Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday afternoon, answering questions on doxxing, political targeting by the executive branch and the National Guard’s deployment to Chicago.
During an emotional exchange with Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Bondi said ICE agents have been unfairly targeted by cartels and the public.
Lee asked Bondi why requiring ICE agents to display personal information is “totally unacceptable” and creates an “indefensible risk to their public safety.”
Requiring agents to de-mask while protesters keep their identities hidden behind face coverings is unfair, Bondi said.
Lee interjected, “So it’s OK for them to be safe. It’s OK for antifa to be safe, for those doing the bidding of violent drug cartels to be safe. But heaven forbid our ICE officers be safe.”
Lee also thanked Bondi for her leadership in the Justice Department apprehending the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Tyler Robinson.
“Your work has sent a clear message to criminal organizations and criminally minded people everywhere, foreign and domestic: The rule of law in the United States will be enforced, and those who prey on the vulnerable will face especially swift and unpleasant consequences,” Lee said.
Democrats question National Guard deployment to Chicago
The National Guard arrived in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, following recent deployments to Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked Bondi why she believed the Guard was deployed.
“Your city has a murder rate five times higher than New York’s. Five hundred and seventy-one homicides last year,” Bondi said. “If you were serious about protecting your people, you’d be asking this administration for help.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., followed up, asking if it was legal for President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard to American cities.
Bondi said it was, and Graham asked, “What legal basis would a governor or a mayor have to deny or prevent a federal law agent from enforcing federal law?”
“There is not one,” Bondi said. “As I stated, 571 homicides in Chicago last year. That’s why (FBI) Director (Kash) Patel and Deputy AG Todd Blanche are on their way … to protect Illinois.”
Bondi also referenced the federal government’s positive relationship with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser during the National Guard’s deployment in the nation’s capitol. “She has been an incredible partner in making D.C. safe again,” Bondi said.
In D.C., Bondi said the National Guard has made 3,156 arrests and seized 294 illegal guns. Carjackings are down 87%, and violent crime is down 45%.
Biden-era political targeting under investigation
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked Bondi to comment on reports that FBI agents tapped U.S. senators’ phones under the direction of former President Joe Biden.
Bondi said she couldn’t comment on details of the investigation, saying it is ongoing.
“We already know that this was ordered by the special prosecutor Jack Smith, who reported directly to the Attorney General Merrick Garland,” Hawley said. “We know that Jack Smith was on this witch hunt because he was directed to do so by the president of the United States, Joe Biden.”
The FBI “tapped my phone, tapped Lindsay Graham’s phone, tapped Marsha Blackburn’s phone, tapped five other phones of United States senators,” Hawley continued.
“So here you have an administration that is activating the FBI against its political opponents and tapping the phones of United States senators.”
Politico reported that the phones were not tapped but the FBI requested phone records for the senators’ phones, saying it is “unclear why the FBI reviewed the phone records of the particular set of senators included on the list,” which includes eight sitting senators.
Senators debate if the legal age to buy a gun should increase
Current federal law requires American citizens to be 18 years old to buy a rifle or shotgun and 21 to buy other firearms.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., referenced the recent mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis and she asked if Bondi believes the legal age to buy a gun should increase.
Bondi said she couldn’t comment on whether she supported that policy change, but she added, “We want to keep guns where they should be: in the hands of law-abiding American citizens, while keeping them out of the hands of criminals and gangs.”
Since Trump’s inauguration in January, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has seized more than 30,000 illegal guns, Bondi said.
Lee thanked Bondi for acknowledging “the importance of protecting the law-abiding.”
“In a country where there are hundreds of millions of guns, one of the most alarming, not to mention unconstitutional, things a government could do is disarm the law-abiding,” he said.
Justice Department sued more than 400 times since Trump’s inauguration
Bondi said her department been sued more than 400 times since Jan. 20, and judges have issued more than 90 temporary restraining orders against her team, which is more than the previous several administrations combined.
“Despite the unprecedented activism we’ve seen from the lower courts, we have never ignored a court order,” Bondi said.
She continued, “And why would we? We have secured a historic 22 victories at the Supreme Court alone with more to come.”