Live updates: Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies to Congress on Justice Department oversight
By Washington Examiner Staff
Updated 12:00 pm, October 7, 2025
Here's what we're covering
Attorney General Pam Bondi will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 7 for the panel’s annual hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice.
She’ll likely field questions about a report published Monday night by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that showed Special Council Jack Smith targeted eight Republican Senators over the Jan. 6 riots.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who says he is a target of the DOJ for political reasons, will be present to ask Bondi questions.
15 minutes ago
Hawley calls for special prosecutor to investigate Biden DOJ
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) requested that Attorney General Pam Bondi consider appointing a special prosecutor to investigate several occurrences within the Biden administration’s Department of Justice and FBI.
“I think we need a special prosecutor to be appointed whose sole responsibility will be to get to the bottom of what has happened in every instance that I have just named,” Hawley said to Bondi.
Hawley referred specifically to the wiretapping of GOP senators as part of the FBI operation “Arctic Frost” announced Monday. He also referred to an FBI intelligence memo tied to the Richmond field office that linked “radical-traditionalist Catholics” to extremist violence. Hawley also pointed to an FBI raid on the home of anti-abortion and Catholic father Mark Houck, who was arrested on allegations of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
“I think we need to know exactly who approved the wiretaps on United States senators, who knew about it, what agents were involved at DOJ or the FBI. I think we need to know exactly who signed off on the Catholic memo [and] the spying memo. Who was involved with it? How far did it go? I think we need to know exactly who authorized the prosecution of Mark Houck, who terrorized pro-lifers and tried to intimidate them,” Hawley said.
34 minutes ago
Hawley decries Biden FBI for tapping senators’ phones: ‘What is happening to this country?’
Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (MO), Ted Cruz (TX), and Mike Lee (UT) speak before an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) railed against the Biden administration’s FBI for wiretapping the phones of several Republican Senators under the so-called operation “Arctic Frost.”
“You have an administration that is activating the FBI against its political opponents and tapping the phones of United States senators. Can I just say that again, for the benefit of my colleagues on the other side of the dais, tapping the phones of United States senators? This isn’t hypothetical,” Hawley said. “This happened.”
Hawley also referred to an anti-Catholic FBI intelligence memo circulated from the Richmond field office.
“What is happening to this country?” Hawley asked.
Attorney General Pam Bondi agreed with Hawley, calling the Justice Department’s actions under the Biden administration the “ultimate weaponization.”
53 minutes ago
Bondi calls Maduro a ‘narco-terrorist’ during Oversight Hearing
Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer Sen. Chris Coon’s (D-DE) questions regarding whether the Justice Department gave legal counsel to President Donald Trump on the administration’s air strikes on drug vessels in the Caribbean.
“I’m not going to discuss any legal advice that my department may or may not have given or issued at the direction of the president on this matter regarding Venezuela,” Bondi said. “What I can tell you is [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro is a narco-terrorist, and we announced a historic $50 million reward for his capture to bring him to this country to face charges.”
Bondi confirmed that Maduro is currently under indictment at the discretion of her Justice Department.
1 hour ago
Klobuchar tries to find common ground with Bondi with age restrictions on gun purchases
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said she tried to “find common ground” with Attorney General Pam Bondi on raising the age requirement to purchase an assault weapon to 21.
Klobuchar’s home state of Minnesota has endured several mass shootings in 2025, including the assassination of Democratic state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting in late August.
“In 2018 after the Parkland shooting, you were Attorney General, and there was a bill called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, and the bill banned bump stocks, enacted red flag laws and raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm in Florida from 18 to 21 and you actually defended the law in court from a challenge from the [National Rifle Association],” Klobuchar said, addressing Bondi.
Bondi said she could not discuss the law in Florida, as the situation “is pending litigation.”
“This is the most pro-Second Amendment [Department of Justice] in American history,” Bondi said to Klobuchar. “But we want to keep guns, as you said, where they should be, in the hands of law-abiding American citizens, while keeping them out of the hands of criminals and gangs.”
1 hour ago
Bondi avoids answering questions from Whitehouse regarding Homan investigation
Bondi and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sparred over the investigation into border czar Tom Homan after Whitehouse questioned Bondi about the allegations that Homan took $50,000 in cash from the FBI in a paper bag.
“The investigation of Mr. Holman was subjected to a full review by the FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors, they found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing,” Bondi said.
Whitehouse struck back, saying “that was not my question,” emphasizing he was asking about what happened to the $50,000 in question. Bondi did not answer where the cash went and referred Whitehouse to the FBI.
“Senator Whitehouse, you’re welcome to talk to the FBI,” Bondi said. “You’re welcome to discuss this with Director Patel.”
2 hours ago
Graham blames sanctuary cities for illegal immigration burden
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made a point of asking Attorney General Pam Bondi how many illegal immigrants are in Chicago during Tuesday’s oversight hearing, pointing to the fact that the Windy City is a sanctuary city.
“If you’re a sanctuary city, any place in the country, you’re making it difficult for the rest of us, because word gets out if you get to a certain city, maybe Chicago being one of them, that you’re home free. And that just encourages more illegal immigration,” Graham said.
Bondi affirmed that she agreed with Graham, pointing to lawsuits the Justice Department has filed against Illinois over its sanctuary policies.
“I am glad President [Donald] Trump is trying to change these policies, and if you need the National Guard to bring order out of chaos, so be it,” Graham said.
2 hours ago
Durbin and Bondi spar over federal troop deployment to Chicago
Attorney General Pam Bondi is sworn in for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bondi engaged in a fiery debate over the National Guard’s deployment to Chicago in the context of the federal government shutdown.
President Donald Trump announced that approximately 200 Texas National Guard members would be sent to Illinois to fight crime in Chicago. Durbin asked Bondi what the rationale was for the deployment. She defended the decision and pointed to his vote against the Republican continuing resolution to keep the government open.
“Our law enforcement officers aren’t being paid. They’re out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump,” Bondi said. “Currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.”
Durbin called Bondi’s response a “personal attack.” He told Bondi during the hearing that investigating her and the Justice Department is part of his job and that even if she doesn’t “like the experience,” other officials have “answered questions in a respectful manner.”
“That’s the kind of testimony you expect from this administration. A simple question as to whether or not they had a legal rationale for deploying National Guard troops becomes grounds for personal attack,” Durbin said.
2 hours ago
Patel headed to Chicago during federal deployment operation
FBI Director Kash Patel will be heading to Chicago as National Guard troops also make their way to the city, he announced Tuesday.
“Chicago will be saved, and this FBI will continue to crush violent crime there, and all around the country. Heading to the Windy City now,” Patel wrote on X.
The city is currently at the center of a legal battle between the Trump administration and Illinois, which, along with Chicago, initiated a temporary restraining order lawsuit against the administration’s ordered deployment of the National Guard.
Trump ordered the deployment as part of a national crime-fighting effort in cities across the United States. In Washington, D.C., crime has dropped significantly after Trump’s federalization and national guard deployment.
2 hours ago
Bondi touts over 3,800 arrests during National Guard deployment in DC
Bondi touted the Justice Department’s crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C., during her opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning.
“The results speak for themselves. We have made more than 3,800 arrests here in Washington, while seizing more than 365 illegal guns,” Bondi said.
She said the department has worked “hand-in-hand” with both officials in the district and Memphis, Tennessee.
Bondi also pointed to the department’s successes in Memphis since Trump announced federal officer deployments there in late September. She said the department has seized approximately 80 illegal guns and has made over 300 arrests in Memphis so far.
3 hours ago
‘Unconstitutional breach’: Grassley calls ‘Arctic Frost’ operation spying on Republicans an ‘outrage’
Grassley railed against the FBI investigation codenamed “Arctic Frost,” in which former Special Counsel Jack Smith coordinated surveillance on several Republican lawmakers, in a committee hearing Tuesday morning.
“This is an outrage, an unconstitutional breach, and ought to be immediately addressed by you and Director Patel,” Grassley said, addressing Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi will testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday in a hearing on Justice Department oversight.
She’ll likely face questions on a recent report published on the eve of the hearing, which showed at least eight Republican senators were targeted and spied on during Jack Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6 riots. Grassley has demanded reassurances that the DOJ and FBI have “shut this abuse down.”
Schiff, who is being investigated by the DOJ, is likely to question Bondi over the administration’s actions against those whom Trump views as his enemies. Bondi has stressed that the administration’s actions have been to do away with politicization of the department, but Democrats insist targeting perceived political enemies is weaponization.
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell on Monday. In response, Trump said he would talk to the DOJ about a pardon. Both Republicans and Democrats are staunchly against giving the convicted child sex trafficker a pardon, and Bondi is likely to face questioning about her stance.
The hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m.
4 hours ago
Jack Smith tracked calls of GOP senators during Jan. 6 investigation, FBI reveals
Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Former special counsel Jack Smith tracked the private phone communications of nearly a dozen Republican senators during his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed Monday.
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino briefed lawmakers Monday afternoon on Capitol Hill, saying Smith’s team tracked phone records and calls from major carriers in 2023 under an FBI investigation codenamed “Arctic Frost.” The effort included “tolling data” on calls made by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and one House Republican, Rep. Mike Kelly (PA), according to supporting documents sent to Grassley by the bureau.
“We were all shocked and outraged by the unjustified phishing expedition Deputy Director Bongino informed us of today,” Grassley said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. The FBI told us in our briefing that not a single one of my colleagues on that list was under investigation – the FBI did its dirty digging without legitimate predication. We expect Patel and Bongino to shut this abuse down immediately.”
Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 of crimes related to child sex trafficking. However, her appeal to overturn her conviction was denied by the Supreme Court on Monday.
“I haven’t heard the name in so long,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday evening when asked if he’d heard about Maxwell’s request for a presidential pardon. “I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look.”
“I’ll speak to the DOJ. I wouldn’t consider it, or not consider it. I don’t know anything about it, but I’ll speak to the DOJ,” he continued. “I don’t know. I may not have to speak to the DOJ. I’ll look at it. I have a lot of people who have asked me for pardons.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Donald Trump signs a presidential memorandum on the death penalty in the District of Columbia in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the “weaponization” of the Justice Department and other government agencies ended because President Donald Trump is in office, following the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
Bondi said “everything is on the table” to end the weaponization of justice in an interview on Fox News’s Hannity last month.
“Whether you’re a former FBI director, whether you’re a former head of an intel community, whether you are a current state or local elected official, whether you’re a billionaire funding organizations to keep Donald Trump out of office,” she said. “Everything is on the table. We will investigate you and end the weaponization. No longer will there be a two-tier system of justice.”
