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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi engaged in combative exchanges with
Democrats at a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, as she
defended herself from accusations the Justice Department was being
weaponized to serve President Donald Trump and target his political rivals.

Bondi was making the first appearance at the Senate's judiciary committee since her confirmation. She said the Justice Department was "returning to
our core mission of fighting real crime," praising local authorities who
have co-operated with the administration's efforts to send National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., and Memphis.

But Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, set
the tone early by criticizing Bondi for firing career prosecutors and
agents who worked on investigations condemned by Trump and scaling back the department's efforts to combat corruption and white-collar crime. Several officials in the Justice Department and FBI have sued the administration
over what they say were unlawful dismissals.

"In eight short months, you have fundamentally transformed the Justice Department and left an enormous stain on American history," Durbin said.
"It will take decades to recover."
WATCH l Durbin slams Bondi's record so far:

Pam Bondi accused of politicizing Justice Department for Trump
October 7
Duration 0:29
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois says Bondi has left an 'enormous stain on American history' in just eight months as attorney general.
Grilled on Homan sting, deadly boat strikes

Durbin's colleagues accused Bondi of evasiveness.

Bondi told Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other Democrats she wouldn't reveal whether she had discussed prosecuting James Comey with the
president. Comey, the former FBI director who oversaw the opening of an investigation between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian contacts, is set to appear in court Wednesday to face charges of making false statements and obstruction of Congress.

Former FBI director James Comey indicted on criminal charges

White House shifts explanation on Tom Homan, U.S. border czar accused
of taking $50,000 in a paper bag

The indictment of Comey in Virginia followed reports that the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, a Republican, resigned before those charges were filed.

Klobuchar asked Bondi about a Trump social media post on Sept. 20, in which Trump beseeched the attorney general to investigate three persons that
Trump sees as political enemies, including Comey. It's not clear if Trump intended for the post to be public or meant it to be a private message.

"I don't think [Trump] said anything he hasn't said for years," Bondi responded.

Bondi and a number of Senate Republicans on the panel evoked what they said was the politicization of the Justice Department during Joe Biden's administration. While those four years did involve two federal prosecutions
of Trump, who was a private citizen at the time, the Justice Department
also investigated Democrats for corruption, including veteran Sen. Bob Menendez, who is now in prison.
WATCH l The controversy as the U.S. government strikes in open seas:

Why is the U.S. attacking boats near Venezuela?
October 6

For weeks, U.S. forces have been destroying suspected drug-smuggling boats
off VenezuelaAs coast, leaving at least 20 people dead. For The National,
Eli Glasner explains whatAs behind the military campaign in the region and
why some experts warn it may violate international law.

During this administration, it was announced last month that Trump's deportations czar, Tom Homan, would not face prosecution in connection with
a reported sting operation last year.

Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse asked Bondi what became of the $50,000 US that was part of that probe, and whether Homan had declared the money in his tax return. Homan has not definitively stated he didn't take
the cash, though he has declared he did nothing illegal.

Bondi did not answer Whitehouse's questions, pointing to a previous
statement by FBI Director Kash Patel.

Patel said at the time that the probe "originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing."

When Whitehouse pressed Bondi on his specific questions, the attorney
general responded with unspecified allegations regarding the senator's wife and political donations the senator had received from Linkedin co-founder
Reid Hoffman, known to have been friends at one time with Jeffrey Epstein.

The comments, which Whitehouse dismissed as "far-right internet talking points," illustrated Bondi departing from the more circumspect testimony
seen by officials like former attorney general Merrick Garland and ex-FBI director Christopher Wray.
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