Show-Me State Times

During a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi about the Department of Justice’s approach to political violence and its handling of cases involving left-wing groups. Schmitt raised concerns regarding what he described as the DOJ’s “political weaponization against conservatives” during the Biden administration and asked Bondi about her efforts to restore the department’s focus on crime-fighting.

Schmitt pressed Bondi for a commitment that the DOJ and FBI would investigate left-wing political violence. He stated, “So, Attorney General, I do want to ask you a couple questions about [left-wing political violence], because I feel like we have got to get a handle on this. Despite the overwhelming evidence that the political violence threat right now comes primarily from the left, the media just won’t do it. They won’t go along with it. They may cite a few ridiculous studies to say that right-wing political violence is the main problem. For example, one of those studies was written by an ANTIFA-affiliated professor and others counts classes on prison gang violence as right-wing political violence but refuses to count anything from the ‘2020 Summer of Love’ [and] ANTIFA attacks, like the ones that set off the explosive outside Michael Knowles campus speech. We need good data here. Will you commit to having the Department of Justice and the FBI research and release a public report on left-wing political violence?”

Bondi responded, “Yes, Senator Schmitt.”

Schmitt also addressed previous actions by former Attorney General Merrick Garland related to prosecutions stemming from protests in Portland in 2020. He said, “After ANTIFA laid siege on federal buildings and officers in Portland during the 2020 riots, your predecessor, Merrick Garland, dropped virtually all the cases against these defendants. You recently issued a new charging memo instructing federal prosecutors to aggressively pursue ANTIFA and other radical leftist wreaking havoc on our cities. What can you do to ensure that the various US Attorney’s Offices follow through on your instructions?”

Bondi replied, “Hopefully we will have our US Attorneys confirmed soon. They’ve been held up. Now our government is in a shutdown, yet our prosecutors are still working. Getting all of our US Attorneys confirmed would be a huge step forward, Senator Schmitt. But yes, our attorneys throughout this country will be focusing on that.”

The senator highlighted an increase in resources sent to St. Louis by federal law enforcement agencies: “I want to thank you too. So, I talked to you during your confirmation hearing — and also with [FBI Director] Kash Patel — [where] you’ve talked about your two pillars, which is to end the weaponization [of the DOJ] and to get back to actually crime-fighting. God bless, that is something that the American people support — despite what you hear from the other side of the dais today. In those conversations, we talked about you and Kash Patel getting field agents out in the field and doing the work of law enforcement. I said, ‘I’ve got just the place for you, St Louis’. And St Louis has now received the largest per-capita infusion of permanent FBI agents anywhere in the country, and they’re working hand-in-hand with local law enforcement. That’s what happens when you have state leaders work with federal partners to crack down on something I hope we could all agree is a scourge for our communities, which is violent crime. But that is not, you know, [what is happening]. JB Pritzker, I guess, wants his moment — these Portland people want their moment — of defying Trump. It’s crazy to me. We should all be unified in this effort of making sure our laws are enforced and taking on violent crime.”

Schmitt concluded his remarks by referencing ongoing government funding issues: “But I will say in closing, because you referenced the shutdown, it’s the same motivation — the same thing that motivates JB Pritzker to stand in front of the podium and defy Trump — is the same motivation I hear from my Democrat colleagues now in the shutdown… This is a clean CR, what they have lectured us on making sure we do 13 times in the last four years. This is about appeasing an increasingly radical base to prove that they’re willing to stand up to President Trump. And I don’t know how we get through all this unless there’s a real reckoning on the other side about that reality. But in the meantime, I’m glad you’re doing what your job is — which is to be the chief law enforcement officer of this country, focusing on violent crime, and keeping our communities safe. Thank you.”

Bondi responded: “Thank you, Senator Schmitt. And despite what they’re saying on the other side of the aisle, our agents are out there working tirelessly every day to make America safe. That was Donald Trump’s directive, and we will make it happen.”