The New Republic reports Pam Bondi had apparently planned some of her responses and pivots before setting foot in the Senate on Tuesday.
“Bondi came to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing armed with nothing more than lame canned attacks,” reported New Republic Associate Writer Edith Olmsted.
Bondi repeatedly refused to answer questions from U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) about what happened to the $50,000 cash bribe border czar Tom Homan received from undercover FBI agents in 2024 (before her department dropped the investigation this year.) Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst captured an inside shot of Bondi’s folder showing notes anticipating questions, and her notes had nothing to do with addressing senators’ concerns or her work as leader of the Department of Justice.
“Instead, Bondi had collected screenshots of social media posts, pre-written comebacks and handwritten notes she hoped could give her a good ‘gotcha’ moment,” according to Olmsted.
The top of the folder showed a July X post from Whitehouse calling for an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a bulleted list of comebacks.
“Apparently, Bondi needed to prepare the remark ‘You are a total hypocrite’ in advance,” Olmsted wrote.
Her long list of scorn, denial and pivots visibly got on senators’ nerves during questioning.
“The questions here are actually pretty specific,” Whitehouse replied at one point. “So, having you respond with completely irrelevant far-right internet talking points is really not very helpful here.”
Among her catalog of talking points was the handwritten note: “Did you take [money] from Reid Hoffman,” who the New Republic reports once invited Epstein to dinner. Bondi used that same note to respond when asked if the FBI had found photos of President Donald Trump with half-naked young women on Epstein’s estate, as reported by author Michael Wolff.
“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, Reid Hoffman,” Bondi said.
“It’s disturbing, but not surprising, that Bondi didn’t make actual preparations to answer tough questions from senators,” wrote Olmsted. “It appears that the attorney general felt no obligation to be accountable to the American people about alleged efforts to cover up for Trump or his underlings, believing them all to be above the law.”
Read the New Republic report at this link.