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25m ago

Bondi Defends DOJ at Fiery Senate Hearing After GOP Phone-Records Revelations

Newly public records on Jack Smith’s 2023 collection of Republican lawmakers’ phone data intensified partisan scrutiny of her leadership.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Donald Trump signs a presidential memorandum on the death penalty in the District of Columbia in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Oct. 7 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Overview

  • Attorney General Pam Bondi rejected accusations of politicizing the Justice Department, telling the Republican-led Judiciary Committee the agency is refocusing on violent crime and ending what she called prior weaponization.
  • Senators cited FBI documents released by Chuck Grassley showing Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained call records for several Republican senators in 2023, a practice Bondi and GOP members denounced as an abuse of power.
  • Democrats pressed Bondi on the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, highlighting objections from career prosecutors and the rapid leadership change in the Eastern District of Virginia before charges were secured; Comey’s first court appearance is set for Wednesday.
  • Nearly 300 former DOJ employees publicly urged stronger congressional oversight, criticizing Bondi’s treatment of career staff and pointing to widespread departures that they say have weakened key operations.
  • Lawmakers challenged Bondi on the department’s refusal to release additional Jeffrey Epstein files and on legal justifications for federal deployments and lethal strikes near Venezuela, but she declined to provide detailed answers.