5:03Attorney General Pam Bondi is present at an observation session of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 7, 2025. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
President Donald Trump’s intensifying control over the Justice Department, aimed at his political rivals, and the growing demands from legislators for the unsealing of additional records from federal probes into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, dominated a heated Senate session on Tuesday for Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The session before the Senate Judiciary Committee marks the initial instance since July that Bondi has encountered inquiries from lawmakers, succeeding a turbulent summer for the department, which encompassed the deployment of federal law enforcement to cities governed by Democrats, an escalating count of investigations disclosed into Trump’s political adversaries, and the contentious indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives to provide testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, October 7, 2025 in Washington.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Differing perspectives among Democratic and Republican leaders on hearing’s core subject
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley commenced the session with lengthy declarations aiming to underscore examples of what Republicans have described as the “weaponization” of the Justice Department under the Biden Administration, pointing to specific disclosures by FBI Director Kash Patel concerning the investigation into President Trump’s endeavor to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat.
“These actions are without defense,” Grassley stated. “It was a politically driven pursuit to incriminate Trump by any means necessary.”
Particularly, Grassley spotlighted a prompt disclosure by the FBI on Monday, revealing that former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigators had previously sought limited phone record details from various Republican senators around the period of the January 6th incident at the U.S. Capitol.
As a segment of his investigation, Smith broadly examined Trump and his associates’ campaign to pressure legislators into obstructing the validation of former President Joe Biden’s victory — encompassing calls directed to senators subsequent to the breach of the Capitol by the pro-Trump faction.
There is no indication suggesting Republican senators were an intended subject of Smith’s investigation, and the record details pursued by investigators would not include data pertaining to the content of any conversations they might have engaged in.
“We are bringing all of this to light because we cannot permit this to occur again within the United States,” Grassley remarked. “We intend to terminate it immediately, irrespective of whether Republican or Democrat administrations are in power.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Senator Dick Durbin converse with each other, during an oversight session of Attorney General Pam Bondi, Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 7, 2025.Kent Nishimura/Reuters
Grassley made no mention of recent directives from Trump instructing the Justice Department to act “promptly” in pursuing prosecutions of his political adversaries, nor did he address other alleged instances of politicization during Bondi’s time in office that have resulted in numerous departures of longstanding career professionals who have voiced concerns regarding the department’s potential utilization as an instrument for enacting political vengeance.
Ranking Democratic member Dick Durbin, in his opening declaration, attacked the Trump administration for its conduct in Chicago, a city which Durbin represents.
“As President Trump directs the entirety of the federal apparatus against Chicago and other American locales, the aggression toward the city I am honored to represent serves as one instance of how President Trump and Attorney General Bondi suppressed justice at the Department of Justice, even before the president’s party in command of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives forced a government shutdown,” Durbin asserted.
“The attorney general has methodically converted our nation’s foremost law enforcement entity into a tool to safeguard President Trump and his allies while targeting his opponents. Regrettably, this also impacts the American populace. You have terminated numerous senior career officials since your inaugural appearance before us,” he supplemented.
Durbin enumerated various disputes involving critics of Bondi’s Justice Department, encompassing the cessation of the probe into Border Czar Tom Homan, the dismissal of the Eric Adams matter, the recruitment of a January 6th defendant who assailed MPD officers, the administration of the Jeffrey Epstein records, and the action against James Comey.
“The events transpiring since January 20, 2025, would provoke even President Nixon’s disapproval. This constitutes your lasting impact,” Durbin conveyed.
Senators scrutinize Bondi on concluded Homan inquiry
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, also questioned Bondi on Tuesday regarding whether Bondi personally sanctioned the termination of the inquiry into Homan.
“Miss Bondi, did you give approval to close the Homan inquiry? The bribery inquiry?” Hirono asked.
“Senator Hirono, as previously mentioned, the Department of Justice and the FBI executed a thorough assessment and found no reliable evidence of any malfeasance,” Bondi answered.
Hirono then pressed Bondi concerning the department’s removal of a number of prosecutors who were involved in inquiries concerning President Trump and the January 6th assault on the Capitol.
Bondi retorted, “I will not engage in discussions about personnel matters with you.”
Hirono finalized her line of questioning by accusing Bondi of intentionally politicizing the department, transforming it from the Department of Justice into the “Department of revenge and corruption.”
In another impassioned exchange during the hearing, Bondi expressed indignation as she accused Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., of implying she was being dishonest as she avoided questions regarding the Homan inquiry.
“Firstly, is there a recording that features both audio and video of the transfer of $50,000?” Welch inquired.
“You would need to address that question to Director Patel,” Bondi responded.
“No, I am addressing you,” Welch responded.
“I am unaware of the answer –” Bondi began, before Welch interrupted, “You are indeed aware of the answer.”
“Do not accuse me of lying!” Bondi fired back. “I did not accuse you of lying,” Welch responded.
Bondi counters against Democrats
Bondi defended herself against her detractors and the Democrats during the hearing. Within her initial declaration, she characterized her tenure as the “termination” of the weaponization of law enforcement, while reiterating her considerable endeavors to execute President Trump’s agenda.
“We shall strive to regain that faith each and every day. We are returning to our fundamental mission of combatting genuine crime. Though additional work remains, I firmly believe that within a mere eight months, we have achieved substantial advancements toward these goals,” she stated.
Attorney General Pam Bondi takes notes as she testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice, Capitol Hill in Washington, October 7, 2025.Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
She also criticized judges who have ruled adversely against the administration in the months since Trump assumed office, while emphasizing the Justice Department’s series of triumphs at the Supreme Court.
“My legal representatives have performed outstanding work in furthering President Trump’s agenda and safeguarding the Executive Branch from judicial overreach,” she conveyed.
Bondi proceeded to rebuke Durbin, who had questioned her regarding the federal deployment to Illinois.
The attorney general mocked the senator regarding Chicago’s crime rate. Bondi stated that Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were en route to the city.
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Capitol Hill, October 7, 2025 in Washington.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
“Chairman, as you orchestrated the government shutdown, you cast your vote to shut down the government, and you are presently seated here while law enforcement officers are not receiving their pay. They remain on duty, safeguarding you. I wish you held the same level of affection for Chicago as you harbor animosity toward President Trump,” she asserted.
Durbin was taken aback by Bondi’s answers.
“Madam Attorney General, it falls within my purview to scrutinize you. Investigating your agency forms a segment of my responsibilities. I would appreciate the experience, but others have weathered challenges and responded to questions in a respectful manner,” he articulated.
Bondi confronts intense examination concerning Epstein files
Bondi encountered extensive scrutiny concerning contradictory statements emerging from the administration pertaining to the Epstein files, following the Justice Department and FBI indicating in a July letter that no additional releases were justified and that no evidence existed suggesting other individuals participated in or facilitated Epstein’s exploitation of underage girls.
Democrats have accused the administration of attempting to conceal any mentions of Trump or highly placed appointees who possessed past associations with Epstein, allegations the administration has refuted.
Trump and Epstein, who committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on accusations of trafficking young girls and women, maintained a friendship in the 1990s; however, the president has stated that the bond deteriorated after Epstein poached some employees from Trump’s Florida club, after he clearly instructed him against such actions.
When questioned on Fox News about the alleged Epstein client roster, the attorney general conveyed to Fox News in February, “It is presently situated on my desk, awaiting review.”
She declined to elaborate on those past statements or the intensifying demands for the Epstein files while providing testimony.
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Capitol Hill, October 7, 2025 in Washington.Kent Nishimura/Reuters
Bondi responded to individual Democrats who sought more details by highlighting donations they allegedly may have obtained from Reid Hoffman — an entrepreneur and founder of LinkedIn, who has known past connections with Epstein.
She resurfaced Hoffman’s alleged donations during an exchange with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, during which she once more declined to address his direct inquiries concerning the Epstein files.
Questions concerning political targeting
Trump has recently directed the department to escalate investigations into so-called “radical left” organizations, which he and other senior White House officials have alleged, without providing evidence, as aiding in the funding of perpetrators who have assaulted federal law enforcement officials deployed throughout the nation.
Just days subsequent to Trump’s remarks, a high-ranking official within the Justice Department instructed several U.S. Attorney’s offices around the country to ready themselves to initiate comprehensive criminal investigations into the Open Society Foundations, established by billionaire George Soros, citing criminal statutes ranging from robbery, material support for terrorism, and racketeering, ABC News had previously confirmed.
In a statement, the Open Society Foundations deemed the allegations to be “politically driven attacks on civil society, intended to stifle discourse the administration opposes and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech.”
Bondi endeavored to dismiss pointed questions from Democrats by persistently diverting attention to crimes perpetrated by undocumented immigrants within their states and districts, which were among the briefing documents she brought with her to the hearings.
Attorney General Pam Bondi attends a oversight hearing of Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 7, 2025.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
She has also refuted any characterization of the Justice Department appearing to operate in complete alignment with the White House as “politicization” of law enforcement. Bondi and other senior DOJ officials have contended instead that the two federal actions pursued against Trump by a special counsel under the Biden Administration constituted a far more egregious instance of weaponization, echoing grievances leveled at the department by Trump.
DOJ faces investigation due to increasing controversies
As ABC News initially reported, the endeavor to secure Comey’s indictment materialized over the objections of career prosecutors and followed Trump’s removal of his appointee to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who conveyed apprehensions concerning pursuing charges against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, sources revealed to ABC News.
Trump subsequently installed a White House aide and former personal attorney, Lindsey Halligan, to preside over the office and proceed with the case against Comey, and a grand jury narrowly resolved to indict him on two counts of furnishing false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation — while declining to indict him on a third false statements accusation. Comey has denied wrongdoing and is scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday for his arraignment.
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, Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington.Alex Brandon/AP
While sources informed ABC News that leadership at the DOJ expressed reservations regarding pursuing the case, Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel proceeded to publicly applaud the news of Comey’s indictment in news interviews and social media posts.
The subsequent week, the administration initiated measures to dismiss a top national security prosecutor within the office, Michael Ben’Ary, over a misleading social media post that inaccurately suggested he was among the prosecutors who resisted charging Comey.
Ben’Ary was leading a significant case against one of the alleged planners of the Abbey Gate bombing during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Within a blistering departure missive, Ben’Ary directed his critique squarely at the Justice Department’s leadership, labeling his removal as merely one in a series of recent maneuvers undertaken to eliminate career officials for political motives, to the detriment of the nation’s security.
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Capitol Hill, October 7, 2025 in Washington.Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
“This example underscores the most unsettling facet of the current operational status of the Department of Justice: the leadership displays a greater preoccupation with punishing the President’s perceived adversaries than they do with safeguarding our national security,” Ben’Ary penned. “Justice for Americans slain and injured by our enemies ought not to be contingent upon what someone within the Department of Justice observes in their social media feed on a particular day.”
The DOJ declined to comment when asked about Ben’Ary’s letter.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal pressed Bondi repeatedly on Tuesday regarding instances of pressure exerted on the department by Trump and what discussions she might have engaged in with him in the days leading up to the indictment of Comey.
“I would like to ascertain from you what conversations you held with President Trump regarding the indictment of James Comey,” Blumenthal asserted.
“Senator, I am unwilling to discuss any conversations I may or may not have held with the President of the United States. You are an attorney, you possess a law degree, and you are aware that I will not engage in such discussions,” Bondi responded on Tuesday.
Those actions have induced unparalleled unrest at the Eastern District, which oversees some of the nation’s most delicate national security, terrorism, and espionage inquiries.
Current and former officials indicate that such disquiet has resonated more broadly across the Justice Department’s workforce throughout the nation, with attorneys harboring apprehensions that they may encounter professional repercussions if they resist participation in politicized investigations or prosecutions.
On Monday, close to 300 DOJ employees who departed the department since Trump’s inauguration released a letter on the eve of Bondi’s hearing, describing her leadership as “appalling” in its treatment of the career workforce and the obliteration of longstanding standards of independence from the White House.
“We appeal to Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities with far greater intensity,” the former employees communicated. “Members in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle must administer a meaningful check on the abuses we are witnessing. Further, we entreat all Americans — whose safety, prosperity, and rights hinge on a robust DOJ — to voice opposition against its destruction.”
The DOJ declined to comment on the letter.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
