Pam Bondi

Pam Bondi
37thFlorida Attorney General
In office January 4, 2011 – January 8, 2019
Governor	Rick Scott
Preceded by	Bill McCollum
Succeeded by	Ashley Moody
Personal details
Born	Pamela Jo Bondi (1965-11-17)November 17, 1965 Tampa, Florida,U.S.
Political party	Republican(2000-present) Democratic(before 2000)
Spouses	Garret Barnes ​ ​ (m.1990;div.1992)​ Scott Fitzgerald ​ ​ (m.1996;div.2002)​
Education	University of Florida(BA) Stetson University(JD)

Pamela Jo Bondi(born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician. ARepublican,she served as the 37thFlorida attorney generalfrom 2011 to 2019, the first woman elected to the office.

In 2020, Bondi was one of longtime ally PresidentDonald Trump's defense lawyers during hisfirst impeachment trial.

Early life and education

Bondi's hometown isTemple Terrace, Florida.Her father, Joseph Bondi, was a city council member and then Mayor of Temple Terrace. She is a graduate ofC. Leon King High SchoolinTampa.Bondi graduated from theUniversity of Floridain 1987 with a degree inCriminal Justiceand was a member ofDelta Delta Deltasorority.She earned aJDfromStetson Law Schoolin 1990 and was admitted to the Florida Bar on June 24, 1991.

Early career

Bondi acted as aprosecutorand spokeswoman inHillsborough County, Florida,where she was an Assistant State Attorney. Bondi resigned this position to seek the office of Attorney General of Florida. She has made guest appearances onScarborough CountrywithJoe Scarboroughand various other cable news programming onMSNBCand worked forFox Newsas a guest host.

Bondi prosecuted formerMajor League BaseballplayerDwight Goodenin 2006 for violating the terms of his probation and for substance abuse.In 2007, Bondi also prosecuted the defendants inMartin Anderson's death.

Attorney General of Florida

2010 election

Bondi ran forFlorida Attorney Generalin the2010 election,facing off against former state representativeHolly Bensonand lieutenant governorJeff Kottkampin the Republican primary. In a competitive field, Bondi notably received the support of former Governor of AlaskaSarah Palin.The Palm Beach Postcredited her surge in support in the primary to her media-savviness, including regular appearances onFox Newsand her public association withSean Hannity.

Polling conducted byMason Dixonin August 2010 found her leading both Benson and Kottkamp in the primary. She ultimately won the primary with 37.89% of the vote.In the general election, she faced Democratic nomineeDan Gelber,a former prosecutor who spent 10 years in the state legislature.She ultimately comfortably defeated Gelber to become the state's first female Attorney General.

Tenure

Bondi was the lead attorney general in an unsuccessful lawsuit seeking to overturn thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act(known asObamacare) inFlorida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services.In the lawsuit the State of Florida and 26 other states argued that the individual mandate provision of the ACA violates theUnited States Constitution.

In 2018, Bondi joined with 19 other Republican-led states in a lawsuit to overturn the ACA's bans on health insurance companies charging people withpre-existing conditionshigher premiums or denying them coverage outright.

Bondi opposedsame-sex marriageand otherLGBT rightsissues on behalf of the state. Following the 2016Orlando nightclub shootingin June 2016, Bondi was interviewed byCNNreporterAnderson Cooper,who said that Bondi's expression of support for the LGBT community was at odds with her past record.Cooper said that Bondi was "either mistaken or not telling the truth," while Bondi accused Cooper of fomenting "anger and hate."

In August 2018, while still serving as Florida Attorney General, Bondi co-hostedThe FiveonFox Newsthree days in a row while also appearing onSean Hannity'sFox News show.Fox News claimed that theFlorida Commission on Ethicshad approved Bondi's appearance on the program; however, spokeswoman for the commission denied that, telling theTampa Bay Timesthat no decision was made by the commission and that the commission'sgeneral counseldid not make a determination whether or not Bondi's appearance as a host violated the Florida Code of Ethics. TheTampa Bay Timesdescribed it as "unprecedented" for a sitting elected official to host a TV show.

Bondi was re-elected in November2014,receiving 55% of the vote. Her Democratic challengerGeorge Sheldon,the former acting commissioner of theAdministration for Children and Families,received 42%.

Fundraising controversies

In 2013, Bondi persuaded GovernorRick Scottto postpone a scheduledexecutionbecause it conflicted with a fundraising event.After questions were raised in the media, Bondi apologized for moving the execution date.

Beginning in 2010, Bondi's association withScientologyand the multiple fundraisers that wealthy Scientologists have organized for Bondi's political campaigns have provoked controversy.Bondi has justified those contacts and her speeches before leading Scientologists by arguing that the group wishes to help her crack down onhuman trafficking.

In 2011, Bondi also pressured two attorneys to resign who were investigatingLender Processing Services,afinancial servicescompany now known asBlack Knight,following therobosigning scandal,as part of their work for Florida's Economic Crime Division. After the resignations, Bondi received campaign contributions from Lender Processing Services, though she denied anyquid pro quo.

In 2013, Bondi also received criticism following a campaign donation fromDonald Trump.Prior to the donation, Bondi had received at least 22 fraud complaints regardingTrump University.A spokesperson for Bondi announced that her office was considering joining a lawsuit initiated byEric Schneiderman,theAttorney General of New York,regardingtax fraudpotential charges against Trump.Four days later, however, apolitical action committeeestablished by Bondi to support her re-election, And Justice for All, received a $25,000 donation from theDonald J. Trump Foundation,after which Bondi declined to join the lawsuit against Trump University. Both Bondi and Trump defended the propriety of the nonprofit foundation's political donation.

In 2016, afterCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonfiled a complaint with theInternal Revenue Serviceregarding the 2013 Trump donation, the Trump Foundation stated that the donation had been made in error. It said that the Foundation had intended for the donation to go not to Bondi's PAC, but instead to an unrelatedKansasnon-profit called Justice for All.However, in June 2016, as Bondi was facing renewed criticism over the Trump donation and her decision not to join the lawsuit, her spokesman said that Bondi had solicited the donation directly from Trump several weeks before her office announced it was considering joining the lawsuit against him.On March 14, 2016, Bondi endorsed Trump in the2016 Florida Republican presidential primary,saying she has been friends with Trump for many years.In June 2016, a spokesperson for GovernorRick Scottstated that the state's ethics commission is looking into the matter, though nothing further came from the investigation.

In September 2016, the IRS determined that the donation to Bondi's PAC violated laws against political contributions from nonprofit organizations, and ordered Trump to pay a fine for the contribution. Trump also was required to reimburse the foundation for the sum that had been donated to Bondi.Neither Bondi nor her PAC were fined or criminally charged. In November 2019, Trump was ordered by aNew Yorkstate court to close down the foundation and pay $2 million in damages for misusing it, including the illegal donation to Bondi.

In 2021,The Daily Beastreported that it obtained records relating to Trump's illegal donation to Bondi, which show that Trump's organization knew that the money was being given to a PAC in Florida rather than a Kansas non-profit. The records include an email in August 2013 from Bondi's campaign finance director Deborah Ramsey Aleksander to Trump's executive assistant, Rhona Graff, identifying the PAC as an Electioneering Communications Organization and thanking Graff for meeting with her, for the promised $25,000 donation, and "for always being so responsive and wonderful to work with". A spokesperson forCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtoncalled these documents "a smoking gun" that destroys the story that Trump and Bondi had concocted to excuse the donation.

Association with Donald Trump

In 2016, Bondi gave a speech at theRepublican National Convention,during which she led "Lock her up"chants directed at the Democratic nomineeHillary Clinton.In 2019, after her final term as Florida attorney general, Bondi was hired by Ballard Partners, a firm with close ties to Trump, and she began working as a registeredlobbyistforQatar.In November 2019, she was hired by theTrump administrationto help theWhite HouseduringTrump's first impeachment proceedings,being givenspecial Government employeestatus, allowing Bondi to continue working for theArab lobby.Her position was described the following month as being to "attack the process" of theimpeachment inquiry.On January 17, 2020, Bondi was named as part of Trump's defense team for theSenate impeachment trial.

During the course of the impeachment trial, Bondi made debunkedallegationsthat formerVice PresidentJoe Bidenand his sonHunter Bidenwere involved incorruption in Ukraine,stemming from Hunter Biden's position on board ofBurisma Holdings.It was also revealed thatLev Parnas,a businessman with close ties toRudy GiulianiandUkraine,had several meetings with Bondi in 2018 while she was the Florida Attorney General, and after she left office in 2019.In 2019, Parnas was arrested and accused of illegally funneling foreign money fromUkrainiansandRussiansto Republican politicians, particularly in Florida, where he lived.

Bondi spoke in support of Trump at the2020 Republican National Convention.While ballots were being counted in the2020 United States presidential election,Bondi supported Trump'sbaseless claimsthat there was large-scalevoter fraudinGeorgia,Pennsylvania,andWisconsin.

In an appearance onFox Newson November 5, 2020, hostSteve Doocychallenged Bondi to provide evidence for her claims of fraud, to which she refused.Bondi later claimed that Trump had won Pennsylvania, despite votes there still being counted, with his opponentJoe Bidenultimately winning the state.

During the followinglame-duck session,Trump appointed Bondi to the board of trustees of theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.ThePalm Beach Postdescribed the appointment as a reward for her loyalty to Trump.

Personal life

Bondi married Garret Barnes in 1990; the couple divorced after 22 months of marriage. In 1996, Bondi married Scott Fitzgerald; they divorced in 2002. She was engaged to Greg Henderson in 2012.She is a member of theJunior League.

Electoral history

2010 Florida Attorney General election,Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pam Bondi	459,022	37.89%	N/A
	Republican	Jeff Kottkamp	397,781	32.84%	N/A
	Republican	Holly Benson	354,573	29.27%	N/A
Majority			61,241	5.05%	N/A
Turnout			1,211,376

2010 Florida Attorney General election,General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pam Bondi	2,882,868	54.77%	+2.08%
	Democratic	Dan Gelber	2,181,377	41.44%	−5.87%
	Independent	Jim Lewis	199,147	3.78%	N/A
Majority			701,491	13.33%	+7.95%
Turnout			5,263,392

2014 Florida Attorney General election,General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pam Bondi	3,222,524	55.09%	+0.32%
	Democratic	George Sheldon	2,457,357	42.01%	+0.57%
	Libertarian	Bill Wohlsifer	169,394	2.90%	N/A
Majority			765,207	13.08%	−0.25%
Turnout			5,849,235

See also

• Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
• List of female state attorneys general in the United States

External links

• Pam Bondi for Attorney General(Campaign website - not found on 1/31/2019)
• AppearancesonC-SPAN