'Crucible of war': Ex-prosecutor flags 'disturbing moments' in Pam Bondi 'circus' hearing
Donald Trump's pick for Attorney General failed at her confirmation hearing to show that she could resist her new boss and his "banana-republic creep," a former prosecutor said.
Pam Bondi appeared at her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, where she was grilled by Democrats and praised by most Republican lawmakers.
It's widely expected that Bondi will sail to confirmation, but there were some "disturbing moments," as well, according to former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance.
ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife
Vance said that, throughout Bondi's testimony, she was "incapable of giving a direct answer to the question, posed in various ways, of who won the 2020 election."
"If her introduction was full of sports metaphors, her testimony itself was more of a circus performance, with Bondi clumsily walking the tightrope between what she knew she had to say to get confirmed and what she knew she had to say to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces," the attorney wrote. "She made it clear in the process that if she falls off, it will be in his direction. Bondi possesses the essential element for any Trump nominee, loyalty, and she’s not afraid to wear it on her sleeve."
Vance claims that Bondi on paper has the qualifications for the position, but that her loyalty to Trump makes her motivations suspect. The process itself didn't help matters, according to Vance.
"Confirmation hearings are no longer an opportunity for senators to engage in an inquiry into a nominee’s bona fides. They don’t contribute much for a senator who wants to take the Constitutional duty to 'advise and consent' on a president on his nominees seriously," she wrote. "Often, it’s just a chance to score political points and make a sound bite or two for the evening news. But there were some disturbing moments in Bondi’s testimony nonetheless, particularly disturbing because of the near certainty of her confirmation."
Vance specifically highlights each moment Bondi failed to directly answer who won the 2020 election, as well as when she was asked if she would have a so-called "enemies list."
"Make no mistake about it, Pam Bondi is a Donald Trump loyalist. And, if you won’t say no to Donald Trump when it comes to the Big Lie, what will you say no to him about?" Vance asked. "When it comes to the important question of the Justice Department’s independence from the president’s demands, Pam Bondi doesn’t inspire confidence. What’s at stake in her answers is whether she can resist banana-republic creep, where a president could use the power of criminal prosecution to punish his perceived enemies and give his friends a pass."
Overall, Vance didn't have high hopes for Bondi's future in Trump's administration.
"Ted Cruz got it right today when he said he didn’t know that there was a more important job in this new administration than attorney general," she wrote. "Given Trump’s proclivities during his first administration, there is every reason for Bondi to understand in advance that her fidelity to the rule of law will be forged in the crucible of war."