A restrained confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate for attorney general nominee Pam Bondi escalated momentarily when the former prosecutor confronted Democratic Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) for posing a “gotcha” question intended to unsettle her.
Durbin, who serves as the Senate Minority Whip and is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sought to corner Bondi by inquiring about the 2020 election and President-elect Donald Trump’s request to Georgia officials to “find” enough votes to alter the election results in his favor. For several years, Democrats have cited Trump’s remarks during a private conversation with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as evidence of his attempts to interfere with the electoral process, and Durbin appeared intent on gauging Bondi’s stance on this issue. Peering over his glasses and looking down at the former Florida attorney general, Senator Durbin began to recount the details of the controversial call before Bondi interjected. “He said to the GA Secretary of State, ‘find 11,780 votes,’” Durbin began as Bondi listened attentively.
Did you have the complete context of that call? she inquired. I have the impression that it was significantly longer and may have been taken out of context. Durbin retreated, concurring with Bondi that the “hourlong” call encompassed much more than the succinct statement made by Trump. In fact, independent fact-checking organizations have determined that Trump aimed to do more than merely “find” additional votes; his campaign presented evidence of 23 “potential” instances of individuals impersonating deceased voters throughout the state, with an investigation by Georgia officials confirming four of those cases. Trump also criticized Raffensperger, a Republican, for permitting the placement of drop boxes across the state as election officials rushed to facilitate remote voting to reduce the risks associated with Covid-19. He remarked, “And you had drop boxes, which is very problematic. You had drop boxes that were collected. We possess photographs and affidavits from numerous individuals.” He further stated, “You have drop boxes where the box was retrieved but not delivered for three days. Therefore, various occurrences could have transpired with that box, including, you know, inserting the votes that you desired.”
Bondi asserted that some of this context was absent from Sen. Durbin’s inquiries. Taken aback, the senator feebly retorted, “You can certainly listen to it, and I hope you will.” If this exchange represents the most prominent confrontation between Bondi and any Senate Democrats seeking justification to obstruct her nomination, she is undoubtedly on a favorable trajectory toward the U.S. attorney general’s office as early as next week. Her success in Wednesday’s hearing is not coincidental; for several weeks, the Florida politician has been engaged in a bipartisan charm offensive, striving to establish common ground with Trump adversaries on issues such as the criminal justice system and antitrust legislation, as reported by Politico. “I had a productive meeting with her,” stated Democrat Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to the outlet earlier this week. “She was very direct.”
Watch:
