Who is Pam Bondi, Mr. Trump's nominee for attorney general?

2025-01-02 18:49:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen his strongest supporters in the positions of cabinet members. However, the choice of former prosecutor Pam Bondi for the position of attorney general may face some difficult questions on ethical issues and her engagement in the field of lobbying. VOA Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti brings more details on the career of former Florida prosecutor Pam Bondi.

"Prior to becoming Florida's attorney general, I was a career prosecutor for 18 years."

Pam Bondi is best known as the first attorney general of Florida, the home state of President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago.

Here's what Ms. Bondi told VOA in 2012 when she was first elected.

"The highest position I have wanted is that of the general prosecutor, that's all. I'm focused on that. I am very determined and motivated to do the work of the prosecutor", she said in August 2012.

Ms Bondi spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2016 when Donald Trump was the party's presidential nominee, three months before he first won the presidency.

"I know Donald and I'm proud to know him," she said in August 2016

A staunch supporter of the false claim that Mr. Trump had won the 2020 election, she was also a member of Mr. Trump's legal team in his Senate impeachment trial.

Along with other Republicans, Ms. Bondi supported Mr. Trump at the trial in New York, in which a jury found him guilty on charges of falsifying business records to conceal a payment in exchange for the film actress' silence. Stormy Daniels porn.

In early December, Ms. Bondi visited Congress, meeting with senators to secure their support ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing for attorney general.

"I want to make sure that we improve the reputation of agencies like the FBI, the Department of Justice and the intelligence agencies. We need to restore their reputation as non-political institutions," said Republican Sen. John Cornyn.

Analysts say her lack of independence from the White House could be a troubling issue during her confirmation process.

"There will be times, I think that's an absolute certainty given the degree to which Mr. Trump is trying to overstep the bounds on many legal fronts, where loyalty to the law and loyalty to Trump will be in tension, and the handling of those cases by Pam Bondi will be a moot point," says James Sample of Hofstra University.

"One of the things that could be seen as a conflict of interest is her office's decision in 2013 not to formally investigate allegations of fraud by Trump University," says Claire Finkelstein of the University of Pennsylvania.

But Florida's ethics commission found no wrongdoing on her part.

"The former Florida attorney general has always offered her support. She could choose whatever she wanted," said President-elect Donald Trump.

Pam Bondi is currently part of the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, based in Washington. Analysts say senators will also ask about her high-profile clients, who she may face after she takes over as attorney general./VOA