Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, with an unusual addition: former Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro. The hearing, which took place on Tuesday, is part of the committee’s annual oversight session of the Department of Justice. Bondi, who has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s handling of the Navarro case, brought her former Trump adviser to the hearing as a form of counterargument. Navarro, who was sentenced to four months in prison for failing to comply with a subpoena during the Democratic-led investigation into the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, has continued his public campaign against the Justice Department.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced that he had obtained documents detailing the FBI’s handling of the Navarro case, including a request for physical surveillance of Navarro on the day of his arrest. The FBI arrested Navarro in early 2022 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Grassley called the treatment of Navarro ‘unnecessary,’ suggesting that the FBI’s actions were influenced by politics rather than law. Bondi, in turn, accused the former Biden administration of betraying public trust by engaging in what she described as ‘political manipulation of law enforcement powers.’ She emphasized that these actions have shattered the American people’s faith in the nation’s legal system.
The hearing appears to be a strategic move by the Trump administration to preempt criticism of its broader campaign to use the Justice Department against perceived political enemies. The DOJ under Trump has been embroiled in several high-profile investigations, including probes into Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was a key figure in Trump’s first impeachment trial, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who pursued a civil lawsuit against the Trump organization. Last month, former FBI Director James Comey was charged with obstruction and lying to Congress, further highlighting the ongoing tensions within the Trump administration’s legal battles.
Grassley also continued to condemn the FBI’s decision under the Biden administration to request telephone records for Republican members of Congress as part of the investigation into Trump’s 2020 election efforts. Republican senators have argued that this action constitutes an unconstitutional breach of law enforcement powers, targeting political figures without due process. The FBI’s probe focused on the certification of the 2020 election results and the subsequent attack on the U.S. Capitol, with the agency obtaining only the metadata of the calls, not their contents.
The judiciary panel includes several lawmakers who were targets of the FBI’s investigation, which was narrowly tailored around the date of the 2020 election certification and the Capitol attack. These lawmakers were not the focus of the FBI’s investigation, which was limited in scope. The broader context of the hearing reflects the ongoing legal and political disputes over the use of law enforcement in political conflicts. The hearing is expected to continue with Senator Schiff, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, set to question Bondi later on Tuesday.