Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi for answers as she faces a grilling from senators on Tuesday about her tenure running the Department of Justice.
Among questions about the deployment of National Guard troops to cities and her handling of the investigation into late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Grassley pressed Bondi about a GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee report from Monday that announced nine Republican lawmakers were allegedly “targeted” by the FBI during former President Joe Biden’s administration. The committee, which said it obtained a document from the FBI, claimed that the personal cell phones of GOP lawmakers were reportedly tracked as part of former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election results.
The committee alleged that Smith and his team were tracking the phone calls of Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania. The data did not include the content of the calls, but listed the time, duration and general location, according to Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“This is an outrage, an unconstitutional breach, that ought to be addressed by you and [FBI Director Kash] Patel,” Grassley said. “It’s also another clear example of why the Justice Department has had to fire personnel, who you hear Democrats defending.”
Grassley later added: “It’s time for accountability, and I look forward to hearing about your success in that regard.”
During his opening statement, Grassley praised Bondi for taking “steps to insinuate needed reforms” as he described the DOJ in a “free fall” before her confirmation.
“Under your leadership, the Justice Department has cut funding to politicized programs to reinvest in core policing activities,” Grassley said. “Focusing on crime and getting tough on criminals is a welcome change from years of Biden administration soft-on-crime policies.”
Hawley, who was listed as an alleged target, later suggested that it seems like the Biden administration “targeted political opponents,” before he went on to baselessly ask Bondi, “Who ordered the tapping of the phones of United States senators?”
“Senator Hawley, I cannot discuss the details of that right now for very good reason,” Bondi responded.
After Hawley probed the attorney general about whether a “thorough investigation” will take place, Bondi said: “We will be looking at all aspects of this, and I have talked to Director Patel at length about this.”
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