Trump names longtime ally Pam Bondi as his new attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws - eviltoast
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, was part of Trump's defense during his first impeachment trial.

Summary

Donald Trump has nominated Pam Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general (2011–2019) and longtime ally, as his pick for U.S. attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration.

Bondi, known for her work combating drug trafficking and her role in Trump’s impeachment defense, will face Senate confirmation.

Her nomination has drawn praise from Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, and is seen as less controversial than Gaetz, who withdrew amid past allegations.

Bondi’s past ties to Trump, including a donation linked to Trump University investigations, have sparked scrutiny but have been denied as improper.

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldM
    562·
    1 month ago

    Oh, and he apparently broke some laws in order to bribe her through her reelection campaign in 2013 for helping him get out of his Trump University scandal:

    New Records Shed Light on Donald Trump’s $25,000 Gift to Florida Official | New York Times | Sept. 14, 2016

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It was Aug. 29, 2013, an unremarkable day inside Florida’s whitewashed Capitol, and a typically sweltering one outside among the moss-bearded oaks and sabal palms. Around 3:45 p.m., Jennifer Meale, the communications director for Attorney General Pam Bondi, fielded a seemingly routine call from a financial reporter for The Orlando Sentinel. The attorney general of New York had recently filed a lawsuit against Donald J. Trump alleging fraud in the marketing of Trump University’s real estate and wealth-building seminars. Had Florida ever conducted its own investigation, the reporter asked.

    The Sentinel’s report, which was published on Sept. 13, 2013, paraphrased Ms. Meale’s response and took it a step further, saying that Ms. Bondi’s office would “determine whether Florida should join the multi-state case.” Four days later, a check for $25,000 from the Donald J. Trump Foundation landed in the Tampa office of a political action committee that had been formed to support Ms. Bondi’s 2014 re-election. In mid-October, her office announced that it would not be acting on the Trump University complaints.

    But documents obtained this week by The New York Times, including a copy of Mr. Trump’s check, at least partly undercut that timeline. Although the check was received by Ms. Bondi’s committee four days after the Sentinel report, and was recorded as such in her financial disclosure filings, it was actually dated and signed by Mr. Trump four days before the article appeared.