In generally fiery exchanges, former Florida Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi fielded questions throughout a Senate affirmation listening to for her lawyer normal nomination about whether or not she would prosecute President-elect Donald Trump’s declared political enemies.
Bondi additionally refused to disclaim falsehoods in regards to the 2020 presidential election being “stolen”. Within the January 15 listening to, Senator Alex Padilla, for California, requested Bondi whether or not she would retract her earlier statements that Trump received Pennsylvania in 2020. The 2 spoke over one another as Padilla pushed for a “sure or no” response and Bondi tried to reply in a different way. Ultimately, Bondi advised the senator she was “not going to be bullied”.
Bondi’s listening to got here on the second day of high-profile affirmation hearings for Trump’s second-term nominees.
Senator Marco Rubio, for Florida, additionally had a separate listening to the identical day. Rubio known as on the USA to not depend on China for provide chains, consistent with Trump’s marketing campaign guarantees to get powerful on China. Rubio additionally stated he disagreed with President Joe Biden’s January 14 announcement that Cuba could be faraway from the state-sponsors-of-terrorism checklist.
Right here’s a fact-check of Bondi’s statements.
Bondi repeats Trump line that Biden’s Justice Division targets political opponents
As Bondi responded to questions on whether or not she would prosecute Trump’s political opponents – which he promised to do through the 2024 marketing campaign – she claimed that Biden’s Justice Division has executed the identical.
“Nobody will probably be prosecuted, investigated as a result of they’re a political opponent,” Bondi stated. “That’s what we’ve seen for the final 4 years on this administration.”
We’ve rated comparable Trump claims false.
Trump was charged twice in federal courtroom and individually in Manhattan and Fulton County, Georgia. Within the Manhattan case, a unanimous jury discovered Trump responsible in Might 2024 of all 34 counts of falsifying enterprise information in an alleged scheme to cowl up a hush cash cost to grownup movie actor Stormy Daniels earlier than the 2016 presidential election. The opposite three circumstances have been dropped or placed on maintain after Trump received the 2024 election.
Authorized consultants have advised us there was no signal Trump was not given due course of or that Biden ordered the prosecutions.
Bondi stated she had ‘not listened’ to Trump’s name with Georgia officers to ‘discover’ him votes in 2020 election
Senator Dick Durbin, for Illinois, questioned Bondi about Trump’s January 2, 2021, telephone name with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Durbin requested whether or not Bondi was involved that Trump known as an election official and requested him to seek out sufficient votes to change the election outcomes.
Bondi responded that she has “not listened to the hourlong dialog, but it surely’s my understanding that isn’t what he requested him to do”.
Besides, that’s what Trump requested Raffensperger, a Republican, to do, in line with the decision’s transcript and recording.
Within the name, Trump requested Georgia officers to analyze his unfounded allegations about 2020 election fraud. A lot of his directives concerned a quest to “discover” sufficient ballots to place him within the successful column. (President Joe Biden beat Trump in Georgia by 11,779 votes.) Trump framed his requests to state officers as a mission to ferret out felony wrongdoing.
“You possibly can’t let it occur, and you’re letting it occur,” Trump stated. “You already know, I imply, I’m notifying you that you just’re letting it occur. So, look. All I wish to do is that this. I simply wish to discover 11,780 votes, which is yet one more than we’ve as a result of we received the state.”
Bondi wrongly claims a 2021 peaceable switch of energy
Durbin requested Bondi, who has repeatedly bolstered Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, whether or not she was keen to say Trump misplaced. Bondi first dodged the query then claimed there was a peaceable switch of energy in 2021.
“(Biden) was duly sworn in, and he’s the president of the USA,” she stated. “There was a peaceable transition of energy.”
Her assertion ignores the violent January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol that disrupted the election certification.
Greater than 1,500 individuals have been charged in federal courtroom associated to the riot, with expenses together with obstruction of legislation enforcement; violence with a lethal weapon; assault; disorderly conduct; and illegal possession of firearms.
Rioters forcibly breached and vandalised the Capitol, attacked law enforcement officials and chanted “Dangle Mike Pence!” Trump has promised to pardon defendants, however it’s unclear what number of.
Bondi hits Schiff on California’s theft statistics
As Senator Adam Schiff, California, requested Bondi whether or not she would examine Trump’s political enemies, Bondi shot again, saying, “You already know what we ought to be fearful about? The crime fee in California proper now’s by means of the roof. Your robberies are 87 % increased than the nationwide common, that’s what I wish to be centered on, senator.”
Bondi is shut on her evaluation. For the 12 months of 2023, FBI information exhibits that the typical fee of theft per 100,000 individuals was about 89 % increased in California than it was nationwide.
Nevertheless, California had charges decrease than the nationwide common for murder and rape. The state was above the nationwide common for aggravated assault, the fourth kind of crime the FBI categorises as violent.
PolitiFact Chief Correspondent Louis Jacobson contributed to this report.
