The replacement for ex-Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general pick doesn't have near the baggage her predecessor carried — but that doesn't mean she is not another problematic choice.
That was the opinion of two analysts on MSNBC Friday during a discussion on former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was selected after Gaetz withdrew amid swirling speculation that he would never be confirmed.
Speaking with host Ana Cabrera, former House Speaker John Boehner adviser Maura Gillespie cast a jaundiced eye at Bondi based on her past actions defending Trump. As Florida AG, she shut down a state investigation into Trump University around the same time her political group received a $25,000 donation from the Trump Foundation. Bondi later served as one of Trump's defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
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"Is there any red flag you see with Pam Bondi then?" she was asked.
"Personally, of course," she replied, "It's just a loyalist pick. At this point she has credentials to back her up as opposed to Matt Gaetz having nothing behind him to say why he should have this position. So senators will be able to use that, the fact she was Florida's attorney general, and be able to point to that and say she has credentials to do this job and they will use that confirmation hearing to bolster their support for her.
"But there are certainly red flags across the board when it comes to the Trump team."
Cabrera then pressed Gillespie and former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg to make the case against the latest Trump appointee.
After sharing clips of Bondi making inflammatory statements in support of Trump, including the his administration should go after the "deep state," Carbrera asked, "Is that someone who can be trusted to lead the Justice Department for all Americans and without fear or favor in their work?"
"No," Greenberg replied with a short laugh. "That's somebody who is chosen so she can be loyal to Donald Trump. She's not there to serve the public, she's there to serve him and when you hear rhetoric like that, that's not the kind of person who should be leading the Justice Department. "
"This is somebody who also peddled false election claims from 2020, saying that Donald Trump won Pennsylvania in a press conference when he did not, talking about fake ballots, where none existed and no evidence of it," she continued. "So is she a dangerous pick? Yes. Is she a step above Matt Gaetz because she's not being investigated by the DOJ that we know of? Sure, because she was also a prosecutor."
"So, yes, a step up, but that is a very low bar and when you have somebody speaking in the way that she has, where really it is just about is she going to cater to Donald Trump's whims, is she going to serve out his personal agenda and his vendettas? Is she there to really further his business interests? I have a feeling the answer to all those questions is yes, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten the nod," she added.
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