By Sarah N. Lynch and Daniel Trotta, Reuters
US President-elect Donald Trump tapped Pam Bondi, a staunch ally who helped defend the ex-leader against impeachment and joined lawyers who sought to overturn President Joe Biden's election, as US attorney general nominee. Photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP
US President-elect Donald Trump said on he would nominate former Florida Attorney General and loyalist Pam Bondi to be US Attorney General, moving swiftly to replace his former nominee Matt Gaetz after the embattled former congressman withdrew from consideration.
Gaetz was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of having sex with an underage 17-year-old girl and illicit drug use. He has denied wrongdoing.
Bondi, 59, was the top law enforcement officer of the country's third most populous state from 2011 to 2019, and served on Trump's Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during his first administration.
She was also part of Trump's defence team during his first impeachment trial, in which he was accused of pressuring Ukraine to conduct a corruption investigation into his rival, now-President Joe Biden, by withholding military aid. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.
Most recently, Bondi helped lead the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a right-leaning think tank whose personnel has worked closely with Trump's 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 an attorney general and who was expected to face opposition from Senate Democrats and some Republicans.
"She is certainly qualified for the position on paper," said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Florida who now works as a defense attorney with Jones Walker.
"She spent her life prosecuting cases. She has a resume, as compared to the last nominee."
Trump announced his pick of Bondi on social media, praising her for her prosecutorial experience and saying she was tough on crime as Florida's first female attorney general.
Trump, who was elected on 5 November despite being the subject of multiple criminal investigations from US and state prosecutors, said Bondi would end the politicization of federal prosecutions.
"For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponised against me and other Republicans - Not anymore," Trump said.
Former Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew as Attorney General nominee earlier today. Photo: DREW ANGERER / AFP
Past controversy
Bondi's links to Trump predate his first election in 2016.
In 2013, the Trump Foundation donated $25,000 to a political action committee backing Bondi, a potential violation of a federal ban on charities aiding political candidates. At the time, Bondi was considering whether to investigate Trump University, a for-profit venture teaching business.
When the donation made headlines in 2016, Bondi denied the US$25,000 from Trump was connected to her decision not to pursue action against Trump University, saying her office made all the relevant documents public. Trump's campaign attributed the failure to properly disclose the donation to a "series of unfortunate coincidences and errors."
Both Trump University and the Trump Foundation were shuttered following New York state fraud investigations. Trump agreed to pay a US$25 million settlement for deceiving Trump University students and was ordered to pay US$2 million in damages for misusing charitable funds.
Trump has railed against the current Justice Department leadership and vowed retribution, after Special Counsel Jack Smith secured two 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 America First Policy Institute, Bondi has remained a staunch defender of Trump.
She was among a group of attorneys to draft an amicus brief in the classified documents case in support of Trump which claimed that Smith had been unlawfully appointed.
That view was shared by US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who dismissed the case, prompting the Justice Department to appeal.
Smith and top Justice Department officials are now assessing how to wind down both criminal cases against Trump in order to comply with a long-standing Justice Department policy that prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president.
During his first term, Trump was infuriated by what he called an obstructive Justice Department, including attorneys general Jeff Sessions, who allowed a probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and Bill Barr, who publicly refuted Trump's false claims that his 2020 election loss was the result of fraud.
The broad contours of Trump's plans for the Justice Department have been communicated through Trump's own public statements, as well as statements by Mark Paoletta, a conservative attorney leading the policy planning for the Justice Department, and in interviews and public forums with former department attorneys.
Federal prosecutors will likely be directed to prioritize illegal immigration cases. Cities that hope to receive a slice of the department's US$291 million justice assistance grant program will likely have 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 government and private sector diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
- Reuters