Richard J. Durbin

10/08/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2025 05:40

Durbin On AG Bondi's Testimony In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing: AG Bondi Was Unwilling, Maybe Unable, To Defend What Has Happened At DOJ

October 08, 2025

Durbin On AG Bondi's Testimony In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing: AG Bondi Was Unwilling, Maybe Unable, To Defend What Has Happened At DOJ

Durbin criticized Attorney General Bondi's refusal to answer questions about the weaponization of DOJ and her involvement in the deployment of National Guard troops to American cities in yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

WASHINGTON -U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, yesterday delivered a speech on the Senate floor about Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing to conduct oversight on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). During the hearing, AG Bondi failed to answer many of Durbin's questions regarding the weaponization of DOJ in order to prosecute the President's perceived political enemies; the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago; and the ruthless immigration raids conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

"For the first time, Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer for her tenure in the office of the Attorney General for this calendar year… She ducked many questions, and I think she believed we wouldn't notice. We did," Durbin began.

"In her opening statement, the Attorney General said that 'playing politics with law enforcement powers,' as she claims previous administrations have 'will go down as a historic betrayal of public trust… this is the kind of conduct that shatters the American people's faith in our law enforcement system,'" Durbin said. "That's interesting coming from an Attorney General who, over the course of eight very long months, has presided over exactly such a betrayal of public trust."

Durbin laid out AG Bondi's failure to remain faithful to her oath of office. Instead, she has repeatedly acted in the interest of President Trump at the expense of the American people. Shortly after President Trump publicly called for the prosecution of both New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, Erik Siebert, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was forced to resign and was replaced with President Trump's former personal lawyer and MAGA loyalist Lindsey Halligan. Just three days after Ms. Halligan was sworn in, Director Comey was indicted. In reaction, Durbin wrote to AG Bondi, demanding answers about this blatant weaponization of DOJ against the President's perceived political enemies.

"The Attorney General has systemically weaponized the Department of Justice-turning it into a shield to protect President Trump and his allies and a sword to attack his opponents. She has made clear that her loyalties lie first and foremost with the President, not the Constitution. And, in doing so, she effectively shut down justice at the Department of Justice even before the party controlling the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives shut down the government," Durbin said.

"Last week, on the Senate floor and in the wake of the federal indictment against former FBI Director James Comey that was ordered by President Trump expressly, I warned of the dangers posed by weaponizing the Justice Department in a political fashion," Durbin said. "A President, enabled by people like this Attorney General, who can warp the Department of Justice and FBI into a personal police force to target his enemies can just as easily turn it against ordinary Americans too. And, unfortunately, the City of Chicago, which I'm proud to represent, is feeling that."

Durbin continued, sharing details about how federal agents are conducting ruthless immigration raids in Chicago. During a raid conducted in the dead of night, people, including children, were ripped from their beds and detained using zip-ties.

"In an especially egregious instance in the city's South Shore neighborhood last Tuesday night, hundreds of armed federal agents rappelled from Black Hawk helicopters and swarmed an apartment building… ICE rampaged through the building, breaking down doors, rousting people out of bed, rounding up the residents without cause, detaining many with zip-ties, including women and children," Durbin said. "Detaining not just immigrants, but U.S. citizens, for hours on end, with no known justification, isn't fighting crime. It's cruel and it's un-American."

"Attorney General Bondi's Justice Department has defended this dubious legal basis for federal deployments to Illinois and diverted Department of Justice personnel and their components to assist with these efforts," Durbin said. "Many of us pushed her for answers."

As Texas National Guard troops entered Illinois and ICE agents continued to stoke chaos in Illinois, Durbin grilled AG Bondi about DOJ's involvement in the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. Durbin then denounced AG Bondi's personal attacks on him, emphasizing that her attacks were an attempt to distract from the ongoings of a Justice Department that only serves to prosecute the President's enemies.

"I asked her if anyone at the White House consulted her about the National Guard deployments to Chicago and other cities. She refused to answer [about] if she even had a conversation with the White House about their justification for sending hundreds of National Guard troops into the City of Chicago," Durbin continued.

"I asked what secret the Attorney General was trying to hide from the American people, who deserve to know the legitimate, legal rationale [for] deploying the American military to our cities. She responded by attempting to blame Democrats for the Republican shutdown and attacking me for not 'loving Chicago as much as [I] hate President Trump,'" Durbin said. "I've been a member of the Judiciary Committee for [more than] 20 years. Never have I encountered a witness from any other administration-of either political party-respond to legitimate questions with these types of personal attacks."

"But that kind of unserious response is what we've come to expect from Trump Administration officials whose priority is loyalty [to the President], not the rule of law. If DOJ is serious about reducing crime, they would work in conjunction with state and local leaders to implement evidence-based policies that do drive down violence," Durbin said. "The fact is that what this Administration actually cares about is spreading fear into the hearts of our communities and catering to the vengeful whims of President Trump and Stephen Miller. It's political theater, with an immense human price tag."

Durbin then explained that AG Bondi also refused to provide any relevant information about the Epstein client list despite her previous claims that the list was "sitting on her desk."

"I also asked the Attorney General about the Epstein client list… She refused, today, to provide any information about this list. And we know why. A few months ago, a credible whistleblower told my office that FBI agents were instructed to flag any mention of President Trump in the files from Mr. Epstein. If true, that's not law enforcement. That's political protection. So I pressed her again today for more information to be made public. She refused," Durbin said.

Durbin concluded his remarks by underscoring the danger of DOJ being led by an Attorney General that continuously makes decisions to protect the President rather than follow the rule of law.

"What we saw in today's hearing was an Attorney General unwilling, maybe unable, to defend what has happened at her Department. Whether it's the Epstein files, Chicago immigration raids, sweetheart deals for Trump allies, or the mass purging of career law enforcement, her silence tells the story," Durbin said.

"Saying, 'I'm not going to discuss this with you,' may have worked today, but one day she will need to answer for her conduct in this role. And she will need to defend her record-one that saw the dismantling of DOJ for political purposes on her watch," Durbin concluded.

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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Richard J. Durbin published this content on October 08, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 09, 2025 at 11:40 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]