When Matt Gaetz’s bid for attorney general crashed and burned over the course of eight days, it seemed inevitable that Donald Trump’s second choice would be far less controversial for the simplest of reasons: It would be effectively impossible to choosing one that is more disgusting than the first. GOP Congressman.
The good news is that the president-elect quickly made a different choice to lead the Justice Department. The bad news is that she’s only marginally less ridiculous than Gaetz.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has her own long track record of controversy, including using her office to help promote and amplify Trump’s election lies after his 2020 defeat. Bondi is also known for prosecuting law enforcement officers who attempted to hold Trump accountable for his alleged crimes.
But why stop there? Bondi also falsely accused then-special counsel Robert Mueller of leading a “corrupt” investigation that was “worse than Watergate.” It is also interesting that she was a registered lobbyist for a variety of foreign and corporate clients, including the government of Qatar.
When was the last time the United States had an attorney general who worked as a lobbyist for the government of a foreign country? As far as I know, never.
And then of course there is the story of Trump University.
As regular readers may recall, the New York Attorney General’s office went after Trump’s scam operation in 2013. Around the same time, Bondi took a similar interest in the fake “school” – Florida was a hot market for the future president’s fraudulent operation – although as The New York Times reported, Florida’s then-attorney general followed a very different course.
[Bondi] publicly acknowledged that her office was investigating complaints about Trump University, but decided not to pursue a formal investigation. The decision came shortly after Mr Trump, through his family foundation, sent a $25,000 check to a political action committee linked to Ms Bondi, who was running for a second term.
It’s worth emphasizing for context that the campaign contribution was not legal: Charitable foundations are not allowed under federal tax law to make such donations to political candidates or PACs.
But that’s not what made this particular contribution so remarkable: Bondi was interested in pursuing the Trump University fiasco; Trump’s foundation subsequently donated a $25,000 check to support Bondi’s re-election campaign; and it was at that point that Bondi decided not to continue Trump’s scam operation after all.
Although she has long denied any wrongdoing, the Times report added that the circumstances surrounding her decision “will now certainly be re-examined.”
That seems like a safe bet. Tristan Snell, a former assistant attorney general in New York who worked on the Trump University case, wrote online last week that senators have a responsibility to investigate this in more detail. “If she doesn’t give a good enough answer, ask more questions,” he added.
The last time Bondi appeared on Capitol Hill in a meaningful way, she struggled to defend Trump during his first impeachment trial. Chances are her confirmation hearings will be even more difficult.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
