Bondi Set To Give Testimony To Congress At First Hearing Since Comey Indictment - Beritaja

Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies earlier a Senate Appropriations subcommittee connected June 25 successful Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Attorney General Pam Bondi is group to attest earlier Congress Tuesday amid mounting concerns that the Justice Department nether her activity is being weaponized to spell aft President Trump's perceived enemies.

Bondi's quality earlier the Senate Judiciary Committee comes little than 2 weeks aft the section secured an indictment against erstwhile FBI Director James Comey pursuing public demands from the president to do so.

Comey, who faces 1 count of making mendacious statements and 1 count of obstruction of justness stemming from legislature grounds successful 2020, is scheduled to beryllium arraigned Wednesday successful national tribunal successful Alexandria, Va.

The Comey indictment — and the machinations that led to it — are the latest, and arguably about concerning, example of what galore ineligible observers constituent to arsenic the politicization and weaponization of the section nether Bondi.

Since she took the helm successful February, the section has been successful almost changeless turmoil. Bondi and her apical lieutenants person fired prosecutors who worked Capitol riot cases aliases investigated Trump and pushed retired elder officials astatine the FBI.

Bondi is group to attest astatine 9 a.m. ET. Watch it live:

The Public Integrity Section, which prosecutes nationalist corruption, has been almost wholly emptied out, while much than 70 percent of the attorneys successful the Civil Rights Division person departed arsenic well.

At her confirmation hearing, Bondi echoed Trump's assertions that the Justice Department nether President Biden was weaponized against Trump and conservatives much broadly.

She vowed that would alteration nether her leadership.

"The partisanship, the weaponization will beryllium gone," she told lawmakers. "America will person 1 tier of justness for all."

In an quality connected Fox News aft Comey was indicted, she told Sean Hannity, "the weaponization has ended."

"We've made that very clear," she said. "Whether you're a erstwhile FBI director, whether you're the caput of a erstwhile intel community, whether you are a existent authorities aliases section elected official, whether you're a billionaire backing organizations to effort to support Donald Trump retired of office, everything is connected the table. We will analyse you and we will extremity the weaponization. No longer will location beryllium a two-tier strategy of justice."

Traditionally, the Justice Department enjoys a grade of independency from the White House, peculiarly successful investigations and prosecutions to insulate them from partisan politics.

But critics opportunity that firewall has been bulldozed since Trump returned to agency and put Bondi and different loyalists successful apical DOJ jobs. Last month, Trump openly directed Bondi to spell aft his perceived governmental adversaries, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, a Senate Judiciary Committee member, and Comey.

"We can't hold immoderate longer, it's sidesplitting our estimation and credibility," Trump said successful a societal media station addressed to Bondi. "JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"

Shortly earlier that post, the president pushed retired the top national charismatic successful the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, a profession charismatic Trump tapped for the domiciled earlier this year. Siebert's agency was starring investigations into some James and Comey, and Siebert had had expressed concerns about the spot of the grounds successful some cases.

Trump past installed Lindsey Halligan, a erstwhile security lawyer and White House adjutant pinch nary prosecutorial experience, arsenic U.S. lawyer to switch Siebert. She sought and secured an indictment against Comey, overruling profession prosecutors who questioned the spot of the case.

After Comey was charged, Bondi posted connected societal media: "No 1 is supra the law. Today's indictment reflects this Department of Justice's committedness to holding those who maltreatment positions of powerfulness accountable for misleading the American people. We will travel the facts successful this case."

Since his indictment, respective profession prosecutors successful that U.S. attorney's agency person been fired.

A missive signed by about 300 erstwhile profession DOJ labor and released connected the eve of Bondi's proceeding says the section is failing to uphold the norm of law, support the state safe and protect civilian rights.

"The management is taking a sledgehammer to different longstanding activity the Department has done to protect communities and the norm of law, too," the missive says. "We telephone connected these leaders to reverse people — to retrieve the oath we each took to uphold the Constitution — and adhere to the ineligible guardrails and organization norms connected which our justness strategy relies."

The missive was released by Justice Connection, a group that supports DOJ employees.

DOJ has not responded to BERITAJA's petition for remark connected the letter.