Pam Bondi treated Senate Judiciary Dems with the level of contempt they deserve

By Gary Abernathy

Most congressional hearings are strictly performative. It’s good that Republicans stopped taking them seriously.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday was condemned by many on the left because she seemed to spend more time attacking Democrat senators than trying to answer the questions they posed.

But someone I know who watched the hearing mentioned that Bondi’s performance was the latest evidence that Republicans have finally learned the lesson that they will never win over the mainstream media, and so they no longer need to care how their actions are reported. I agree.

For most of the last decade, I’ve wondered why Republicans treat the TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) Party affiliates as legitimate journalists. I find it baffling that Republicans ever grant interviews or respond to questions from the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Gannett, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC or CNN, or bother appearing on the Sunday interview shows.

As a longtime journalist, I have only reluctantly acknowledged the new paradigm that has emerged. But the fact is, in this digital and streaming world, the news media is no longer needed as a gatekeeper. People can see and judge events for themselves. That’s the world we’re in. But too many in the media still cling to the illusion of their importance. And the far-left (formerly mainstream) media is aghast at their loss of power and influence.

Finally, Republicans seem to be flat-out ignoring them, based on how many times the Post and the Times and others report that an administration official “did not respond to a request for comment.” Republicans increasingly are realizing that participating in their games helps legitimize them as real journalists, rather than the far-left political activists they’ve become.

A few of Bondi’s best moments from Tuesday’s clown show:

• When Democrats pressed her on (the very boring subject of) the Epstein files, Bondi asked, rightfully, “Did you ask Merrick Garland any of this over the last four years when he sat before you?” Great question.

• To Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin when he criticized the use of the National Guard for crime control, Bondi retorted, “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.” We can only wish.

• When Connecticut Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal tried to ask a “gotcha” question designed to impugn Bondi’s ethics, she responded, “Senator Blumenthal, I cannot believe that you would accuse me of impropriety when you lied about your military service. How dare you? I’m a career prosecutor. Don’t you ever challenge my integrity.” Perfect.

• When the extremely arrogant and annoying Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii asked about allegations against border czar Tom Homan, Bondi shot back, “You were also on video outside the White House protesting with a group … where ANTIFA members were. Does that mean you’re a member of ANTIFA?” Perfectly legitimate question.

On and on it went. Yes, Bondi was disrespectful — representing the same level of respect Democrats pay to her and other Trump administration officials. Yes, she failed to directly answer most questions — entirely appropriate, because the hearings are a dog and pony show designed for snippets and soundbites, not for serious exchanges to gather pertinent information.

As TDS Party affiliate CNN reported, Bondi came ready “to deflect Democratic questions on a number of topics, from the Comey prosecution and the release of the Epstein files to the deployment of National Guard troops in blue states. She also had a host of personal attacks at the ready to try to brush back her Democratic questioners.”

That’s exactly how every Trump administration official should approach congressional hearings when answering questions from Democrats. And, frankly, it’s how Democrats should respond to questions from Republicans, when the tables are turned. These hearings stopped being serious about the time they began to be carried live on cable TV channels.

Congressional hearings long ago morphed into nothing more than performative art. Republicans come prepared with “gotcha” questions for Democrats, and Democrats do the same. The hearings aren’t designed to be informative. They’re designed for each side to come away with clips to be used as fundraising fodder or to get quick, favorable hits on cable channels that cater to the left or right.

FBI Director Kash Patel’s recent testimony before the same committee was a good example of a combative witness giving at least as good as he got. But Bondi took it to another level on Tuesday, barely letting Senate Democrats get questions out of their mouths before launching into what were clearly prepared attacks and accusations against her interrogators.

The good thing that might eventually result from the bitter animosity on display at recent hearings between Trump administration officials and congressional Democrats is that maybe we can just stop holding these hearings altogether, short of developments representing real reasons for Congress to get involved.

As suggested earlier, longstanding fear of critical media coverage helped prevent the kind of performance Bondi delivered Tuesday. But Republicans have finally shed the weight of worrying about such coverage. The affiliates of the TDS Party are going to lie and mislead, along with mischaracterizing everything Republicans do. Republicans have finally seemed to learn that they will never be covered accurately or fairly by TDS Party “news” outlets.

That’s because most of those who work at such outlets are no longer journalists. They are far-left partisans. Expecting fairness from them is like a Republican walking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee for an interview by the DNC communications director and expecting a balanced story. It’s not possible, and it’s foolish to even try.

Freed from the fear of the far-left media, the GOP no longer feels compelled to play the game — a game that has long been fixed due to the collusion between the mainstream media and the DNC. Republicans are finally playing a game of their own, by their own rules. And Republicans are winning, because Americans are smart enough to see just how fixed the game has been for many years.