Donald Trump’s new pick for attorney general was a fierce defender who attacked Joe Biden during Trump’s first impeachment — and clashed with a lawyer for OJ Simpson when his client moved to Florida after his murder acquittal.
Bondi, 59, who Trump announced as his pick to become the nation’s top law enforcement official following Rep. Matt Gaetz’s stunning resignation after just days amid sex trafficking allegations — has long been known as a fierce Trump loyalist.
She called him a friend while making comments at a Trump campaign rally during a blistering response after billionaire Mark Cuban said Trump didn’t want strong, intelligent women around him.
She has also parroted some of Trump’s claims about election fraud by claiming there were “fake ballots.”
At a November 4, 2020, press conference, which was also attended by former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, she falsely claimed that Trump had won Pennsylvania. “It seems like harassment to me,” she said. “We won Pennsylvania and we want every vote to be counted fairly.”
California Rep. Adam Schiff called her “one of the election deniers who, very early on in Pennsylvania, claimed to have counterfeit ballots.”
Bondi endorsed Trump in 2016 over Marco Rubio of Florida. She ended up speaking at his first convention, when audience members broke out into “lock her up” chants about Hillary Clinton endorsing Bondi. ‘Lock her up,’ I love that,’ Bondi said.
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig told CNN that Bondi was “unquestionably qualified to be attorney general,” citing her two decades as a prosecutor in Florida.
Pam Bondi has been a close advisor to Donald Trump for years and represented him during his first impeachment. As the nation’s top law enforcement official, she would oversee Trump’s federal criminal investigations, though they have appeared to fall apart since his election
In 2017, Simpson attorney Malcolm Lavergne exonerated her when, as Florida AG, she called Simpson a “scofflaw” who would drain law enforcement funds by moving to the state after she was paroled in LA.
Lavergne called her ‘possibly the stupidest person on earth’ in comments to the BBC Tampa Bay Times where he said the case should be handled by the state Department of Corrections and that it was an attempt to “gain political favor.”
He now says he was under a lot of pressure when he made the comments. While calling Bondi “vindictive,” he told DailyMail.com, “I hope she takes her position very seriously, not just as a Trump loyalist, but as an American,” saying he “wishes her well.”
It was just one of the contentious high-profile legal battles of her long career.
She was elected Florida AG in 2010 after receiving a nod from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
During Trump’s first impeachment, in which the president was accused of threatening to withhold vital military aid to get an investigation into the Bidens, tried to turn the focus back about Hunter Biden’s lucrative job on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
While she was AG, she ultimately did not join a multi-state lawsuit seeking compensation for students who said they were defrauded by Trump University. She came under scrutiny for accepting a $25,000 donation from Trump before the decision was finalized.
Bondi advised Trump at the White House, calling him a friend and speaking at his convention and rallies
Bondi clashed with a lawyer for OJ Simpson when he was released from prison on parole and wanted to move to Florida
There have been times when she has admitted mistakes. In 2013 she has said it was a mistake to oppose a state execution that conflicted with a campaign fundraising campaign.
‘I should not have requested that the execution be moved. It was (postponed) twice,” she told the Tampa Bay Times. ‘I’m sorry. And it won’t happen again.’ The victim’s family criticized the move.
Trump, who came to regret his appointment of Jeff Sessions as his first AG but saw Sessions recuse himself from the Russia investigation, praised Bondi for her loyalty in a statement.
“For too long, the partisan Justice Department has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — not anymore,” he said. “Pam will refocus the DOJ on its intended purpose: fighting crime and making America safe again.”
She has a close relationship with Trump’s new chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and both worked for the same Ballard law and lobbying firm, run by a Trump fundraiser.