Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, had an adversarial reunion Wednesday when they went toe-to-toe in what sounded more like a lecturing match than a confirmation hearing.
The pair engaged in a combative string of questions and answers that at times drudged up apparently unsettled grievances from the last time the two squared off in 2020 when Schiff was a House impeachment manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial and Bondi a personal defense attorney for the then-president.
Five years later, Schiff and Bondi were now sparring over new contentious subjects like the legitimacy of the 2020 election, pardoning Jan. 6 rioters, and targeting political opponents as Bondi testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee on how she would oversee the Department of Justice.
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“You seem reluctant to answer a simple question,” Schiff said at one point after pressing Bondi whether she would investigate special counsel Jack Smith for his criminal prosecutions of Trump.
Trump has expressed a desire to seek retribution against Smith, who is resigning from the Justice Department effective Friday ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
“I haven’t seen the file. I haven’t seen the investigation. I haven’t looked at anything,” Bondi said. “It would be irresponsible of me to make a commitment regarding anything — you’re a long-practicing attorney — without looking at a file.”
Pressed if Liz Cheney should likewise be investigated for the former Wyoming Republican congresswoman’s role on the House Jan. 6 Committee, Bondi pivoted the conversation to crime in Schiff’s home state. Trump has suggested Cheney should be jailed for her involvement.
“No one has asked me to investigate,” Bondi responded. “You know what we should be worried about? The crime rate in California right now is through the roof. … That’s what I want to be focused on, senator, if I’m confirmed as attorney general.”
Schiff shot back: “What you’re suggesting today by your non-answer is you don’t have the independence to say no to the president.”
Schiff echoed a question repeated by several Democrats about the 2020 election and the “easy truth” that President Joe Biden won. Bondi previously told senators that Biden “is the president” but offered a different response to Schiff.
“I will never play politics. You’re trying to engage me in a ‘gotcha.’ I won’t do it,” she said. “I won’t play politics with any ongoing investigation, like you did leaking your colleague Devin Nunes’ memo.”
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Bondi was referencing an episode from Trump’s first term when Schiff chaired the House Intelligence Committee and frequently sparred with then-ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) as Democrats investigated ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
In another testy exchange, Bondi repeated an earlier position that she would review pardons of Capitol rioters on a “case-by-case” basis if Trump seeks her opinion.
“Will you be able to review hundreds of cases on Day One? Of course, you won’t,” Schiff said.
Bondi responded: “You were censured by Congress, senator, for moments just like this.”
Schiff was formally reprimanded by the GOP-led House in a 2023 floor vote for his investigations trying to tie Trump to Russia.
Bondi further pledged to “follow the law” as part of another heated moment when Schiff asked for assurances that the Justice Department would not destroy evidence at Trump’s direction from the former House Jan. 6 panel’s investigation, of which Schiff was a member.
“Are you frightened because evidence was destroyed against President Trump that was false?” Bondi said.
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“Why do you have difficulty answering that question?” Schiff said.
“I can’t believe you’re asking such a question,” Bondi replied.
