The confirmation hearing for Donald Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department, Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, corporate lobbyist and longtime fixture in Trump’s orbit was characterized by sharp questioning from Democratic senators concerned by her perceived loyalty to Trump.
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00:00Most Americans believe that central to the peaceful transition of power in a democracy
00:06is the acceptance of the results of an election. To my knowledge, Donald Trump has never
00:11acknowledged the legal results of the 2020 election. Are you prepared to say today,
00:17under oath, without reservation, that Donald Trump lost the presidential contest to Joe Biden in 2020?
00:24Ranking Member Durbin, President Biden is the president of the United States. He was duly sworn
00:30in and he is the president of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power.
00:35President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024. Do you have any doubts that Joe
00:44Biden had the majority of votes, electoral votes, necessary to be elected president in 2020?
00:50You know, Senator, all I can tell you as a prosecutor is from my firsthand experience.
00:56And I accept the results. I accept, of course, that Joe Biden is president of the United States.
01:01But what I can tell you is what I saw firsthand when I went to Pennsylvania as an advocate for
01:08the campaign. I was an advocate for the campaign and I was on the ground in Pennsylvania and I saw
01:15many things there. But do I accept the results? Of course I do. Do I agree with what happened?
01:20And I saw so much, you know, not no one from either side of the aisle should want there to be
01:28any issues with election integrity in our country. I think that question deserved a yes or no.
01:36And I think the length of your answer is an indication that you weren't prepared to answer
01:41yes. Do you believe that the January 6 rioters who've been convicted of violent assaults on
01:46police officers should be pardoned? Senator, if confirmed as attorney general of the United States,
01:56the pardons, of course, fall under the president. But if asked to look at those cases, I will look
02:03at each case and advise on a case-by-case basis, just as I did my entire career as a prosecutor.
02:13It would not be appropriate for a prosecutor to start with a name and look for a crime.
02:22It's a prosecutor's job to start with a crime and look for a name, correct?
02:28Senator, I think that is the whole problem with the weaponization that we have seen the last
02:32four years and what's been happening to Donald Trump. They targeted Donald Trump. They went
02:38after him. Actually, starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched
02:44countless investigations against him. That will not be the case if I am attorney general. I will
02:52not politicize that office. I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation.
02:59Justice will be administered even-handedly throughout this country. Senator, we've got to
03:06bring this country back together. We've got to move forward or we're going to lose our country.
03:10Yeah, I think the concern is that weaponization of the Justice Department may well occur under
03:18your tenure. We want to make sure that that's not the case. Can you clarify for me that in
03:23following ethics in the law, you'd be willing to resign if ordered to do something improper?
03:30Senator, I wouldn't work at a law firm. I wouldn't be a prosecutor. I wouldn't be attorney
03:35general if anyone asked me to do something improper and I felt I had to carry that out.
03:42Of course, I would not do that. That's one of the main things you learn when you're a young
03:46prosecutor is to do the right thing and I believe that has continued with me throughout my very long career.