Attorney General Pam Bondi testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Oct. 7, 2025, facing questions about DOJ politicization during the government shutdown. Democrats accused her of using the Justice Department to prosecute Trump political enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and Senator Adam Schiff. The hearing took place on day seven of the shutdown, with all DOJ staff working without paychecks.

Democrats pointed to the Comey indictment as evidence of political prosecution. A Republican U.S. Attorney in 🏛️Virginia refused to bring charges against Comey, citing lack of evidence. Trump fired that prosecutor and replaced him with a personal lawyer who secured the indictment. Trump had publicly pressured Bondi on social media to prosecute Comey.

Bondi defended the Comey prosecution but repeatedly deflected questions about Trump influence over DOJ decisions. When Democrats asked about investigating Senator Adam Schiff for mortgage fraud and protecting Border Czar Tom Homan, who allegedly took $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents, Bondi used one-liners to avoid direct answers.

The night before the hearing, documents revealed that the FBI obtained phone records of eight Republican senators and one House member as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith Jan. 6 investigation in 2023. Republican senators, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley, used this revelation to attack the FBI and justify the Comey indictment.

Bondi accused the FBI of secretly investigating Republicans to take President Trump off the playing field. She called it a historic betrayal of public trust. However, court documents show the phone records were obtained through proper legal process during Smith investigation, and there is no indication the senators were targets of the probe.

When Democrats asked about the Epstein investigation, Bondi repeatedly claimed they had connections to Reid Hoffman, a LinkedIn founder and alleged Epstein associate, rather than addressing questions about DOJ handling of the case. She used personal attacks to deflect from substantive policy questions.

Bondi stated that her personnel issue was that all DOJ agents and lawyers were working without paychecks because Democrats voted to shut down the federal government. She blamed the shutdown for DOJ challenges rather than addressing accusations of politicizing prosecutions.