Washington D.C. – During today’s U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Pam Bondi, the President-elect’s choice for U.S. Attorney General failed to address major concerns about her conflicts of interest as a lobbyist, history of office peddling to corporate special interests, and willingness to serve the American people over President-elect Trump’s personal vendettas and political interests. 

“Today Pam Bondi only raised more concerns about her intent of using the Justice Department to serve corporate donors, past lobbying clients, and Donald Trump’s whims over the American people and Constitution,” said Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk. “After years of selling out her office to the highest bidder and doing political favors at the public’s expense, Bondi shows no signs of stopping now.” 

Here Are Key Questions Bondi Failed to Address Today: 

Office Peddling and Lobbying Conflicts

  • How can Bondi be trusted to protect and serve the public interest before corporate special interests and her lobbying clients that have been in trouble with the Justice Department? Accountable.US has detailed Bondi’s record of selling out her office to corporate special interests that donated millions of dollars to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) in exchange for dropped lawsuits, amicus briefs, and firings. Corporate donations were often followed by political favors, which helped avoid costly and damaging lawsuits or challenges to federal regulations that threatened profits. These potential conflicts of interest add to Accountable.US’ findings that at least five of Bondi’s major lobbying clients have had run-ins with the U.S. Justice Department she now hopes to lead. 

Justice Department Politicization

  • Given Bondi’s enthusiasm for displaying loyalty to President-elect Trump through his many unprecedented legal problems—and given his vows to unwind the Justice Department’s long-standing independence and to install uncritical political allies—how can she guarantee that her first and foremost clients as AG will be the Constitution and the American people, and not the President-elect and his personal and political interests?

    Bondi is known as an early and “outspoken defender” of President-elect Trump, who has threatened to pursue “retribution” against his perceived political enemies and is poised to “bend the Justice Department to his will.” There are many examples of Bondi’s political fealty to the President-elect: she represented him during his first impeachment when he was accused of abusing his power by trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate then-candidate Biden; she backed his widely discredited claims of election fraud in the 2020 cycle; and in 2024 she appeared in person to support him during his New York hush money trial, where he was convicted on 34 felony counts.

Influence Peddling v. Consumer Protection

  • Given the Justice Department’s various roles in protecting consumers—including through its Consumer Protection Branch and its Antitrust Division—why should the American people trust Bondi to put their interests over those of moneyed and politically-connected corporations and individuals?

While Florida’s attorney general, Bondi declined to file a fraud lawsuit against Trump University in 2013 after she “personally solicited” a $25,000 political contribution from Donald Trump. Trump later settled three related lawsuits, agreeing to pay a total of $25 million in relief for the victims of his “fraudulent university,” as New York’s then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman put it.

In another instance of Bondi turning her back on harmed consumers after taking political donations, the American Prospect recently found that Bondi “protected foreclosure fraudsters” while serving as Florida’s attorney general. After Bondi took thousands of dollars from a foreclosure mill to win her first AG election in 2010, she reportedly hindered and then ultimately fired the two state prosecutors leading investigations into foreclosure mills’ use of false evidence to force families out of their homes. 

Corporate Lobbying v. DOJ Antitrust Enforcement

  • Given that Bondi and her lobbying firm represented corporations that faced historic antitrust investigations and lawsuits, how can she be trusted to carry on the important work of fighting monopoly power and advancing robust antitrust policy, which has repeatedly enjoyed bipartisan support?

DOJ’s Antitrust Division serves as a key check on corporate power, protecting both consumers and small businesses. While Bondi chaired Ballard Partners’ Corporate Regulatory Compliance Practice, the firm represented Google, which is currently facing a “landmark” antitrust case for allegedly anticompetitive mergers and bullying companies into using its ad technology. Also, while Bondi served in this leadership role at the firm, it represented massive asset manager Blackstone, which has faced a DOJ investigation for violating antitrust laws by placing executives on the boards of competing companies.

Additionally, Bondi directly lobbied on behalf of Amazon, which has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for “illegally maintaining [its] monopoly power,” using its market dominance to “inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation.” Although the FTC is independent from DOJ, the two agencies collaborate on investigating and enforcing antitrust violations, including criminal referrals from the FTC to DOJ.

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