Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is a longtime ally of Donald Trump.
What: Reuters
It didn’t take long for Donald Trump to present a new candidate after the withdrawal of his preferred candidate for the office of US Attorney General, Matt Gaetz: the position will now be taken over by the former Attorney General of Florida, Pam Bondi. Who is the lawyer who has been supporting Trump for years?Matt Gaetz rejects abortion rights, denies climate change, spreads conspiracy theories – Trump originally wanted him as the new US Attorney General. 11/14/2024 | 2:43 minutes
First woman to serve as Florida attorney general
Bondi worked as a Hillsborough County prosecutor for 18 years before becoming the first woman elected attorney general in 2010, Florida’s top law enforcement chief.
She held this position from 2011 to 2019. Politically, she was a blank slate when she took office. During the election campaign, however, she benefited from a declaration of support from Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008.
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Loyal supporter of Trump
Bondi, 59, threw her support behind Trump early on. During the Republican primary in Florida in March 2016, when the political newcomer Trump had not yet been determined as the party’s presidential candidate, she expressed her support for him – instead of for the candidate from her home state of Florida, Senator Marco Rubio.
She was part of the team that prepared to take over the reins of government before Trump’s first term in office began in January 2017. In the first impeachment trial against Trump – which involved allegations of abuse of power due to political pressure on Ukraine – Bondi was part of the president’s defense team.
Bondi remained loyal to Trump even after his first term ended. She continued to spread his lies about alleged election fraud and was, among other things, chair of the America First Policy Institute, which set the course for Trump’s second term in office.
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Lobbying also for Qatar
Bondi worked as a lobbyist for the Florida firm Ballard Partners, where Trump’s future White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was also a senior manager. Their customers included General Motors, the head of the MLB baseball league and a Christian group that campaigns against human trafficking.
She also lobbied for a Kuwaiti company called KGLI, for which she advocated in Washington on issues such as immigration policy, human rights and economic sanctions. In the run-up to the 2022 World Cup, she worked for the government of host Qatar.Did Trump win the US presidential election despite or because of his lies? November 6, 2024 | 27:13 minutes
Bondi also came under criticism as a prosecutor
A Trump family foundation made a $25,000 donation to Bondi’s re-election campaign in 2013. Weeks later, Florida’s attorney general decided not to investigate further the fraud allegations against Trump University, an institution now run by the real estate billionaire. Both sides denied that there might be a connection between the money and the failure to investigate.
In 2013, Bondi also came under fire for requesting that the execution of a convicted murderer be postponed for three weeks. The reason: on the day of the execution she should have been available for possible short-term appeals and applications, but she had planned a fundraising gala for her election campaign.
US Senate still has to approve nomination
As Minister of Justice, Bondi, who has been divorced twice, will be in charge of overseeing the US Federal Police, the FBI, the federal prosecutor’s office, the penal system, the anti-drug agency and the marshal service. However, the US Senate still has to approve her nomination.
Source: AP, AFP
