{"id":46439,"date":"2025-09-02T15:09:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T19:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/?post_type=article&p=46439"},"modified":"2025-09-05T10:24:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T14:24:28","slug":"pam-bondi-has-weaponized-the-justice-department-to-settle-trumps-political-scores","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/tl\/articles\/pam-bondi-has-weaponized-the-justice-department-to-settle-trumps-political-scores\/","title":{"rendered":"Pam Bondi Has Weaponized the Justice Department To Settle Trump\u2019s Political Scores"},"template":"","class_list":["post-46439","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"From election denial to attacking political opponents and seizing control of Washington D.C. police, Pam Bondi has built her career on protecting Donald Trump and advancing his authoritarian agenda.","featured_image":26684,"article_type":1103,"authors":"","related_issues":[2082],"related_work":[2096],"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Time and again, Pam Bondi has shown us that she is willing to put her loyalty to Donald Trump above the rule of law, above ethical standards, and above the public good.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs the United States Attorney General, she has <\/span>weaponized the Justice Department<\/b> to shield Trump from accountability, to attack his enemies, and to advance his authoritarian agenda.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut her history of looking out for Trump \u2013 and not the law \u2013 started long before this year. To understand how we got here, it\u2019s worth looking back at her record.<\/span>\r\n

The Relationship Begins: The Trump University Scandal<\/span><\/h3>\r\nBondi\u2019s ties to Trump began long before she became his top law enforcer. In 2013, when she was Florida\u2019s attorney general, reports of fraud at Trump University were piling up around the country, with <\/span>students alleging they had been exploited for thousands of dollars.<\/span><\/a> [CITE] Florida was one of the for-profit school\u2019s biggest markets, but <\/span>Bondi\u2019s office declined to formally investigate, despite claims of deceptive practices being filed in the state.<\/b><\/a> This announcement came just shortly after <\/span>Trump made a $25,000 donation<\/b> to a political action committee supporting Bondi\u2019s re-election.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhile Florida\u2019s Ethics Commission said the situation <\/span>\u201cmay raise suspicions,<\/span><\/a>\u201d it stopped short of finding that Bondi broke the law. But this was the first of many controversies that would arise across Bondi\u2019s career and her political relationship with Trump.<\/span>\r\n

From Florida Attorney General to Trump\u2019s Inner Circle<\/span><\/h3>\r\nWhen her time as Florida\u2019s AG ended, Bondi joined Ballard Partners, <\/span>a lobbying firm with deep Trump ties and clients that included the Qatari government<\/span><\/a> (this resulted in a massive conflict of interest years later when <\/span>Bondi approved Trump\u2019s acceptance of a $400 million luxury plane gifted by Qatar<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nShe left Ballard Partners when Trump\u2019s first impeachment trial began. In 2019, she joined the White House communications team, and by 2020, <\/span>she was on Trump\u2019s impeachment trial defense team<\/b><\/a>.<\/b>\r\n\r\nAfter Trump\u2019s loss in the 2020 election, Bondi became one of the loudest voices spreading his <\/span>lies<\/b> about voter fraud. In states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, <\/span>she pushed baseless claims of election rigging<\/span><\/a>.. Her eagerness to repeat Trump\u2019s falsehoods likely helped her earn the office of the attorney general in the current administration.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

Weaponizing the Justice Department<\/span><\/h3>\r\nOnce confirmed as U.S. Attorney General, Bondi quickly turned the Justice Department into a powerful arm of Trump\u2019s political machine. She has allowed the White House to dictate sensitive legal decisions, fired whistleblowers who crossed Trump\u2019s line, and scrapped entire divisions meant to keep the government accountable.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nHere are just a few examples of how she has completely <\/span>gutted<\/b> the Justice Department and what it is supposed to stand for:<\/span>\r\n