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Bondi hearing live updates: Bondi suggests Jack Smith's conduct is 'horrible'
Pam Bondi is getting grilled before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
President-elect Donald Trump's choice to head the Justice Department -- former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi -- faced questions for more than five hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Democrats asked about her vow to "prosecute the prosecutors—the bad ones," referring to special counsel Jack Smith and other DOJ lawyers who investigated Trump. Democrats on the committee also pressed Bondi on Jan. 6, the 2020 presidential election results, and how she would be independent of hypothetical Trump demands.
Republicans on the committee spent a lot of their time criticizing the DOJ under the Biden Administration, alleging it was weaponized to target Trump.
The committee will reconvene to hear from outside witnesses on Thursday.
Key Headlines
Democrats on Bondi's chances: 'the odds are in her favor'
After the hearing on Wednesday, a few Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee avoided saying how they’d vote on Bondi’s confirmation.
“I would say the odds are in her favor with the majority of the Senate floor," ranking Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin said. "I don't know if a single Republican is going against her. We're still going to ask the tough questions today and tomorrow."
Sen. Adam Schiff told reporters that he’d wait until the conclusion of the questioning on Thursday to make a judgement on how he’d vote.
Schiff also objected to Bondi’s statement that she wouldn’t “answer hypotheticals” when asked if she’d prosecute her political enemies.
“There's nothing hypothetical about whether she's going to investigate Jack Smith. The president has already called for that. The same with Liz Cheney, the same with the members of January 6 committee," he told reporters. "If she can't -- in a confirmation hearing -- answer the questions, if she's not willing to tell the Senate Donald Trump lost the election ... how on earth is she expected to or can we expect her to be able to stand up to the president?"
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
Bondi suggests Jack Smith's conduct is 'horrible', refuses to say if he will be probed
During a contentious exchange with Sen. Adam Schiff, Pam Bondi repeatedly declined to answer whether she would open an investigation into special counsel Jack Smith before suggesting his conduct is "horrible."
"Senator, I haven't seen the file. I haven't seen the investigation, I haven't looked at anything," Bondi said multiple times when asked by Schiff about a potential Smith probe.
"Are you aware of a factual predicate to investigate Jack Smith, yes or no?" Schiff asked.
"Senator, what I'm hearing on the news is horrible. Do I know if he committed a crime? I have not looked at it," Bondi said.
Hearing ends
The first day of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing for Bondi's nomination ended after more than five hours of testimony. The committee will reconvene Thursday to hear from outside witnesses.
Bondi speaks on mifepristone
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker asked Bondi about the abortion pill mifepristone, which despite FDA approval, has faced numerous legal challenges that have threatened access to the medication.
Bondi said she has "always been pro-life" but would "not let my personal beliefs affect how I carry out the law."