Attorney General Pam Bondi faces questions on DOJ probes, Epstein files at Senate hearing

The hearing came to a close Tuesday afternoon after nearly five hours of questioning. 

Sen. Ashley Moody, a Florida Republican sitting in for the chairman, thanked Bondi for her testimony and gave her a final opportunity to speak.

"They may try to destroy our country, but they won't," Bondi said. "They won't be successful, nor will our foreign adversaries, because we have the greatest president in Donald Trump and he will make America safe again and he will keep us safe." 

After sparring with FBI Director Kash Patel last month, California Sen. Adam Schiff clashed with Bondi over the now-closed investigation into border czar Tom Homan and the questions she has declined to answer at the hearing. 

Schiff unsuccessfully tried to get Bondi to say whether Homan had actually accepted $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents. Bondi pointed out that the investigation was opened before she was attorney general, and that a review of the case pointed to no sign of criminal activity.

Schiff asked whether the Justice Department would release the audio or video tape of the undercover agents' interaction with Homan, either publicly or to the Judiciary Committee. Bondi responded with a quip at Schiff over his years-long criticisms of and investigations into the president. As a member of the House, Schiff led the first impeachment prosecution of Mr. Trump in 2019 and 2020.

"Will you apologize to Donald Trump?" Bondi asked, later saying she would have fired Schiff if he was still working for the Justice Department as a federal prosecutor.

"If you worked for me you would have been fired because you were censured by Congress for lying," Bondi said.

Schiff moved on to point out the areas of questions Bondi had declined to answer over the course of the hearing, including the Comey investigation, her discussions with the White House, the Epstein files and more.

"This is supposed to be an oversight hearing in which members of Congress can get serious answers to serious questions about the cover-up of corruption, about the prosecution of the president's enemies. When will it be that the members of this committee on a bipartisan basis demand answers to those questions?" Schiff said, as Bondi tried to interrupt.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, asked Bondi about the deployment of the National Guard in cities, posing questions about the politics of the moves for the GOP.

"I'm having a real struggle right now with the National Guard being deployed and masking the abject failure of leaders at the state and local level," Tillis said, asking whether it's a best practice that "I just don't get yet."

"Seeing what's happening in Chicago, they need the National Guard," Bondi replied. "Our ICE members need the National Guard to protect the national buildings — that's why they're being deployed."

Tillis clarified that he was asking about the National Guard working with local law enforcement. Referring to local leaders, he said, "It would just seem to me that all of those bums should be thrown out in an election, and are we masking an underlying problem that will come back the minute we leave?"

"Almost the sense that they've become an arm of local law enforcement," Tillis said. "I don't consider that a best practice — it doesn't sound like you do either."

Bondi said, "I don't believe our National Guard want to be doing that, but they're going to be where they have to be to keep Americans safe."

She cited her recent visit to Memphis: "Our Guard was there, and they were thrilled — they're ready to help."

Tillis added that he believes the president is "focused on making these dangerous cities safer," but he added that "I see three and half years from now, if we don't address the systemic problems, that what we've basically done is given a governor and mayor and city councilman a pass on failing to protect their people."

"So, I just hope we strike the balance so that we're not fixing a problem temporarily only to come back maybe even worse than the problem we're fixing the moment this president who's committed to local safety leaves," he said. 

In August, an attorney for defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol said on social media that he had met with top officials at the Justice Department and pitched them on a plan to financially compensate those who had faced charges. The president pardoned Jan. 6 rioters soon after taking office.

Bondi told the committee that she has not had any meetings or discussions about creating such a fund, in response to a question from Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii.

"Senator, I have had no meetings or discussions about a fund," Bondi said.

Hirono then asked if Bondi would support or approve a potential fund if it was created, and Bondi deflected.

"Senator, you can send me the information on the fund, and I'd be happy to look at it," Bondi replied.

Bondi declined to comment in response to a question from Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, on the recent strikes on boats in the waters off Venezuela, which the administration has said were carrying drugs.

"The government's asserting the authority to summarily kill people it says are cartel members, through military strikes against boats on the open ocean in the Caribbean," Coons said. "Congress has never authorized such a use of military force, and it's unclear to me how the administration has concluded that the strikes are legal."

Coons said he's "concerned with what the limiting principle is," asking whether the government "could summarily kill people it just declares are cartel members, as well as unlawful combatants inside the United States."

"Due process is the cornerstone of our Constitution," Coons said. "I'm deeply concerned about the authority our president seems to be asserting to summarily kill people suspected of criminal activity outside the law."

Bondi, asked how she concluded that the strikes were legal, said, "I'm not going to discuss any legal advice that my department may or may not have given or issued at the direction of the president on this matter."

"Regarding Venezuela, what I can tell you is Maduro is a narcoterrorist, and we announced a historic — I announced — $50 million reward for his capture, to bring him to this country to face charges," Bondi said. "He is currently under indictment in our country. Drugs coming from Venezuela are killing our children at record levels."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, pushed Bondi on what conversations she has had, if any, with the White House regarding investigations into Sen. Adam Schiff and former FBI Director James Comey. Bondi again declined to discuss her contacts with the White House.

"I'm not going to discuss any conversations," Bondi said to Klobuchar.

The senator then pressed Bondi on a Truth Social post by Mr. Trump last month in which he questioned why charges had not been brought against Comey, Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Klobuchar asked Bondi if she considered that a "directive" to her department.

"President Trump is the most transparent president in American history, and I don't think he said anything that he hasn't said for years," Bondi responded.

During another back-and-forth over the removal of a U.S. attorney in Virginia who refused to bring an indictment against Comey, Bondi again deflected, saying she is "not going to discuss pending cases." She praised Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide who was appointed to that prosecutor's post to indict Comey, for successfully securing an indictment against him in "one of the most liberal grand juries in the country," in Alexandria, Virginia.

Bondi was questioned by Whitehouse over the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein's financial records, and whether she was aware of any photos of Mr. Trump found in Epstein's belongings.

Whitehouse pushed Bondi on why the Justice Department has not looked into "hundreds" of "suspicious activity reports" about Epstein's finances that banks flagged to the government. Bondi did not answer the question directly.

"Some people would deduce from the fact that they are called suspicious activity reports, that there might be suspicious activity, and yet you seem to have looked at zero of those suspicious activity reports involving Jeffrey Epstein accounts," Whitehouse said.

The Rhode Island Democrat then referred to "public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half-naked young women." Whitehouse did not specify which reports he was referring to, but FBI Director Kash Patel fielded a similar question during a hearing last month. Patel said he was not aware of any such photos.

"Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein's safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing?" Whitehouse asked.

"You know, Sen. Whitehouse? You sit here and make salacious remarks, once again, trying to slander President Trump, left and right, when you're the one who was taking money from one of Epstein's closest confidants," Bondi responded, referring to tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, who has said he regretted his contacts with Epstein. 

The president has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and has said he cut ties with him years before Epstein's 2008 conviction on state prostitution charges.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, questioned Bondi about allegations that FBI agents posing as businessmen in 2024 delivered $50,000 in cash to Tom Homan, now the White House's border czar. Homan did not disclose any such payment on his White House ethics filings, and Justice Department sources told CBS News the probe involved FBI and public integrity investigators before it was closed by Trump appointees.

Bondi cited Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent remarks on the allegations, saying "the investigation of Mr. Homas was subjected to a full review by the FBI, agents and DOJ prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing."

Whitehouse pressed the issue, asking what became of the cash. Bondi responded, "Senator, I'd look at your facts." 

"Are you saying that they did not deliver $50,000 in cash to Mr. Homan?" Whitehouse asked. 

Bondi repeated her previous statement. When asked again, she said, "You're welcome to talk to the FBI."

"Sen. Whitehouse, you're welcome to discuss this with Director Patel," she added.

The Rhode Island Democrat relented after multiple attempts at the question: "Nevermind, I can see I'm not going to get a straight answer from you to a very simple question."

Durbin questioned Bondi about the White House's deployment of national guard troops to U.S. cities. But Bondi said she wouldn't "discuss any internal conversations with the White House" when asked whether she had been consulted. 

"What's the secret, why do you want to keep this secret?" Durbin pressed.

Bondi fired back, blaming Democrats for shutting down the government, saying "you're sitting here" as "law enforcement officers aren't being paid."

"They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump," Bondi said. "And currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago."

Bondi added, "if you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will."

Durbin responded, "I've been on this committee for more than 20 years," saying "that's the kind of testimony you expect from this administration. A simple question as to whether or not they had a legal rationale for deploying National Guard troops becomes grounds for a personal attack."

"I think it's a legitimate question, it's my responsibility," Durbin continued. "She refuses to answer as to whether she had any conversation with the White House about deploying national troops to my state. That's an indication, I'm afraid, where we are politically in this place."

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When pressed by Grassley on what the Justice Department is doing to hold officials "accountable for their failures" in past administrations, Bondi said there have been "many terminations" inside the DOJ since Mr. Trump took office and "we stand by all of those."

Former Justice Department employees warned this week that Bondi is "taking a sledgehammer" to the longstanding work of the department which is "draining the Department of priceless institutional knowledge and expertise, and impairing its historical success in recruiting top talent."

"We may feel the effects of this for generations," the group warned. 

Bondi began her opening remarks by saying she was ending the Biden administration's "weaponization" of law enforcement against Mr. Trump and his allies.

"They were playing politics with law enforcement powers and will go down as a historic betrayal of public trust," Bondi said. "We will work to earn that back every single day."

Bondi said the influx of federal law enforcement to Washington, D.C., and Memphis are the "perfect example" of how the Department of Justice should operate, despite criticism that the administration has used the surges to pursue the administration's immigration goals instead of addressing the root issues of crime in these cities.

The attorney general also criticized judges who have ruled against the Trump administration, calling the decisions an "unprecedented degree of activism" from lower courts. She said that her Justice Department has "never ignored a court order." 

Federal lawyers have repeatedly slow-walked compliance with judges' orders, specifically after being ordered to resume funding to government organizations that the president has attempted to shut down and to return people like Kilmar Abrego Garcia who were wrongly deported.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, began his opening statement with a nod to his home state, arguing that oversight hearings like this one "have never been more important as President Trump turns the full force of the federal government on Chicago and other American cities."

"The assault on the city I am proud to represent is just one example of how President Trump and Attorney General Bondi shut down justice at the Department of Justice even before the party, controlling the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, shut down the government," Durbin said. 

Durbin also argued that Bondi has "systemically weaponized" the Justice Department "to protect President Trump and his allies and attack his opponents and sadly, the American people," pointing to firings of career officials. He claimed that with "ethical guardrails out of the way, corruption has run rampant at the Department of Justice."

The Illinois Democrat said "our nation's top law enforcement agency has become a shield for the President and his allies when they engage in misconduct." He pointed to allegations that Mr. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, accepted "a $50,000 bag of cash in exchange for promising immigration enforcement-related contracts." He also pointed to Mr. Trump's pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters, the handling of the Epstein probe, the dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the indictment of Comey, among other things. 

"What has taken place since Jan. 20, 2025, would make even President Nixon recoil," Durbin said. 

Durbin accused Bondi of transforming the Justice Department and leaving "an enormous stain in American history." 

"It will take decades to recover," he said. 

Grassley praised Bondi in his opening statement, saying the attorney general was "left with a Justice Department free fall." He said since her confirmation, Bondi has "taken steps to institute needed reforms." 

"Under your leadership, the Justice Department has cut funding to politicized programs to reinvest in core policing activities," Grassley said. "Focusing on crime and getting tough on criminals is a welcome change from years of Biden Administration soft-on-crime policies." 

The Iowa Republican lauded Bondi for creating task forces "to attack the problems left by your predecessor," including to review the "overwhelming evidence of political weaponization by federal law enforcement."

Grassley pointed to what he called examples of political weaponization by the Biden administration, citing his work to reveal information related to Arctic Frost, the FBI investigation that formed the basis for special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 investigation into Mr. Trump. He said the Biden administration "used Arctic Frost to target Republican senators, including several senators on this very committee."

"This is an outrage — an unconstitutional breach — and ought to be immediately addressed by you and Director Patel," Grassley said. 

Grassley said it's "time for accountability, and I look forward to hearing about your success in that regard."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, gaveled in the hearing just before 9:15 a.m. 

The hearing also comes after news emerged Monday that the FBI analyzed the phone records of more than a half dozen Republican lawmakers as part of an investigation into efforts by the president and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 

The records, which the FBI analyzed in 2023, enabled investigators to see basic information about the date and time of phone calls but not the content of the communications, GOP senators said. The data encompassed several days during the week of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to halt the certification of the election results. 

A document dated Sept. 27, 2023, lists nine Republican lawmakers whose records were allegedly scrutinized: Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, as well as Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania. 

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Bondi, 59, worked as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office before becoming Florida's first female attorney general. She served in the state attorney general role from 2011 to 2019.

A longtime ally of Mr. Trump, Bondi worked on his first transition team and was floated as a possible candidate for top law enforcement post during his first administration. She also worked on Mr. Trump's legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020 and would go on to work as a chairwoman of America First Policy Institute, which played a role in Mr. Trump's 2024 election effort. 

Mr. Trump's selection of Bondi for attorney general came after his first pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration as the Senate was set to consider his nomination. 

As attorney general, Bondi has been at the forefront of the administration's legal fights, most notably on immigration. The Justice Department has taken legal action against "sanctuary" cities and states that have resisted the administration's mass deportation efforts, although most of those suits remain unresolved.

Bondi will face questioning from a slate of Democrats who have asked for her department's records on the ongoing investigations into Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Sen. Adam Schiff, all vocal Trump critics.

Investigations into the three have created turmoil in U.S. attorney's offices across the country, resulting in firings and resignations. Earlier this month, the Justice Department fired two of the highest-level prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, where Comey was indicted. Those firings came days after Mr. Trump removed his own appointee, Erik Siebert, as U.S. attorney in eastern Virginia, and installed White House aide Lindsey Halligan to be the new federal prosecutor. Halligan successfully secured a grand jury indictment of Comey days later. 

Staff in the U.S. Attorney's Office had circulated a memo arguing the charges shouldn't be brought, CBS News has reported. 

Comey was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, an unprecedented move that came after the president publicly pressured Bondi to look into his longtime adversary. A grand jury voted to indict him on Sept. 25. Hours later, Comey was issued a summons directing him to appear in federal court in northern Virginia on Wednesday.

Sources have also told CBS News that the FBI is considering carrying out a "showy" arrest and perp walk of Comey, and has suspended an agent who refused to participate in the plan.

A group of more than 280 former Justice Department employees who were fired or resigned under the second Trump administration warned ahead of Tuesday's hearing that the Justice Department "cannot uphold the rule of law when it carries out the President's retribution campaign and protects his allies." The group called on Congress to "exercise its oversight responsibilities far more vigorously."

An effort to force a House vote on a measure that would compel the Justice Department to release materials related to Epstein has stalled in recent weeks as the House has remained away from Washington, though the member-driven push is on the verge of succeeding once lawmakers return.

GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California have been leading the effort, known as a discharge petition, to force the vote. House GOP leaders have opposed putting the legislation on the floor, arguing it doesn't do enough to protect victims. Though leaders control what receives a vote, a discharge petition enables members of the lower chamber to bypass leadership if they can get a majority of members, 218, to sign on.

The petition currently stands at 217 signatures, including all Democrats and four Republicans. And the House's newest member, Adelita Grijalva, won a special election last month and is expected to deliver the final signature. But her swearing-in has been delayed with the House in recess. Massie has accused House Speaker Mike Johnson of "doing everything he can" to block a vote on the bill. Johnson has said Grijalva will be sworn in once the House returns.

In July, Khanna and Massie introduced the underlying measure, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, that would require the Justice Department to release the Epstein files within 30 days. The bill came as pressure intensified on the Trump administration to release more Epstein-related files after the Justice Department issued the findings of an internal review in July that found no "client list" or evidence that Epstein had blackmailed prominent figures.