AG Pam Bondi and Sen. Durbin Clash Over National Guard Deployment and Epstein Files

National Guard Deployment Debate

• 🎯 Senator Durbin questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding consultation with the White House before deploying National Guard troops to U.S. cities.
• 🏛️ Bondi refused to discuss internal White House conversations, leading Durbin to question the secrecy and the rationale for deploying Texas National Guard units to Illinois.
• ⚡ Bondi countered by criticizing Durbin's vote to shut down the government and stated that President Trump would protect citizens if Durbin's city (Chicago) would not.
• ⚖️ Durbin expressed concern over the political nature of the response and Bondi's refusal to answer questions about troop deployment.

Allegations Regarding Cutter and Trump's Gift

• 🧐 Durbin raised concerns about Bondi's prior representation of the royal family of Qatar and President Trump's acceptance of a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar.
• 📜 Durbin cited the Constitution and statutory law, asserting that the gift clearly violates congressional power over foreign state gifts.
• ❓ Bondi clarified her role with Qatar involved anti-human trafficking work for the World Cup and stated that any advice to the President on such matters involves consultation with the Office of Legal Counsel, whose input is confidential.
• 🤝 Bondi suggested that if Durbin's office approved her employees' responses, letters would be answered faster, and highlighted Chicago's high murder rate as a reason for needing federal help.

Epstein Files and Document Review

• 📰 Durbin questioned Bondi about a public claim that the Epstein client list was on her desk, contrasting it with the production of already public information.
• 📄 Bondi stated that she had not yet reviewed the Epstein files, which were on her desk along with JFK files, and that a memo from her office indicated no client list existed.
• 🔍 A whistleblower alleged that Bondi pushed the FBI to review Epstein-related records on a short deadline, with a directive to flag documents mentioning President Trump.
• 🚫 Bondi refused to discuss who ordered records related to President Trump to be flagged.

Flight Logs and Committee Conduct

• ✈️ Bondi questioned Durbin's refusal to release Epstein flight logs in 2023 and 2024, and asked if he took campaign donations from a friend of Epstein's.
• 🗣️ Senator Blackburn interjected, stating she repeatedly asked for the flight logs and that the committee session ended due to the invocation of the two-hour rule by the Republican side.