Pamela Bondi (02:26:47):

… and prosecute violent criminals around the country and terrorists. And I'm very proud-

Mazie Hirono (02:26:53):

When you fire-

Pamela Bondi (02:26:54):

… of the work all of our law, all of our prosecutors are doing.

Mazie Hirono (02:26:56):

… [inaudible 02:26:57] prosecutors. I'm running out of time, so I think you should stop with your continuous interruptions, in my opinion.

(02:27:04)
Mr. Chairman, I just want to close by saying that what was once the Department of Justice has become the Department of Revenge and Corruption. Rather than pursuing cases without fear or favor, this DOJ seeks to favor the president's friends and instill fear in his alleged enemies. If you're a friend of the president, this corrupt DOJ will bend over backwards to help you. Just like it dropped the bribery investigation of Tom Homan, like it's considering paying money to January 6th rioters, and like it has put antitrust enforcement decisions in the hands of well-connected lobbyists. But if you're on the wrong side of this president, you will face the wrath of DOJ no matter what the facts, law, or justice support. James Comey is indicted days after the president social media directive. Experienced career prosecutors are fired just because they were assigned to work on January 6th cases. Blue states are sued to get highly sensitive private voter data, whereas red states are left alone. The double standard is clear, and the American people are waking up to the corruption and favoritism and the lawlessness of the DOJ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Pamela Bondi (02:28:24):

May I respond, Chairman?

Chuck Grassley (02:28:25):

Yes.

Speaker 1 (02:28:25):

I just have a question.

Pamela Bondi (02:28:26):

Yes, may I respond?

Chuck Grassley (02:28:28):

Yes, you may respond, then Senator Kennedy.

Pamela Bondi (02:28:31):

Thank you. The double standard is crystal clear, Senator Hirono. Crystal clear, because you didn't complain for four years when President Trump was being targeted by Jack Smith by the last Justice Department, but the Americans, people spoke loud and clear when they overwhelmingly elected him. The two-tier system of justice is over.

Chuck Grassley (02:28:53):

Senator Kennedy.

Sen. Kennedy (02:28:55):

Me?

Chuck Grassley (02:28:56):

Yes.

Sen. Kennedy (02:29:01):

General, welcome. Let's suppose that I'm appointed special counsel at the Department of Justice and I go to the telecommunication companies, the phone companies, let's single out AT&T. And I say, "Look, I know you're busy, but I want to see a copy of the phone records of the sitting United States Senator." They're not going to just give them to me, are they?

Pamela Bondi (02:29:39):

No, Senator, of course not.

Sen. Kennedy (02:29:40):

In fact, they're probably going to ask me what planet I just parachuted in from, aren't they?

Pamela Bondi (02:29:47):

Yes, Senator.

Sen. Kennedy (02:29:48):

They're going to tell me to come back with a subpoena, aren't they?

Pamela Bondi (02:29:51):

Yes, Senator.

Sen. Kennedy (02:29:52):

Okay. What do I have to show in that subpoena to get those phone records of a sitting? Did I mention it was a sitting United States senator? I can't remember. What do I have to show to get the phone records of a sitting United States Senator?

Pamela Bondi (02:30:10):

Yeah, Senator, there were actually eight sitting United States, Senator.

Sen. Kennedy (02:30:14):

Yeah, I heard that.

Pamela Bondi (02:30:15):

And you would have to have cause.

Sen. Kennedy (02:30:16):

I'm sorry, what do I have to show?

Pamela Bondi (02:30:18):

You would have to have cause to get this subpoena.

Sen. Kennedy (02:30:20):

Good cause or probable cause?

Pamela Bondi (02:30:22):

Probable cause.

Sen. Kennedy (02:30:25):

Okay. And probable cause, or if it's a subpoena duces tecum, a good cause, to show what?

Pamela Bondi (02:30:40):

You would need good cause for a subpoena duces tecum, and what you would have to show is that you believed a crime had been committed or that there was a possibility of a crime or that could lead to other crimes.

Sen. Kennedy (02:30:49):

[inaudible 02:30:51].

Pamela Bondi (02:30:50):

We frequently in criminal enterprises, subpoena cell phones.

Sen. Kennedy (02:30:54):

By the sitting United States Senator?

Pamela Bondi (02:30:58):

Senator, they would have to have believed you were part of a criminal conspiracy, is my understanding.

Sen. Kennedy (02:31:05):

Would a judge have to sign off on it, on the subpoena?

Pamela Bondi (02:31:11):

Yes, Senator. Well, for a subpoena duces tecum, Jack Smith probably took it straight to the judge.

Sen. Kennedy (02:31:20):

Now, the phone companies, particularly their general counsel, if they're worried about civil liability, even with a subpoena to get the phone records of a sitting United States Senator, did I mention it was a sitting United States Senator?

Pamela Bondi (02:31:41):

Yes, Senator.

Sen. Kennedy (02:31:42):

The general counsel for that phone company, let's say AT&T, they have the right to seek to quash that subpoena, don't they?

Pamela Bondi (02:31:54):

Phone companies frequently do that.

Sen. Kennedy (02:31:57):

Yeah, and a smart general counsel for that phone company is going to call the sitting United States Senator and say, "Would you like to weigh in on this? Would you like me to quash the subpoena?" We're talking about invading someone's privacy here, by a sitting-

Cory Booker (02:32:20):

Literally, over 1,000 people being taken off of things that I think would concern the public putting there. I'd like to get that, but I also just want to quickly mention that for the record, I want to ask about the public corruption unit as well. We now have gone from a public corrupt integrity section that went from 36 full-time prosecutors, to now only two. And yet, we know Democrats and Republicans, there is a real problem with public corruption in our country. And we know that the DOJ has stopped enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, dismissed the indictment against a Trump donor, Andrew Weidenhorn, cut back on white collar investigations. My list goes on. I'm running out of time, but I will ask for the record against not only reassigning officers and prosecutorial resources from the other things I mentioned, but public corruption is really important.

(02:33:15)
I want to talk about an area of bipartisanship on this committee, which is antitrust. This is a very bipartisan area. In June, the Antitrust division finalized a proposed consent decree with Hewlett Packard Enterprises and Juniper Network, settling the DOJ's challenge to the company's $14 billion merger. Reportedly, your Chief of Staff, Chad Maisel and acting Deputy Attorney General Woodard overruled career antitrust staff and approved the merger. This is a massive area of concern for Americans writ large. This is an area where corporate power is growing, corporate concentration in our country is happening at great degree. I'm grateful that the Ranking Member with Mike Lee, on a committee that is really trying to get into this disturbing trend. And the issues right now in the Justice Department, the resources being put on it, and the appearance of improprieties that we're seeing are troubling.

(02:34:12)
All I want to ask is my final question is, would you commit just to talk about antitrust to coming before the antitrust subcommittee led by Senator Lee to discuss antitrust enforcement in our country?

Pamela Bondi (02:34:25):

We're over time. May I answer, Chairman?

Chuck Grassley (02:34:27):

Yes.

Pamela Bondi (02:34:29):

Senator Booker, I work hand in hand with Gail Slater. She's doing an incredible job, I said that earlier. I will let Gail Slater handle all matters with antitrust. The HP matter, Juniper, is a pending matter still because as you know, it has to go before the courts even after a decision has been made, and that's where it's pending right now.

(02:34:48)
If I can go back to your previous two questions, first about our agents being reassigned. Our agents are working tirelessly on their day jobs and with

Pamela Bondi (02:35:00):

… the Homeland Security. And right now they're not getting paid and they're on the streets during a government shutdown working to keep every city in this country safe in New Jersey and in every state. They're working together with DHS on task forces, but they're also doing their core mission and they're getting child predators off the street. They are working so hard with all the agencies hand in hand. That has not been sacrificed. And I'm so proud of the work that the FBI, DEA, ATF are doing. ATF agents have worked tirelessly. I'm in constant contact with them on the incredible cases that they're making to keep our country safe and our world safe, especially our DEA agents who are stationed around this world and now they're not getting paid.

(02:35:45)
Back to the public integrity section, the last point you made, it has not been slashed. Those are going to the various US attorney offices to be handled in each office around the country instead of one unit based in DC. Thank you, Senator.

Chuck Grassley (02:36:01):

Before Blackburn, my Democrat colleagues continue to criticize the DOJ for their role in President Trump's historic immigration crackdown, they've talked about due process, they've talked about the lack of transparency and oversight. However, my democratic colleagues were silent about the former Biden administration failure to vet Afghan evacuees. Instead of coming clean, the Biden administration dismissed and failed to answer my oversight request. Not a peep from my colleagues about these massive vetting failures. The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General confirmed these vetting failures. Senator Blackburn.

Marsha Blackburn (02:36:44):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And AG Bondi, thank you for your time before us today. I have found this hearing to be so instructive because it has pointed out to me the lack of caring from my colleagues across the dais when it comes to how the DOJ under Biden was weaponized, how they used this for political attack on their political opponents and the smugness from some of my colleagues across the dais.

(02:37:26)
I think they enjoyed it. I think they wanted it to continue. And I think that's why they oppose some of the reforms that you are making to actually get people out across the country and to get them working and to have people that are actually finding out what the FBI and the DOJ did.

(02:37:55)
You look at what happened with Crossfire Hurricane and the way some Democrats tried to blow that up and make it some big issue and all about Donald Trump and the accusations. And of course, they've been proven wrong. You look at what has happened, what we're finding out about Arctic Frost and the way we were surveilled, and the way Senator Graham, Senator Hawley and I, what we don't know what all they got. We don't know who all they tracked. But to tap our phones, to pull that data for these wireless companies, to have allowed them to have that, and for them to use it in their investigations, how disgusting is that?

(02:38:54)
And their attitude and lack of concern about the weaponization of the DOJ. I've had a couple of colleagues who have been so concerned about some bureaucrats at the DOJ and the FBI being fired. You know what? If they did wrong, not only fire them, prosecute them. And my hope is that as we look at what happened with Arctic Frost, that there will be a special counsel, that we will do our due diligence, and that those who did this wrong, this illegal activity, absolutely they need to be prosecuted and they need to face the full extent of accountability within the law.

(02:39:44)
I've also, I made a note of how resistant they are to reform. And in my opinion, what this shows is that they don't want one tier of justice. What they want is two tiers of justice. It was their play box. They could get in there and manipulate and use it to spy on us. So they saw this as something that furthered their political goal. So I am pleased that you are cleaning house. And those who have not served the American people well, fire them. They need to be gone. They need to be gone. Talk for a moment, just a moment about what you're doing to end the weaponization.

Pamela Bondi (02:40:43):

Senator Blackburn, the weaponization against you and your colleagues should greatly concern all of us. It should concern Democrats, it should concern Republicans. Yet we don't see that. There was a two-tier system of justice under the Biden administration. We're learning that every day. We saw Jack Smith weaponize the Justice Department against Donald Trump. We saw the Biden administration weaponize the entire Justice Department, all of the law enforcement agencies against Donald Trump, against his family members, against his friends for years and years. And that weaponization is over. No one is above the law and there is a one-tier system of justice in this Justice Department-

Marsha Blackburn (02:41:37):

And we appreciate that-

Pamela Bondi (02:41:38):

… and that's what we will continue to do.

Marsha Blackburn (02:41:39):

We appreciate that. And having vice-chaired the president's transition in 2016, as you remember, there was surveillance that took place on the transition and on the transition team. So this is not the first time. It's the second time. And shame be to those that have furthered those lies and what James Comey did to this country, what Christopher Wray allowed to happen to this country.

(02:42:08)
I want to talk to you about Memphis, the Memphis Safe Task Force. You, President Trump, Director Patel, the work you're doing there is really quite amazing. I had pulled those latest stats and we had 503 arrests with the FBI task force in July and August. We've added with your Memphis Safe Task Force just last week, 321 arrests, 83 firearms that were seized, seven missing children that were recovered, 28 non-gang members have been arrested and the list continues to grow. We've also gotten over 120 federal indictments. But this is really quite a success story and I think that cities like Portland and Chicago are missing out by not having this coordinated focused effort and the fact that there are 13 federal and state agencies working together to make Memphis safe again. And we are very grateful about that.

(02:43:27)
One of the things that we are working on is to end a cashless bail. We have a very liberal DA in Memphis that has campaigned on avoiding cash bail. And we had a good hearing on this last week and we have legislation, representative Stefanik and I have legislation that would end cash bail in cashless bail in DC and then also would remove funds from jurisdictions that practice cashless bail.

(02:44:11)
Touch on that and the importance of having cash bail for that accountability, keeping those criminals off the streets.

Pamela Bondi (02:44:22):

Yeah. Senator Blackburn, first to Memphis. I was in Memphis as you know a few days ago with Secretary Hegseth, and we had about 1100 officers from at least 13 agencies working hand in hand. Your Memphis police officers care. They want to be out there doing their jobs. And what we said is we have federal law enforcement officers now who have their backs. They were thrilled to have us there. The mayor, Paul Young is working well with us. Of course, governor Lee was there. You have been a champion of this. Senator Haggerty has been a champion of this. You both. Before I was sworn in as Attorney General, you both brought this problem to my attention. You talked to Director Patel. And Director Patel was on the ground right away in Memphis attempting to make Memphis safe. But we knew we needed so much more than that. He put a huge dent in the problem.

(02:45:18)
But Memphis' crime is through the roof, the highest violent crime rate in the entire country. And that's why we went to Memphis. And Memphis has welcomed us. It's an iconic city, and we want to continue to work with Memphis and we're going to do that just like we did here in DC. The citizens have been great working with us.

(02:45:38)
Violent crime shouldn't be occurring in any of these cities. And as you said, I don't understand why Chicago, why Portland, why these sanctuary jurisdictions don't want to work with the federal government. Gangs are rampant, transnational gangs are rampant in these cities because they're harboring them. No longer under Donald Trump. Whether they want to or not, we are going to come in and make it safe for their citizens, whether these liberal lawmakers want to or not.

(02:46:09)
And you know what I said regarding the DA in Memphis? I said, "We're going to protect the Memphis police officers. We're going to take every single case federally that we can." Because the DA has cashless bail. It's a revolving door and no one is being held accountable. Police officers are seeing someone arrested and they're back out on the streets the next night committing crimes. And Janine Pirro is working on that here in DC to change that as well. So thank you for your legislation.

Marsha Blackburn (02:46:34):

Well, we appreciate that and the Memphis Mayor is doing great. We had a Shelby County official who was trying to dox some of these officers. And she's since taken this tweet down, but she's an elected official and she goes: "Attention, on Peabody between McLean and Cooper four Fed vehicles and a trooper, men in full gear and guns on street. #payattentionfolks." This is the kind of action that is not called for. I mean, the fact that an elected official would do this, this is why we have legislation that would make it a crime to dox any federal law enforcement official when they are doing their job. And these apps and Apple and Google say that they've removed these apps. But I tell you what, these law enforcement officers need to be protected. We appreciate that you are doing that. Thank you for being here.

Pamela Bondi (02:47:42):

Thank you, senator.

Chuck Grassley (02:47:56):

Evidence that the Obama-Biden State Department obstructed law enforcement efforts to arrest high-level Iranian targets. This objection led by then Secretary John Kerry was done because of political consideration of the failed Iran nuclear deals. Senator Padilla.

Alex Padilla (02:48:19):

Well thank you, Mr. Chairman. Appreciate the opportunity to participate in this hearing today, which is our at minimum annual opportunity to ask questions as we fulfill our obligation to provide accountability over the Department of Justice.

(02:48:38)
So just sort of to level set a little bit for folks in the audience and for folks watching at home, the Department of Justice is supposed to be the nation's guardian of fairness and the rule of law. The power of the Department of Justice is built on public trust and a belief that prosecutions are based on facts and law, not on politics or personal loyalty. And I call that out, Mr. Chairman, because when that breaks down, when the public trust breaks down, then justice itself is at risk.

(02:49:18)
But under this Trump administration and the leadership of Attorney General Bondi, I believe the independence of the Department of Justice has come under attack. The department has been reorganized, it's been realigned and repurposed in ways that we've never seen before. Important offices have been closed, key programs dismantled and agents diverted, all without congressional authorization or transparent justification.

(02:49:52)
Now these are not minor bureaucratic changes. They represent a fundamental shift in the Department of Justice's missions and priorities, its policies and its practices. And for example, career prosecutors have been pressured to change decisions in politically sensitive cases. Ethics oversight has been taken away from independent career professionals and handed to political appointees with little experience in these matters. Internal working groups have been created to revisit investigations involving President Trump and his allies. And together these steps send a dangerous message that prosecutorial decisions can be driven by political loyalty instead of the law.

(02:50:43)
Now, even more troubling is that the Department of Justice has pulled resources away from organized crime, away from counterterrorism, away from the protection of civil rights to focus on immigration enforcement. The American people expect a Department of Justice to pursue violent crime, as do I, to pursue corruption and threats to national security, not to serve as an arm of immigration policy and in so doing under-resource other critical missions.

(02:51:20)
Now the Justice Department's credibility depends on the public's faith in justice and that the justice will be applied equally to every person and not reserved for the powerful or the connected, and that faith must be protected. And so it's in that spirit that this committee has a duty to ensure that the department's work remains lawful, remains transparent and remains true to its highest duty, the fair and impartial administration of justice.

(02:51:50)
Now that being said, I do want to get into some specific items with Attorney General Bondi here, beginning with the firing of Michele Beckwith.

(02:51:59)
Michele Beckwith was a 15-year career prosecutor with the Department of Justice. She prosecuted in her career some of the worst of the worst in my home state of California, sex traffickers, transnational terrorists, those who this administration claims to care about and be targeting, prioritizing in taking them off the streets. And it may surprise some to learn that Ms. Beckwith was unceremoniously marched out of her office and fired from her job in July of this year. Why? Not because she failed to do her job. Quite the opposite. It was because she had the audacity to remind Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino that he was obligated to follow a court order and the Constitution in California.

(02:52:54)
According to reports, she was fired less than six hours after she told Bovino he couldn't arrest people without probable cause. Six hours. So my first question, Attorney General Bondi is a simple yes/no question. Do you believe that government officials like Gregory Bovino are obligated to follow applicable court orders whether they agree with them or not, yes or no?

Pamela Bondi (02:53:21):

First, Senator Padilla, you have gone on for over five minutes and I wish that you loved your state of California as much as you hate President Trump would be in really good shape then because violent crime in California is currently 35% higher than the national average. Property crime in California is 18% higher than the national average. That should be something that we should be talking about and working together on. Yet we are not.

(02:53:48)
No, this is important. You're talking about all of my agencies, and I want to let you know what DEA has been doing and they are working hand in hand-

Alex Padilla (02:53:56):

I appreciate that. And I'm going to ask you some questions for the record as well-

Pamela Bondi (02:53:58):

No, you can't go on for five minutes and criticize my agents who are out working-

Alex Padilla (02:54:02):

I asked a simple yes or no question-

Pamela Bondi (02:54:03):

… without pay right now because you voted-

Alex Padilla (02:54:06):

Mr. Chairman-

Pamela Bondi (02:54:06):

… to shut down the government. They're out there working without pay.

Alex Padilla (02:54:09):

Mr. Chairman, I asked a simple yes or no question to Attorney General Bondi. She's refusing to respond-

Pamela Bondi (02:54:15):

DEA 4,500 kilos of Fentanyl-

Alex Padilla (02:54:15):

Let me move to the next topic-

Pamela Bondi (02:54:16):

… 50 million Fentanyl pills-

Alex Padilla (02:54:18):

… because while-

Pamela Bondi (02:54:18):

… off the streets-

Alex Padilla (02:54:19):

… under your watch, prosecutors-

Pamela Bondi (02:54:20):

… FBI 23,000 violent criminals-

Alex Padilla (02:54:22):

… Mr. Chairman-

Pamela Bondi (02:54:23):

… US Marshals 51,000 fugitives.

Alex Padilla (02:54:27):

Mr. Chairman, order please. I'm trying to get … I'm not getting an answer to my question. I'm trying to move on to the next question or the next topic. Mr. Chairman, order please. Thank you, because under Attorney General Bondi's watch career prosecutors are being fired for telling agencies to follow the law and uphold the Constitution.

(02:54:46)
Meanwhile, there are instances of allies of the President who seem to be getting let off the hook. I won't reiterate what some of my colleagues have already brought up in terms of the dismissal of the investigation into Tom Homan and his alleged acceptance of $50,000, his payment by undercover FBI agents posing as business executives looking to secure contracts with a future Trump administration. Because if the reports are true, it's not just the underlying conduct of Mr. Homan which would be absolutely unacceptable, but the dismissal of the investigation charges raises concerns about the influence of the White House on the Department of Justice. Again, a simple question and I'd appreciate a simple and brief answer. Whose decision was it to end this investigation?

Pamela Bondi (02:55:40):

I have answered that question multiple times, yet you didn't have the courtesy to be sitting in here for the hearing. I'm not going to answer it again. And I find it interesting that you want order in this proceeding. No, excuse me, senator. You want order this proceeding now-

Alex Padilla (02:55:52):

Mr Chairman, order please-

Pamela Bondi (02:55:54):

You sure didn't have order when you stormed Secretary Gnome at a press conference in California, did you?

Alex Padilla (02:56:01):

I'll ask a follow-up question. Would you commit to either releasing the tape or at least making it available for members of this committee to review, yes or no?

Pamela Bondi (02:56:12):

Senator, you have not been sitting in here this entire hearing. I've answered the question-

Alex Padilla (02:56:20):

Have not answered a question about whether or not you will release the tapes, Ms. Bondi.

Pamela Bondi (02:56:21):

And I also want to tell you that our ATF agents have seized 25,000 illegal firearms-

Alex Padilla (02:56:29):

So we will try again and move on to a different topic-

Pamela Bondi (02:56:29):

… in your home state, we are prosecuting illegal aliens-

Alex Padilla (02:56:32):

Mr. Chairman, order please-

Pamela Bondi (02:56:33):

… who have raped and murdered young girls.

Alex Padilla (02:56:34):

Mr. Chairman, order please. Thank you.

(02:56:38)
While I haven't been in this hearing, I've been watching from my office monitoring the entire hearing just so everybody is aware, but since I'm not getting answers to my questions, I'll try to ask one last subject area.

(02:56:51)
Now again, there's been increasing concerns about the politicized decision making and the erosion of internal safeguards to protect prosecutorial independence. Before we even get into the integrity and independence of prosecutions, you have to ask the question about the independence and integrity of investigations themselves. The director of the FBI, Director Patel was here before us just a few weeks ago.

(02:57:26)
Attorney General Bondi, you are the Attorney General of the United States. Director Patel reports to you. Do you believe he's doing a good job, yes or no?

Pamela Bondi (02:57:36):

I believe Director Patel is doing a great job. You know where he is right now, Senator Padilla?

Alex Padilla (02:57:41):

I've heard-

Pamela Bondi (02:57:42):

No, you asked me a question-

Alex Padilla (02:57:43):

Yes. I know where he is and I know where he's standing because you said it earlier in the hearing.

Pamela Bondi (02:57:46):

Mr. Patel right now is in Chicago with Senator Durbin fighting to keep Chicago safe.

Alex Padilla (02:57:49):

You've said it earlier in the hearing, and yes, I have been paying attention.

Pamela Bondi (02:57:51):

You know, you want order in here now, yet you stormed the director of Homeland Security, Christy Noem. You sure didn't have order that day, did you, senator?

Alex Padilla (02:57:59):

Attorney General, you are under oath. I did not storm the secretary. The video makes that very clear.

Pamela Bondi (02:58:04):

Oh, that was on video. That video has been released I believe very publicly.

Alex Padilla (02:58:07):

Mr. Chairman, recent actions raise serious concerns about Director Patel's judgment and politicization, including lawsuits from former FBI officials alleging retaliatory firings and his decision to cut off long-standing partnerships with civil rights organizations and his decision to fire an FBI agent for refusing to engage in a "perp walk" of James Comey. Then, on top of all that, his prematurely claiming that subjects were in custody after the shooting of Charlie Kirk. I take Attorney General Bondi's endorsement today of his work as her support for those actions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Pamela Bondi (02:58:47):

May I respond senator … chairman?

Chuck Grassley (02:58:49):

Yes.

Pamela Bondi (02:58:51):

Under Director Patel, 23,000 violent criminals have been arrested, a 91% increase over last year. More than 1500 child predators have been arrested. We are making cases in your jurisdiction constantly in California and I wish you would care about those cases. We have disrupted 1600 gangs and criminal enterprises, 1600 gangs within this country, thanks to Director Patel and the great men and women of the FBI.

Chuck Grassley (02:59:26):

Senator Schmitt.

Eric Schmitt (02:59:28):

Thank you Mr. Chairman. How are you today Attorney General? It's good to see you.

Pamela Bondi (02:59:33):

I have a rough voice.

Eric Schmitt (02:59:35):

I have to say I am struck by the degree of the cognitive dissonance that I hear on the other side. It really is. I mean, I'm used to sort of the political debates and arguing in court and all those sorts of things. But to hear the other side of the dais talk about weaponization is truly shocking given what we know now. And I thought what I might do is just tell a story. And these are 100% facts.

(03:00:07)
Hillary Clinton concerned about her email scandal works with a Soros organization to cook up this Russiagate nonsense. They feed it to the intelligence agencies and they spy under Barack Obama's presidency, they spy on the political opponent, the Republican running against Hillary Clinton. He gets elected. They continue the operation and they wander this intelligence into stuff that was meant to by the FBI and the CIA to sideline a presidency of a duly elected President of the United States of America to sideline them.

(03:00:44)
And that continued, you heard even some people on this committee further that nonsense for four years. And then the FBI is involved with pre-bunking the Hunter Biden laptop story because they didn't want him to get elected again. So they pre- bunked the Hunter Biden laptop story. The America people should have been allowed to make their own judgments from that. They weren't because the FBI called it a Russian hack and leak operation. They were meeting with social media companies every month and every week telling them that the laptop that they knew that they had verified in November of 2019, they knew it was real and knew it was his, said it was Russian disinformation. We've heard that before.

(03:01:24)
And then after Joe Biden comes in, three days in, they start a censorship campaign against the country, anybody who's a conservative. And now we also know that the FBI was weaponized in this Arctic Frost investigation that tapped the phones of sitting US senators and also the Republican Attorney's General association. So let's pull in two more US senators, Ashley Moody and myself who were on the executive committee at that time, Charlie Kirk, political organizations they didn't agree with. This is not in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. This is in the United States of America in the last few years. And then, when they thought President Trump was on the run and there's no way people would elect him and then he announces he's running for president, three days later, Jack Smith's appointed to get Trump. Fannie Willis brings charges against President Trump and the assistant prosecutor meets with the White House Counsel's Office. Why would that happen?

(03:02:23)
Then you have Alvin Bragg bring his charges. The number three person at DOJ goes to work for him to get Trump. All in the United States of America. This continued. And Senator Hawley asked the question, wrote it down, "What is happening in this country?" And I hope that that MSNBC is still broadcasting this because I'm sure their viewership hasn't heard this story that's gone on for 10 years.

(03:02:50)
The truth is they never forgave President Trump for coming down the escalator at all. They didn't like him. They didn't like the disruption. And they've spent the better part of a decade, not just going after him, but demonizing half the country as fascists and Nazis and threats to democracy. And they have fueled this division in their inability to accept the fact that half of the country isn't deplorables as Hillary Clinton called them, bitter clingers as Barack Obama called them, or trash as Joe Biden called them, that they rose up and they sat in their own jury box that they saw all this stuff play out over a decade and they rejected it. And now you have come in to clean that up and you were doing a great job in doing that.

(03:03:40)
Let me make this clear. There is a big difference between what happened under the Biden regime and the weaponization and then holding those people accountable. That is not weaponization. If that doesn't happen, this'll happen all over again. So your job, as you talked about in your confirmation hearing is so important that this never happens again. And holding people of account who are part of this conspiracy is absolutely your job. And I'm also taking, you don't have to comment on this, your unwillingness to answer questions that have come up. I am led to believe as a former attorney in general that that might mean there's an ongoing investigation. You don't have to talk about it. The statute of limitations may have run on some of this stuff, but not on a conspiracy. And if you're a co-conspirator in mile marker one, even if you want to get on the exit ramp in mile marker five, you are liable for the conspiracy in mile marker 10. And we are at mile marker 10.

(03:04:40)
And I'll also say, what's happening in this country, what's happening with the assault on ICE officers is truly shocking. Deportations are nothing new. Bill Clinton deported 12 million people, 12 million people. You didn't see this. The radicalization that's happened on the left, that plays out with political violence is real. And by the way, let me also point out that if we had a scenario where John Thune was on the Supreme Court steps saying you've reaped a whirlwind Supreme Court justices and then a right-wing assassin tried to kill Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and then a Republican-appointed judge only gave that person eight years, there will be riots on the streets. Cities would be burning right now.

(03:05:27)
So let's just call it out. We need the cleansing here. Let's just be truthful about what's happening. This left-wing political alliance of violence is not a both-sides thing. It's not.

(03:05:38)
And so Attorney General, I do want to ask you a couple questions about that because I feel like we have got to get a handle on this. Despite the overwhelming evidence that the political violence threat right now comes primarily from the left, the media just won't do it. They won't go along with it. They cite a few ridiculous studies to say that right-wing political violence is the main problem.

Eric Schmitt (03:06:00):

For example, one of those studies was written by an Antifa-affiliated professor and the others count classes on prison gang violence as right-wing political violence but refuse to count anything from the 2020 Summer of Love Antifa attacks, like the ones that set off the explosive outside Michael Knoll's campus speech.

(03:06:28)
We need good data. We need good data here. Will you commit to having the Department of Justice and the FBI research and release a public report on left-wing political violence?

Pamela Bondi (03:06:41):

Yes, Senator Schmitt.

Eric Schmitt (03:06:42):

Thank you. I also want to, after Antifa has laid siege on federal buildings and officers in Portland during the 2020 riots, your predecessor, Merrick Garland, dropped virtually all the cases against these defendants.

(03:06:59)
You recently issued a new charging memo instructing federal prosecutors to aggressively pursue Antifa and other radical leftists wreaking havoc on our cities. What can you do to ensure that the various US attorney's offices follow through on your instructions?

Pamela Bondi (03:07:19):

Hopefully we will have our US attorneys confirmed soon. They've been held up. Now our government is in a shutdown, yet our prosecutors are still working. Getting all of our US attorneys confirmed would be a huge step forward, Senator Schmitt. But yes, our attorneys throughout this country will be focusing on that.

Eric Schmitt (03:07:36):

And I want to thank you too. So I talked to you during your confirmation hearing and also with Kash Patel of you've talked about your two pillars, which is to end the weaponization and to get back to actually crime fighting. God bless. That is something that the American people support despite what you hear from the other side of the dais today.

(03:07:56)
And in those conversations we talked about you and Kash Patel getting field agents out in the field and doing the work of law enforcement. I said, "I've got just the place for you, St. Louis." And St. Louis has now received the largest per capita infusion of permanent FBI agents anywhere in the country, and they're working hand in hand with local law enforcement.

(03:08:14)
That's what happens when you have state leaders work with federal partners to crack down on something I hope we could all agree is a scourge for our communities, which is violent crime. But that is not…

(03:08:25)
JB Pritzker, I guess he wants his moment. These Portland people want their moment of defying Trump. It's crazy to me. We should all be unified in this effort of making sure our laws are enforced and taking on violent crime.

(03:08:42)
But I will say in closing with this, because you reference the shutdown, it's the same motivation. The same thing that motivates JB Pritzker to stand in front of the podium and defy Trump is the same motivation I hear from my Democrat colleagues now in this shutdown.

(03:08:58)
It's not about anything other than the fact, and this is a clean CR, this is what they have lectured us on making sure we do 13 times in the last four years. This is about appeasing an increasingly radical base to prove that they're willing to stand up to President Trump.

(03:09:17)
And I don't know how we get through all this unless there's a real reckoning on the other side about that reality, but in the meantime, I'm glad you're doing what your job is, which is to be the chief law enforcement officer of this country focusing on violent crime and keeping our communities safe.

Speaker 2 (03:09:34):

Thank you.

Pamela Bondi (03:09:34):

Thank you, Senator Schmitt. And despite what they're saying on the other side of the aisle, our agents are out there working tirelessly every day to make America safe. And that was Donald Trump's directive, and we will make it happen.

Speaker 2 (03:09:49):

Thank you, Senator Schmitt. Senator Welch.

Senator Coons (03:09:52):

Thank you. Thank you, Attorney General Bondi. I have noticed that at various times when one of my colleagues is pressing you, you come up with something in their background, so I'll be waiting for my turn, but you don't have to do it right now. So let me get to my questions.

(03:10:12)
One of the things that you mentioned, and I agree with this, that it's really tough on the various federal workforce, including our law enforcement folks, who are not getting paid because of the shutdown. I agree with that. But I also think that wasn't the whole story.

(03:10:30)
There is an issue here that's going to affect Americans, whether they voted for President Trump or voted for Vice President Harris, and that is the loss of healthcare where on November 1st everyone who was getting Affordable Care Act help to buy insurance is going to get the notice of premium increases.

(03:10:52)
And I got a letter just today from a Vermont family, nuclear family of five, husband and wife, 54 and 55, with three kids, one of whom has acute myeloid leukemia. And the apprehension that they have is that if we don't solve this problem, and November 1 is a urgent date, then their family premiums will triple, it'll be beyond their ability to pay.

(03:11:25)
So I'm assuming that with respect to the threat to healthcare for families in your state of Florida, in my state of Vermont, you would share that concern and hope that we would resolve that.

Pamela Bondi (03:11:40):

Senator Welch, I would be happy to speak with that family too because there are many non-profits that help with children with terminal illnesses and I'm involved in some in Florida, so we would be happy to talk to you about that.

Senator Coons (03:11:54):

So-

Pamela Bondi (03:11:54):

As to healthcare, the government is shut down. It's my understanding, maybe you're not one of them, but because many Democrats want healthcare for illegal aliens, and that's what shut down the government.

Senator Coons (03:12:05):

Let me be clear-

Pamela Bondi (03:12:06):

That's one of the sticking points. And I don't know if you voted for that or not.

Senator Coons (03:12:08):

All right, well, this actually is important to all of us. And the lament I have is that if this healthcare goes away, this premium support, it is really going to hurt families in red states and blue states.

(03:12:25)
And in Vermont, I mean, we voted Democratic, but we have a lot of good folks who voted for President Trump and their healthcare is jeopardized. And there's a November 1 deadline that is coming up.

(03:12:37)
And the reason I'm saying this is that I think it's important for us to try to work out together a resolution that's going to be beneficial to people you care about in Florida and voted for President Trump, and people I care about in Vermont who voted in some cases for Vice President Harris and some for President Trump.

(03:12:57)
So it's not just Democrats not wanting to negotiate, and in fact we do want to negotiate. And that's why I'd encourage the president to encourage my colleagues on the Republican side to sit down with us and try to see if we can make some progress.

(03:13:15)
Another topic. With the respective voting rights and the letter that your voting rights chief sent out, we got one in Vermont, and it's a demand to get all the information on the voting file. And in that letter, or in the announcement of that letter, the chief indicated an apprehension about the voting process being taken over by, quote, the left. Now, do you have any information with respect to Vermont about a takeover of the voting process by, quote, the left?

Pamela Bondi (03:13:57):

Senator, I'm not familiar with what you're referring to. We are currently involved in voter roll lawsuits in six states. Is that what you're referring to?

Senator Coons (03:14:06):

No. There's a letter that went out demanding that states, including Vermont, provide all the voting file information. It includes personal information. But when that letter was sent out-

Pamela Bondi (03:14:17):

That's perfectly legal.

Senator Coons (03:14:19):

But there was an assertion by the chief in this division that this was to deal with the fact that the voting process has been taken over by the left. So we got one of those letters in Vermont. And my question to you is what do you mean by the left? And do you have any evidence that the so-called system has been overtaken by the left?

Pamela Bondi (03:14:43):

We must have fair and free elections.

Senator Coons (03:14:47):

No, no, I know that, but I'm asking for the specific basis. We-

Pamela Bondi (03:14:51):

And we will have fair and free elections in this country.

Senator Coons (03:14:54):

Okay, let me-

Pamela Bondi (03:14:55):

Senator, I'd be happy to talk to my chief. Who was it who said that?

Senator Coons (03:14:59):

It was your chief, which I assume you would know who that is.

(03:15:04)
Here's the question here, okay? There is a point of view that is in dispute here about the fairness of elections. But you have the power as the Attorney General to use the authority of your office to make demands on states, and you did that with Vermont. That's within your right to do it, I'm not disputing your legal authority to do it.

Pamela Bondi (03:15:30):

Is Vermont disputing turning over the information to our office?

Senator Coons (03:15:34):

Vermont is, the Secretary of State is. And you can resolve that with her, but you-

Pamela Bondi (03:15:39):

And we have every right to have that information, Senator.

Senator Coons (03:15:41):

Here's where I'm going.

Pamela Bondi (03:15:43):

Why wouldn't they want to turn it over?

Senator Coons (03:15:43):

You're a prosecutor with the awesome authority to make the decision that you're going to start an investigation against the state or against an individual. And I know from your experience as a county prosecutor and as the attorney general in Florida, you took seriously that obligation to have a factual basis before you'd proceed, right?

Pamela Bondi (03:16:06):

Senator, I take that role, I take my oath very seriously.

Senator Coons (03:16:12):

All right, so what I'm asking-

Pamela Bondi (03:16:13):

And I take fair and free elections in this country very seriously.

Senator Coons (03:16:16):

No, we all do.

Pamela Bondi (03:16:17):

And that information, our office is entitled to have that information.

Senator Coons (03:16:20):

But the question here-

Pamela Bondi (03:16:23):

And we are involved in litigation on that-

Senator Coons (03:16:23):

Here's the question I have.

Pamela Bondi (03:16:25):

… and I assume we'll be involved in litigation with Vermont.

Senator Coons (03:16:26):

We have a Republican governor in Vermont. Our former Republican governor was the treasurer for many years, and also the Secretary of State with election responsibility. What I'm asking is do you or does your head of this voting section have any factual basis that you can point to that justifies your demand that Vermont turn over all this confidential voting rights information?

Pamela Bondi (03:16:58):

Well, it would remain confidential with my office. And you just said that you have a Republican governor, so it doesn't make sense what you just said. We've asked that of every state, Senator.

Senator Coons (03:17:10):

Right, and I'm asking about Vermont and what the factual basis is, but we can move on.

(03:17:18)
You've mentioned that you can't discuss pending litigation, and I think the committee by and large accepted that answer. But I did notice that you spoke at great length about pending litigation specifically with respect to the questions Senator Cruz asked you about the sentencing of the Kavanaugh defendant. That's pending, right?

Pamela Bondi (03:17:40):

He was sentenced to eight years.

Senator Coons (03:17:43):

I understand that, but that's on appeal, right?

Pamela Bondi (03:17:46):

We will be appealing.

Senator Coons (03:17:47):

Right. So that makes it pending litigation. So you made an exception with respect to-

Pamela Bondi (03:17:51):

No.

Senator Coons (03:17:52):

… the Cruz questions.

Pamela Bondi (03:17:53):

Hold on. No, those were things-

Senator Coons (03:17:54):

But you didn't answer any of the questions that you said were pending litigation from any of my colleagues.

Pamela Bondi (03:18:00):

Those were facts that came out at the sentencing hearing. You're welcome to see the transcript of the sentencing hearing-

Senator Coons (03:18:06):

No, I understand that.

Pamela Bondi (03:18:07):

… with all the gruesome details of what they threatened to do to Justice Kavanaugh and other Justices.

Senator Coons (03:18:12):

I condemn what that person did.

Pamela Bondi (03:18:14):

That was the sentencing.

Senator Coons (03:18:16):

But the point here is that that's pending litigation. You indicated you're going to be appealing. It's your right to do that. And you used that justification to not answer many other questions.

Pamela Bondi (03:18:32):

Justification, you're an attorney, Senator.

Senator Coons (03:18:34):

Okay.

Pamela Bondi (03:18:35):

You realize that.

Senator Coons (03:18:37):

I do want to go back to Homan. There's a tape, right? With Mr. Homan? I mean, first of all, is there a tape that has audio and video of the transfer of the 50,000?

Pamela Bondi (03:18:49):

You would have to talk to Director Patel about that.

Senator Coons (03:18:52):

No, I'm talking to you.

Pamela Bondi (03:18:55):

I don't know the answer, Senator.

Senator Coons (03:18:56):

Yeah, you do know the answer to that.

Pamela Bondi (03:18:58):

Don't call me a liar.

Senator Coons (03:18:59):

I didn't call you a liar.

Pamela Bondi (03:19:00):

You just said I know the answer, I said I don't know the answer.

Senator Coons (03:19:02):

Well, okay, let me-

Pamela Bondi (03:19:04):

You have to talk to Director Patel. What I said is that investigation was closed.

Senator Coons (03:19:06):

Let me put it another way. If you don't know, why don't you know whether there was a tape and video?

Pamela Bondi (03:19:14):

Senator, I believe that was resolved prior to my confirmation as Attorney General.

Senator Coons (03:19:20):

Do you think that it is of public interest for the people to know what happened to the 50 grand that the FBI turned over to Homan?

Pamela Bondi (03:19:28):

Did you hear what I just said? That was resolved prior to my confirmation as Attorney General. That's why I said I would not go. The first-

Senator Coons (03:19:37):

It's not resolved. There's $50,000. Homan has it or somebody has it. Do you have no interest in knowing where it is?

Pamela Bondi (03:19:46):

You're not going to sit here and slander Tom Homan. The FBI and Deputy Director Blanche said there was nothing. And-

Senator Coons (03:19:54):

I'm not slamming Tom Homan. He got the 50 grand.

Pamela Bondi (03:19:57):

How do you know that? Tom Homan is doing a great job as our border czar keeping your border state safe. You're a border state.

Senator Coons (03:20:05):

My time is up. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (03:20:06):

Thank you, Senator Welch. We're going to turn it-

Speaker 3 (03:20:08):

Madam President, can I have one minute?

Speaker 2 (03:20:10):

No, not right now. Not right now. At the end, if you wait, we'll talk about it.

Speaker 3 (03:20:11):

Point of personal privilege.

Speaker 2 (03:20:11):

Not right now.

Speaker 3 (03:20:11):

A witness-

Speaker 2 (03:20:14):

Senator Tillis and many others have been waiting their turn-

Speaker 3 (03:20:17):

I know, but this is one minute-

Speaker 2 (03:20:18):

So you can hold until the end.

Speaker 3 (03:20:19):

… and it relates to testimony that she gave about me.

Speaker 2 (03:20:21):

No. Senator Tillis, go ahead.

Speaker 4 (03:20:23):

Thank you, Madam Chair. General Bondi, thank you for being here. I'm going to get parochial for a bit of time. Maybe I have some time for some of the other questions.

(03:20:32)
But the Eastern Band of the Cherokee is this island that's at the very end of Western North Carolina. You got convergence of Tennessee and Georgia, South Carolina nearby, but they're an island and they sell pot, and I got no problem with that.

(03:20:54)
What I have a problem with is some of their actions or activities that are, I think, concerning me that actually speak to the broader issue here about marijuana and what we ultimately do with it, with nearly three dozen states having it either medical, recreational, or hybrid.

(03:21:14)
But this kind of feels like to me the way the tobacco industry got attacked for advertising to young people. We already know incidentally that we got a vape problem around here, particularly among young people. And Madam Chair, if I may, I'd like to seek unanimous consent for letters from the Sheriff's Association and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation citing the serious problem we have here with illegal vapes in this country.

Speaker 2 (03:21:45):

Without objection.

Speaker 4 (03:21:46):

Thank you. But this worries me because it's a money-making enterprise, it kind of seems like it's preying on younger people, but then I want to talk about this handy app you can get now.

(03:22:00)
Now, it's illegal in North Carolina and Tennessee and Georgia and South Carolina to buy pot, but apparently you can go order it on an app, then ride over there to the boundary and get it, I assume. I assume that they're not delivering it outside of the boundary because I think that would be illegal. Would that be illegal?

Pamela Bondi (03:22:25):

Senator, thank you for pointing that out. I was not familiar with that app, but we will certainly look at that.

Speaker 4 (03:22:35):

Yeah. Let's say I get an illegal, let's get a vape from China. A lot of them are manufactured in China, not such a-

Pamela Bondi (03:22:41):

A majority.

Speaker 4 (03:22:42):

… to anywhere near the sort of scrutiny that we have here in the United States. If that illegal vape get… Let's say it's, I don't know what it's loaded with, but it gets loaded… If it's illegal in the State of North Carolina, and let's say it comes in, I'm using a hypothetical example, end of the Port of Wilmington, and then finds its way to New York or some other state that has legalized marijuana, is that an illegal transportation of a controlled substance? Unless it teleports into a legal jurisdiction, would it have been illegally transported at some point?

Pamela Bondi (03:23:19):

Based on federal law, Senator, yes.

Speaker 4 (03:23:21):

Based on federal law. Okay. Now, are you familiar with the science of teleportation?

Pamela Bondi (03:23:31):

No, Senator.

Speaker 4 (03:23:32):

I don't think it's been perfected yet. And so it requires a physical movement from one place to the other. I've asked a number of people when they've come before this committee, and hopefully I can get your attention on this too, General Bondi.

(03:23:45)
There's a growing operation in Western North Carolina that is a part of the tribal lands. The problem is I can't find any legal way to get this pot that is grown here to the dispensary that's in another non-contiguous area of the boundary. So you see what I mean?

(03:24:11)
I'm just trying to figure out how the Eastern Band of the Cherokee are legally transporting what they're growing at scale here to what they're advertising in Charlotte on the billboards as one of the country's largest dispensaries, and apparently also offering to let you buy it online.

(03:24:31)
So can I get your commitment within the DOJ, not you personally, but can I just get a definitive answer that there's no there-there, that they are legally transporting it or that we do have something here that doesn't seem to comport with federal law?

Pamela Bondi (03:24:48):

Yeah, Senator, I will absolutely have my team look at that issue, and I'm not familiar with that establishment.

Speaker 4 (03:24:55):

Yeah, well, like I said, it's an island. I really think the federal government needs to step up. We need to get rid of this neither fish nor fowl sort of status that marijuana has in this country now. I think the people have spoken, many red states, even your home state, my home state has… I think probably many states I should say, not just the State of Florida, are trending towards legalizing it.

(03:25:24)
We've got to get it solved at the federal level. We've got to capture revenue. That revenue needs to go back to federal law enforcement, and we need to have a lot more focus on what I think are unsafe and inconsistent practices across the state. So if I could get that, I would appreciate it.

(03:25:41)
General Bondi, I'm kind of a boring management consultant nerd that believes in best practices as a way to kind of move forward and create consistent outcomes. I'm having a real struggle right now with the National Guard being deployed and masking the abject failure of leaders at the state and local level.

(03:26:09)
So give me some sense of if the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago or Portland is necessary to kind of create a shock to the system, do you believe that that's a best practice or just a necessary evil until we regen the extraordinary work I've seen on joint task forces every day in North Carolina with absolute cooperation between state, federal, and local officials? Is that the best practice that we should get to or is this deployment of the National Guard a part of an emerging best practice that I just don't get yet?

Pamela Bondi (03:26:47):

Senator Tillis, seeing what's happening in Chicago, they need the National Guard. Our ICE members need the National Guard to protect the national buildings.

Speaker 4 (03:26:57):

Oh, 100%.

Pamela Bondi (03:26:59):

That's why they're being deployed.

Speaker 4 (03:27:00):

I'm talking about when it wades into local law enforcement.

Pamela Bondi (03:27:02):

Well-

Speaker 4 (03:27:02):

See, I felt like deployment in DC made sense because of the hybrid nature of DC.

(03:27:07)
What I'm saying is outside of that defending federal buildings and federal law enforcement, addressing, I think you mentioned over 500 murders in Chicago, it would just seem to me that all those [inaudible 03:27:18] should be thrown out in an election.

Pamela Bondi (03:27:19):

571.

Speaker 4 (03:27:19):

And are we masking an underlying problem that will come back the minute we leave? That's what I'm talking about. Not the protection of federal buildings and federal law enforcement officers, but almost the sense of they become an arm of local law enforcement. I don't consider that a best practice. It doesn't sound like you do either.

Pamela Bondi (03:27:36):

Well, I don't believe our National Guard want to be doing that, but they're going to be where they have to be to keep Americans safe.

(03:27:44)
In Memphis right now, the highest violent crime rate in the country, I was on the ground with Secretary Hegseth there, and our Guard was there and they were thrilled, they're ready to help, and we used all Tennessee Guard there. Secretary Hegseth used all Tennessee Guard. They're working hand in hand with the Memphis Police Department who I believe were very happy to have them there helping them to keep Memphis safe.

(03:28:08)
Can I go back to the vaping again that you brought up, please, Senator?

Speaker 4 (03:28:12):

Sure.

Pamela Bondi (03:28:12):

So I went to Chicago actually with Secretary Kennedy, and it was just outside of Chicago in a suburb. And we were there talking about the illegal vapes and what parents need to know. This is a bipartisan issue. What people need to know, these illegal vapes, they're all over this country. You can buy them in convenience stores, you can buy them in grocery stores.

(03:28:37)
One vape is the equivalent of, I believe, 20 cigarettes. The flavored ones are illegal, and they're targeting children, what you said earlier. Some of these vapes, and I had never seen this until we were there, even have video games attached to them. That's not targeting an adult, it's targeting a child.

(03:28:57)
And they're also, the majority are coming in from China, which is illegal, and they're lacing them with THC. Now, right now, I can't say that I have seen deaths with fentanyl-laced, but we want to get on the front end of this because that's what's next.

Speaker 4 (03:29:14):

We have to. And hopefully that-

Pamela Bondi (03:29:15):

If we don't control this in every single one of our states, that's what's next. And for the first time we're getting on the front end of a very serious problem around our country. And Senator Moody, you fought this as well. So thank you for letting me address that, Senator Tillis.

Speaker 4 (03:29:30):

But I-

Pamela Bondi (03:29:30):

And parents need to know that.

Speaker 4 (03:29:32):

We do. We need to focus on it. And all I'm saying from a political standpoint is that if we're only… Well, President Trump is termed out. He'll only be able to serve out his second term. And I believe the president is absolutely focused on making these dangerous cities safer. I reject any notion that Charlotte's on that list, by the way. So whether you're a Democrat or Republican, bring it on.

(03:30:03)
But I see 3 1/2 years from now, if we don't address the systemic problems that what we've basically done is given a governor, a mayor and city councilman a pass on failing to protect their people.

(03:30:16)
I was formerly Speaker of the House in North Carolina. If I thought I had to have the president deploy troops to keep North Carolina safe, I would've considered myself a failure as a state leader.

(03:30:27)
And so I just hope we strike the balance so that we're not fixing a problem temporarily only to come back maybe even worse than the problem we're fixing the moment this president who's committed to local safety leaves, and that's something that we have to talk about so we're leaving something behind. And I'm going to yield back. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (03:30:48):

Thank you, Senator Tillis. Senator Schiff.

Speaker 3 (03:30:50):

Thank you, Madam Chair. Attorney General Bondi, at your confirmation hearing in January you made a clear commitment you would not politicize your position.

(03:30:58)
We are here today at your first oversight hearing nine months into your tenure at a time when hundreds of career prosecutors have quit because they were required to take unethical actions at odds with that promise or feared that they would have to take such actions if they remained on the job, when over 1,000 former federal prosecutors have sounded the alarm about the unprecedented degree to which the powers of DOJ are being abused to go after the president's enemies.

(03:31:27)
I approach this hearing with a heavy heart. As a former federal prosecutor myself, I served in a department that whether it was under a Democratic or Republican president would never use the office to go after the president's enemies or to hide the corruption of his friends.

(03:31:43)
But today, the Justice Department has been used to cover up the possible corruption of the Mayor of New York or of a high-level administration official taking $50,000 reportedly in cash in a bag, or a child sex predator who befriended the president and some of his cabinet members. And instead of preventing partisan weaponization, your department has engaged in a brazenly political prosecution at the president's explicit direction. The department has become President Trump's personal sword and shield to go after his ever-growing list of political enemies and to protect himself, his allies, and associates.

(03:32:24)
My questions therefore focus on these two themes, hiding the corrupt acts of his friends and prioritizing the political prosecution of his enemies. So let me start with the shocking allegations of bribery and pay to play.

(03:32:38)
Two weeks ago, four major media outlets reported that Tom Homan, the president's top deportation official working in the White House, took 50,000 in cash in a bag from undercover FBI agents in September 2024, just over a year ago.

(03:32:55)
According to these reports, Homan indicated he would facilitate securing contracts in exchange from money once he was in office in the future Trump administration. Reportedly, this exchange was caught on tape.

(03:33:09)
Rather than pursue this investigation without fear or favor, the department and the FBI under your leadership or that of your predecessor before you confirmed quietly shut it down. Once news broke, your deputy and FBI director issued a joint public statement confirming that the Trump administration closed the investigation.

(03:33:27)
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt denied Homan took the 50,000, telling a reporter, quote, "Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you're referring to, so you should get your facts straight."

(03:33:40)
So today I hope you can help us get our facts straight. Was that true what the White House press secretary said when she denied Homan took the money? Did he take the money?

Pamela Bondi (03:33:54):

Senator Schiff, as I stated earlier, I was not in office, I was not confirmed when that was handled.

Speaker 3 (03:34:02):

So does that mean-

Pamela Bondi (03:34:03):

Deputy Attorney General Blanche and Director Patel said that there was no evidence that Tom Homan committed a crime, yet now you're putting his picture up to slander him as much as you can.

Speaker 3 (03:34:17):

I'm putting his picture up showing an interview he gave with I think Fox, in which he was asked explicitly about these allegations that he took a $50,000 bribe, and he refused to answer. He didn't answer the question whether he took the money, so I'm asking you the question, did he take the money?

Pamela Bondi (03:34:37):

Senator Schiff, I answered that question multiple times. And frankly-

Speaker 3 (03:34:43):

Well, I don't think, with respect, I don't think you did. But in case I just didn't hear you, what is the answer? Did he take the money?

Pamela Bondi (03:34:52):

Senator Schiff, that happened prior to my confirmation as Attorney General.

Speaker 3 (03:34:57):

No, I understand. But do you know-

Pamela Bondi (03:34:58):

I said that.

Speaker 3 (03:34:59):

Do you know sitting here whether he took the money?

Pamela Bondi (03:35:01):

All I know is that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Patel said there was no case. And Caroline Leavitt is one of the most trustworthy human beings I know.

Speaker 3 (03:35:14):

So was she right? Was she?

Pamela Bondi (03:35:15):

And Senator Schiff, if you worked for me, you would've been fired.

Speaker 3 (03:35:18):

Excuse me. No, I-

Pamela Bondi (03:35:19):

Because you were censured by Congress for lying with [inaudible 03:35:22].

Speaker 3 (03:35:22):

You can stipulate to all your personal attacks on the Democratic members of the committee.

Pamela Bondi (03:35:26):

Personal attacks? You've been attacking my FBI director.

Speaker 3 (03:35:29):

But we-

Pamela Bondi (03:35:31):

You've been attacking my office.

Speaker 3 (03:35:31):

But we're interested in-

Pamela Bondi (03:35:32):

You've been attacking a border czar.

Speaker 3 (03:35:33):

What we're interested in is the answer to these oversight questions.

Pamela Bondi (03:35:37):

No. Oversight?

Speaker 3 (03:35:37):

So you were asked by my colleague-

Pamela Bondi (03:35:39):

You want your five minutes of fame-

Speaker 3 (03:35:40):

You were asked by my colleague-

Pamela Bondi (03:35:41):

… attacking good people.

Speaker 3 (03:35:42):

Regular order, Madam Chair, so I can ask a question. You were asked by my colleague from Vermont whether you will support providing a video or audio tape if it exists of Mr. Homan taking 50,000 in bribe money from the FBI. Will you support a request by this committee to provide that tape or tapes to the committee, yes or no?

Pamela Bondi (03:36:03):

Senator Schiff, you can talk to Director Patel about that.

Speaker 3 (03:36:06):

Well, I'm talking to you about it. You're the Attorney General. This will be your decision. Will you support-

Pamela Bondi (03:36:17):

Don't have to tell me what is my decision and what is not my decision. I said you can talk to Director Patel.

Speaker 3 (03:36:18):

And you don't have to try to, you don't have to-

Pamela Bondi (03:36:18):

You think you got a gotcha with Tom Homan, our border czar-

Speaker 3 (03:36:21):

Excuse me, excuse me, you don't-

Pamela Bondi (03:36:23):

… who's been out there fighting for our country since Donald Trump took office.

Speaker 3 (03:36:26):

Excuse me. I'm trying to ask a question. Regular order please. And you don't have to defer to the FBI director to pass the buck. So I'm asking you, will you support a request so that the committee, or indeed I believe the American people should be able to see that video or audio tape, will you support that request?

Pamela Bondi (03:36:43):

Will you apologize to Donald Trump for trying to impeach him?

Speaker 3 (03:36:47):

Oh, I guess the answer is you won't support that request. So let me do this.

Pamela Bondi (03:36:50):

After you now know that Joe Biden tried to cover up Hunter Biden's involvement with Ukraine.

Speaker 3 (03:36:53):

Excuse me. Let me do this, because I think it's valuable that

Speaker 3 (03:37:00):

The American people get a sense of what you've refused to answer today. So these are just some of the questions you refused to answer or have answered with personal attacks on members of this committee. 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 the Trump's name be flagged in any of the Epstein documents gathered by the FBI? You refused to answer that question. You were asked whether Holman kept the $50,000 bribe money? You refused to answer that question. You were asked whether Holman 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 refused to even answer that question asked-

Pamela Bondi (03:38:09):

Do you have a law degree, Senator Schiff?

Speaker 3 (03:38:10):

Excuse me, excuse me. You were 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 insurrections to attack the Capitol on January 6th? You refused to answer that question. You were asked whether you were firing career professionals, career prosecutors, just because they worked on the January 6th investigations? You refused to answer that question. You were asked by my California colleague whether you believe government officials like immigration officials have to abide by court orders? You wouldn't even answer that question. This is supposed to be an oversight hearing.

Pamela Bondi (03:39:00):

Oversight.

Speaker 3 (03:39:01):

Excuse me, you can attack me after my time is over.

Pamela Bondi (03:39:07):

Oh, well, you've attacked all of us, including president Trump for your entire [inaudible 03:39:09]-

Speaker 3 (03:39:09):

You can attack me later, and I know you've got plenty of candid attacks, we've heard them all day today.

Pamela Bondi (03:39:13):

Candid attacks on you?

Speaker 3 (03:39:13):

This is supposed to be-

Pamela Bondi (03:39:13):

No one needs a candid attack on you.

Speaker 3 (03:39:16):

Excuse me, regular order, Madam Chair, I'm trying to speak. This is supposed to be an oversight hearing of the Justice Department, and it comes in the wake of an indictment called for by the president of one of his enemies. This is supposed to be an oversight hearing and it comes in the wake of revelations that a top administration official took $50,000 in a bag, and this department made that investigation go away. This is supposed to be an oversight hearing when dozens of prosecutors have been fired simply because they worked on cases investigating the former president and now the current President.

Pamela Bondi (03:39:53):

What about the fires in California, do you care about that, Senator Schiff?

Speaker 3 (03:39:57):

Excuse me, this is supposed to be an oversight hearing in which members of Congress can get serious answers to serious questions about the-

Pamela Bondi (03:40:06):

Are the riots in LA serious?

Speaker 3 (03:40:10):

About the coverup of corruption, about the prosecution of the president's enemies. And-

Pamela Bondi (03:40:17):

I think you owe The President an apology.

Speaker 3 (03:40:18):

And when will it be, when will it be [inaudible 03:40:22] that the members of this committee, on a bipartisan basis, demand answers to those questions and refuse to accept-

Pamela Bondi (03:40:29):

Clearly you're a failed lawyer. [inaudible 03:40:30] if you don't understand when someone can and cannot answer a question.

Speaker 3 (03:40:31):

Refuse to accept personal slander as an answer to those questions.

Pamela Bondi (03:40:38):

Personal slander. [Inaudible 03:40:39].

Speaker 3 (03:40:39):

With that, Madam Chair, I yield back.

Pamela Bondi (03:40:41):

Will you apologize to Donald Trump for slandering him? Personal slander.

Speaker 5 (03:40:43):

Senator.

Speaker 3 (03:40:44):

May I ask unanimous consent, Madam Chair, to introduce into the record the statement of a thousand former Justice Department officials who warned that the Comey Indictment is a democracy threatening abuse of power. May I also request unanimous consent for the introduction to the record of 282 former career officials at the Justice Department raising an alarm who were voluntarily or involuntarily forced to leave the department because of improper actions taken by the Department of Justice. May I introduce with unanimous consent the Justice Department manual that talks about when initiating and declining charges are subject to impermissible considerations? And finally, Madam Chair, may I introduce the letter for Michael Ben'Ary, a career counterterrorism prosecutor DOJ, a letter he nailed to his door, which concludes by urging officials to do the right thing for the right reasons, to follow the facts in the law and raises the alarm that the decision to remove experienced career officials from US Attorneys Offices. The FBI and critical parts of DOJ undermines our country's abilities to counter terrorist organizations, malign nation state actors, and countless others that seek to harm our nation and its citizens. And he believes that the priority is prosecuting the president's enemies-

Pamela Bondi (03:42:12):

Are you still arguing or are you admitting [inaudible 03:42:13].

Speaker 5 (03:42:13):

Ms, Bondi, one moment.

Speaker 3 (03:42:13):

Rather than protecting the country.

Pamela Bondi (03:42:14):

[inaudible 03:42:14] One moment?

Speaker 3 (03:42:14):

May I have unanimous consent to enter these into the record?

Speaker 5 (03:42:17):

Are you entering that into the record? Without objection.

Speaker 3 (03:42:19):

Thank you. I yield back.

Speaker 5 (03:42:20):

Senator Britt.

Pamela Bondi (03:42:21):

Senator Moody, may I clarify one thing he entered in the record. I just want to say that I believe he entered a letter by 200 and something former employees. Well, I believe the spokesperson for that letter was also the spokesperson for Jack Smith.

Speaker 5 (03:42:36):

Senator Britt.

Speaker 6 (03:42:38):

Thank you, Madam Chair. General Bondi, I want to talk to you about the next generation, I want to talk to you about our kids. People who don't have a seat at the table but need us to fight for them tirelessly. When you look at this, I see a couple of different buckets of ways that bad actors are taking advantage of our children, and in some of the most extreme situations we lose that child, whether to death or to self-harm, and I think we owe it to them to do something about it.

(03:43:05)
So first is social media. Tell me what are you doing? I have said across from a number of parents who have talked to me about their child either falling victim to sextortion, different schemes that are online, we also know that there is an element of human trafficking that comes here. I'd love, let's start with social media, what are you doing to hold bad actors accountable, to track them down, and to keep our kids safe?

Pamela Bondi (03:43:35):

Senator first, thank you for bringing that up. This I believe is what an oversight hearing should be about.

Speaker 6 (03:43:41):

Thank you.

Pamela Bondi (03:43:42):

Not yell. Oh, he's gone already, he comes in and leaves. That this is what an oversight hearing should be about, trying to help parents and children online. Yes, Director Patel has been doing a great job. The FBI, we have an entire unit. Not only that, our national security division is working internationally-

Speaker 6 (03:44:05):

I want to talk about that too because I think a lot of this comes from overseas. And so whether it's the schemes, the sextortion schemes, et cetera, it's happening off our shores. How are you connecting the dots there? And then additionally, let's look at human trafficking. And you find a number of times people are lured into this from posts on social media, I believe that that is a global trafficking ring. I would like to speak to what are you doing to make sure that you're holding those people accountable and getting to the bottom of it, finding bad actors and making sure that we're keeping these children safe?

Pamela Bondi (03:44:36):

Senator Britt, we have made countless cases around this country and many of them have involved global international defendants. In fact, we've been extraditing some of them back. As many as we can get. We're bringing them back to this country. That's how we're holding them accountable and locking them up for as long as we humanly can lock them up. And Director Patel, our national Security Division, have been working tirelessly on that. We have entire units working on that. I think the most-

Speaker 6 (03:45:05):

Do you feel like you've made better strides than we saw over the last four years?

Pamela Bondi (03:45:09):

Yes, we have made incredible strides. I'm sorry I don't have the statistics in front of me, but yes, I'll provide this to you.

Speaker 6 (03:45:14):

I would love to get those from you, I want to make sure that we are doing that. I also obviously have worked diligently alongside Senator Blackburn and so many others to put the proper guardrails in place when it comes to social media to prevent these things from happening to our children, allowing them to still thrive online but knowing the threats that are out there. It is encumbered upon us to actually do something about it, so I hope that those different pieces of legislation that would help keep kids safe, help give you additional tools, I hope that this body and ultimately Congress will take those up.

Pamela Bondi (03:45:46):

Can I add something to that?

Speaker 6 (03:45:47):

Yeah, sure.

Pamela Bondi (03:45:48):

That parents also, I always say your child has no right to privacy on the internet and parents need to monitor what their kids are doing. Now we all know that even elementary kids, school kids, so many of them have cell phones because they're at school, they're latchkey kids, they're coming riding the bus home. So many children have cell phones but parents, you have to monitor. There are safeguards you can put on the phone, but you have to monitor.

Speaker 6 (03:46:14):

I do, I also think-

Pamela Bondi (03:46:14):

What your kids are doing on the internet

Speaker 6 (03:46:16):

I do think that there is some accountability that needs to be held even with social media providers.

Pamela Bondi (03:46:20):

Absolutely.

Speaker 6 (03:46:20):

I know that for instance, we had a judiciary subcommittee hearing where we heard from parent after parent whose child had bought something online that they thought to be maybe a different type of drug, it was laced with fentanyl, they died. If that was happening on a storefront at a small business in America, we would shut that storefront down. We must do more to hold not only the bad actors online, but also the people who allow it to happen accountable and I hope that you'll commit to work with me on that.

Pamela Bondi (03:46:48):

I wholeheartedly agree, thank you senator.

Speaker 6 (03:46:49):

So staying in that vein on parents. Looking at illegal gaming across, again, this is a global thing, offshore illegal gaming, we have found that young men in particular have been targeted when it comes to betting and being involved in this legal gaming. We're finding that through, whether it be advertisements or things that are directly targeted to get them addicted and get them pulled in and addicted on that. When it comes to illegal gaming, will you commit to me to taking a look at what is exactly happening offshore and also how they are utilizing different spaces to actually go after our children, getting them addicted, and ultimately pulling them in?

Pamela Bondi (03:47:35):

Certainly, and I'm also sure the FBI would welcome working with you.

Speaker 6 (03:47:39):

Wonderful. And then last but not least on that same vein, and you touched on it earlier when one of my colleagues ask you about this, but vaping. So if you're a parent and you're sitting here looking, Chinese vapes have, this is a real issue, you spoke a little bit about what you are worried will come next in this space. What are you doing to get to the bottom of that and how are we going to make sure that these don't infiltrate our markets and ultimately don't end up in the hands of our children?

Pamela Bondi (03:48:08):

What we've been doing is we have been going around this country and we have been raiding these vape shops that are carrying these illegal drugs and shutting them down, and that's what Senator Kennedy and I were in Illinois doing. We were announcing that arrest. It was a massive arrest of illegal vapes from China, mainly coming in through China laced with THC. I was just saying, back to the child predators. Since January 20th, we have made 2,580 child exploitation cases, Senator Britt, that was the number I was trying to get my hands on. That's 250 more than last year.

Speaker 6 (03:48:50):

Will you commit to continuing to go after these unregulated products and particularly make sure that they are not in the hands of our children?

Pamela Bondi (03:48:58):

Yeah, and Senator Britt, we need to do that because it's targeting our children. Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 6 (03:49:03):

Thank you very much. Today is obviously the second anniversary of the horrific, horrific attacks On October 7th, and this morning I had an opportunity to listen to stories of some individuals that had been held hostage, some of the families that will never get their loved ones back, and some that are hoping that there is a resolution soon and they once again get to embrace their family member that they have not seen in over 700 days. It was a reminder of one of them said, "I can breathe, but I can't live until this is resolved." And we know in addition to this horror and nightmare that they have been living for the past two years, we have seen a rise in anti-Semitism here on our soil.

(03:49:56)
When we said never again, never again actually has to mean never again, and I know that you and I spoke about this briefly when you were in front of this committee, but can you talk to me about the work that DOJ is doing to combat that rise in anti-Semitism and to hold offenders of that, to hold them accountable?

Pamela Bondi (03:50:17):

And Senator Britt, thank you for again bringing up that today is the second anniversary of that horrific attack on Israel. Donald Trump is the greatest peace president of our lifetime, probably in our history, and if anyone can resolve this, it will be Donald Trump. I've also met with many of the families of the hostages and of those who have lost loved ones. We are combating anti-Semitism throughout this country, not only through my civil rights division and we haven't really talked about Harmeet Dhillon a lot today, but Harmeet Dhillon runs our civil rights division, and she is working with Leo Terrell and they are combating anti-Semitism around this country. We have an anti-Semitism task force that we're forming.

Speaker 6 (03:51:05):

Do you mind getting me an update on the progress that that task force has made, please?

Pamela Bondi (03:51:09):

Sure.

Speaker 6 (03:51:09):

Okay, thank you. And last, in my last remaining minute, certainly appreciate the work that you're doing. I know my colleague, Senator Lee already asked you about the attacks on ISOF. Thank you for working to keep our federal agents safe, federal law enforcement safe, so thank you for the work that you're doing there. I do want to just talk a little bit about crime in American cities. We had a horrific event occur in Montgomery, Alabama over the weekend. Two people are no longer with us and 12 people injured. My heart breaks for every one of the victims and their families and the community at large. I'd like to know a little bit about your inner agency work and talk to me about things that you find because we have to find solutions in this space, this cannot keep happening. And what are you seeing that is your biggest success stories and your biggest challenges you have to working to try to resolve crime throughout the country?

Pamela Bondi (03:52:12):

Well, right now the biggest challenge is that the federal government is shut down. But we're not letting that become a challenge because all of our agents are working tirelessly. And I get almost real-time updates from my agency, Rob Cekada, who's the deputy director of ATF Cash Patel and Dan Bongino at FBI, Terry Cole, excuse me, at DEA, Gady Serralta with our US Marshals, and all of our great team of lawyers and we are working nonstop to combat crime. That's Donald Trump's only directive to me, is to make America safe again, and that's what we're going to do in this country. Senator Britt.

Speaker 6 (03:52:47):

Well, thank you for your commitment and any best practices you have or ways that you have found to tackle challenges that are effective, please let us know. We certainly want to see every community across our state and our country safe and we appreciate yours and President Trump's commitment to doing that.

Pamela Bondi (03:53:02):

Thank you Senator.

Speaker 5 (03:53:03):

Thank you Senator Britt. And I will just say thank you to our witness who has been sitting here for now four and a half hours without a break, I think maybe a little bit under the weather, and you have outlasted pretty much everyone here but Senator Britt and myself. So thank you for being here today.

Pamela Bondi (03:53:24):

I'm in good company.

Speaker 5 (03:53:26):

Well, certainly coming in behind someone as strong and as passionate and as committed to doing the right thing and to justice, when you served as Attorney General in Florida, that was certainly a high bar that you set and I was honored to come in after you as the attorney general. You've touched on so many of the issues that you fought for in Florida that you are still fighting for now here in Washington, and whether that is protecting our children, protecting our law enforcement officers, protecting the rule of law, all of these things, your experiences, both personal and professional, are playing into how you are standing strong for what this country was built on in this role. And I for one, am proud not only to be here as a United States senator, the most junior member of this committee, but to be here and working in Washington right now with the honor of serving as a senator and watching this administration And certainly you bring this country back to its bearing. That we are a nation that is a government for the people with the consent of the governed, and if we are going to protect life, liberty, and their opportunity to pursue happiness, we have to guarantee safety, it has to be a mission.

(03:54:45)
And that starts in our communities and our states, and I think what people are missing is the federal government has a set of laws that it is working within federal jurisdiction, that it is incumbent upon them to execute and enforce within the states. And I am watching what has happened around this nation as a result of what has happened under the Biden administration and what they allowed to happen purposefully. Whether that was rogue prosecutors, defunding police, decriminalizing crime, allowing juveniles to run rampant with no accountability, revolving jailhouse door, no respect for the rule of law, it goes on and on and on, and you're seeing that now playing out in the cities around this country. And what is very terrifying, and I think you would agree, is this is not your Democratic Party of yesteryear where we might have said they're soft on crime, this is now a Democratic Party who is offering support for and encouraging obstructionist behavior, threats of violence against law enforcement.

(03:56:05)
And as the wife of a law enforcement officer, as someone who's committed my own life as a federal prosecutor, attorney general now as a US senator.

Pamela Bondi (03:56:14):

Judge.

Speaker 5 (03:56:15):

And a judge, thank you. I think I had to demonstrate that a little bit earlier. It is horrifying to me that where we used to talk about differences in policies where one party was thought to be tough on crime and one party was thought to be soft on crime, we're not talking about the fundamental ideals and structure on which this country was built, and I have been horrified watching the partnership between a governor in Illinois and a mayor in Chicago, and the collaboration, some might say the corruption, and the rhetoric they are using. And I have to say this because I think for somebody like you and somebody like me, it makes you extraordinarily concerned for the success and future of this country. Pritzker, he uses words like, "This is an unconstitutional invasion of Illinois. Militarized CBP and ICE agents to the street of Chicago to cause violence and chaos in the city." And I quote Pritzker, "People are getting detained, they're getting arrested, US citizens, making it a war zone." Pritzker, "It's a war zone and they are using tear gas and chemical agents at peaceful protesters." Pritzker, "They are waging war on our people." Pritzker, "We must now start calling this what it is, Trump's invasion. Not to be outdone though by Johnson who says that, and I quote, "Law enforcement is a sickness, we have a rogue reckless group of heavily armed mass individuals roaming throughout our city."

(03:58:15)
Johnson, "ICE lies and people die." Johnson, "The Trump administration must end the war on Chicago." Johnson, "In the coming weeks, we will use this as an opportunity to build greater resistance. I am wondering if Pritzker and Johnson understand that there are federal laws that criminalize inciting violence against law enforcement and federal agents. I am wondering if they are concerned at all about what their speech is doing and the danger it's putting not only federal agents in, that by the way, sworn oath to protect other people, but the danger it's putting the citizens of their community in.

(03:59:22)
Anytime you start pitting your own people against their own government, a government is only there at its core to protect rights and the safety of its people, that is incredibly dangerous, and I hear this rhetoric and I think to myself, every foreign adversary of the United States of America in this country is saying thank you to the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago, thank you for doing their jobs for them. For undermining the strength and safety of this country and for gas lighting the American people as we are trying to shore up the stability of our communities.

(04:00:13)
And that puts you in such a remarkable, important position right now. You are the top law enforcement official in this country and you have a responsibility to call out this rhetoric. And when it violates and crosses over from free speech into inciting violence, we have to call that out. We have to remind the American people that we are dealing with the aftermath of millions of undocumented allowed to flood into this country, I know because I litigated it and I fought against it. And when I had to get through litigation documents that showed their plan was to step back and let the border be overrun. When nobody believed that was happening, it was people like us that said, "This is happening."

(04:01:11)
They're allowing our country to be overrun. They're allowing through rogue prosecutors and an undermining and demoralization of law enforcement for our cities to fall prey to criminals. They are allowing this to happen and they are doing so trust me, cheered on by our adversaries. And it takes someone with strength and the ability to take the criticism for four hours and 40 minutes and sit here resolute and your commitment to uphold the rule of law.

(04:01:45)
And I know the only reason that you can do that is because what you went through in your prior life, working hand in hand with law enforcement, seeing what their families went through, holding the hands of victims, not letting these people turn our heroes into villains, and certainly not letting these people make the United States of America appear anything other than what it is. It is a country that protects first and foremost our people's rights, and we do so by also guaranteeing with the consent of our government that we'll focus on their safety. And that is why I was so glad you started out this hearing with my mission is to protect the people and prosecute violent crime and to make sure the corruption that happened again under the last administration can never happen again. And as you sat here today and you heard the affect of the people whose friends and colleagues and indeed even members of the judiciary whose phones were analyzed and traced from grand jury subpoena and they're just finding out last night, assuring them that you understand what that feels like and that you will not let it happen again, no matter how much they want to disguise accountability as weaponization.

(04:03:11)
Thank you for being you, Pam the prosecutor, Pam the person that cares about this country and its people, and the future of America. Thank you for being here today, would you like to end with any comments?

Pamela Bondi (04:03:24):

Thank you, Senator Moody. And they may try to destroy our country but they won't. They won't be successful nor will our foreign adversaries because we have the greatest president and Donald Trump and he will make America safe again and he will keep us safe. Thank you Senator, and thank you for all you do

Speaker 5 (04:03:42):

And we will keep the open for a week. I know Senator Whitehouse wanted to offer some comments for the record and any other additional questions and we'd ask that you respond to those.

Pamela Bondi (04:03:51):

I'm sure he did.

Speaker 5 (04:03:51):

Thank you so much. And with that, the hearing is adjourned.