Washington: President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday his decision to nominate Pam Bondi, the former Florida prosecutor and her close ally, for the position of the next US Attorney General.
This announcement comes after Matt Gaetz, his previous candidate, withdrew from the competition amid controversy.
Gaetz was the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee into allegations of sex with a 17-year-old underage girl and illegal drug use. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Bondi, 59, was the top law enforcement official in the nation’s third-most populous state from 2011 to 2019, and served on Trump’s committee on opioid and drug abuse during his first administration.
Bondi was part of Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment trial, in which he was accused of pressuring Ukraine to investigate corruption by his rival, current President Joe Biden, by withholding military aid. Later, Trump was acquitted by the Senate.
Most recently, Bondi helped lead the legal arm of the American Policy First Institute, a right-leaning think tank whose staff worked closely with the Trump campaign to help shape policy for his incoming administration.
Bondi’s resume contrasts with that of Gaetz, who has little of the traditional experience expected of a prosecutor and who is expected to face opposition from Senate Democrats and some Republicans.
“She is certainly qualified for this position on paper,” said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Florida who is now a defense attorney with Jones-Walker.
“She’s spent her life prosecuting cases. She has a resume comparable to the last candidate.”
Trump announced his choice of Bondi on social media, praised her for her experience in the field of prosecution, and said that she was tough in dealing with crime as the first prosecutor in Florida.
Trump, who was elected on November 5 despite being the subject of multiple criminal investigations by state and federal prosecutors, said Bondi would end the politicization of federal prosecutions.
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been used as a weapon against me and other Republicans — not anymore,” Trump said.
“Bam will refocus the Department of Justice on its intended goal of fighting crime and making America safe again.”
Strong defender
Trump criticized the current leadership of the Justice Department and vowed retaliation, after special counsel Jack Smith obtained indictments against him over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House.
In her role at the American Policy First Institute, Bondi has remained a strong advocate for Trump.
She was among a group of lawyers who drafted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of secret documents supporting Trump that alleged Smith had been illegally appointed.
That opinion was shared by U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon, who dismissed the case, prompting the Justice Department to appeal.
Smith and senior Justice Department officials are now evaluating how to close the two criminal cases against Trump in order to comply with a long-standing Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
Bondi, a conservative who gained a reputation during her time as Florida prosecutor for being tough on crime, is expected to implement Trump’s political agenda.
During his first term, Trump was angry at what he called an obstructive Justice Department, including Attorneys General Jeff Sessions, who allowed an investigation into alleged Russian interference, and Bill Barr, who publicly refuted his false claims that his 2020 election loss was the result of fraud.
The broad outlines of Trump’s plans for the Justice Department have been revealed through Trump’s public statements, as well as those of Mark Paoletta, the conservative lawyer who leads policy planning for the Justice Department, and in interviews and public forums with former department lawyers.
Federal prosecutors will likely be directed to prioritize illegal immigration cases. Cities hoping to get a slice of the department’s more than $291 million judicial assistance grant program are likely to agree to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The Civil Rights Division is expected to shift its focus away from police accountability toward defending religious freedom and filing legal challenges against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in government and the private sector.