By The American Tribune | Created at 2025-01-17 14:22:26 | Updated at 2025-01-20 17:01:10
3 days ago
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, was recently grilled by congressional Democrats during her contentious Senate confirmation hearing. As she was being questioned by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bondi repeatedly asked why she had refused to meet with her to engage in productive conversations before the hearing.
Echoing the worries of her fellow Democrats throughout the hearing, Hirono expressed fear that Trump would weaponize the justice system against his political opponents, the very thing conservatives have complained has been done to the incoming president over the past few years. The Hawaii Democrat claimed that Trump views the DOJ as his “law firm.”
“You have an incoming president who said, ‘I have the absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department,’ and in fact, President-elect Trump considers the DOJ to be his law firm,” she said to Bondi. “I ask you this: If President-elect Trump asks, suggests or hints that you as attorney general should investigate one of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?”
“Sen. Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to –” Bondi initially said before Hirono cut her off. The senator then interjected, “I am listening to you now, could you please respond to the question?” Bondi doubled down, “You were the only one who refused to meet with me but what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the attorney general.”
“I’m very happy to listen to your responses under oath, Miss Bondi,” Hirono said. Illustrating what Americans are really concerned about, Bondi replied, “I certainly have not heard the president say that. But what I will tell you is two-thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice, and its statements like that, I believe, that make people continue to lose faith.”
The clip of the tense exchange sparked numerous reactions from conservatives on social media. Dr. Ben Braddock wrote that Hirono got “owned by Lawyer Barbie.” Numerous other high-profile conservative accounts on X echoed this sentiment, praising Bondi for her response to Hirono in the midst of repeatedly getting interrupted.
During another part of the hearing, Hirono asked Bondi to comment on Trump’s rhetoric toward illegal immigrants. “[Trump] has also said illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation. Do you agree?” she asked the nominee. Bondi responded, “I went to the border a few months ago. I went to Yuma, AZ. I went to a rape crisis center. It was horrific. I’m sure you’ve been to the border as well, so you can answer that.” Hirono promptly stated that she wanted to move on to the next question.
Watch Bondi press Hirono for not meeting with her:
WATCH NOW: Onibaba gets OWNED by Lawyer Barbie pic.twitter.com/Y0wqEiSSfx
— Dr. Ben Braddock (@GraduatedBen) January 16, 2025
Watch Hirono ask Bondi about the border:
Incredible back and forth between Mazie Hirono and Pam Bondi…
HIRONO: “[Trump] has also said illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation. Do you agree?”
BONDI: “I went to the border a few months ago. I went to Yuma, AZ. I went to a rape crisis center. It was… pic.twitter.com/hF3TMFIWAw
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 15, 2025
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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