Somehow, Trump and his supporters believe that having one agent on the FBI who disagrees with Trump’s politics makes the entire agency corrupt, but installing Trump backers in the Justice Department is completely fair.
President Trump is considering former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, sources familiar with the matter say https://t.co/2lnXAh7mh4 pic.twitter.com/edOHBT2iLc
— CNN (@CNN) November 8, 2018
Reports from the White House about proposed Trump picks to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions are even more alarming than his choice to serve as acting attorney general in the meantime. Matthew Whitaker is already being scrutinized for his pro-Trump and anti-Hillary Clinton statements from the past, but a few of the names being floated are former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who could spell even more of a constitutional crisis than the U.S. already faces.
If selected for #AttorneyGeneral, former NJ Gov. @ChrisChristie could face calls to recuse himself from Robert Mueller's investigation, given his role as a prominent 2016 campaign surrogate for Donald Trump. https://t.co/aDkgcQSl5S
— KYW Newsradio (@KYWNewsradio) November 8, 2018
Christie was a vocal Trump supporter and campaign surrogate who made appearances with the then-candidate during the 2016 presidential elections. It was rumored that Trump was considering him for the job of attorney general during the transition period before settling on former Senator Jeff Sessions, instead.
The former governor would be expected to recuse himself from overseeing Robert Mueller’s investigation should he be appointed considering his ties to the Trump campaign, although ethics has never really been Christie’s strong suit.
Alex Azar, Pam Bondi and Rudy Giuliani are among President Trump’s leading picks to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney general https://t.co/HsHLtgO8H8
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 8, 2018
Bondi is already involved in a scandal involving Trump. According to PolitiFact, a donation to Bondi’s political campaign was raised during an anti-Trump ad by the Clinton campaign.
‘He sent Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi thousands from his foundation, just as she was considering an investigation into his sham university. She cashed the check, blocked the case, and he tried to cover up the donation.’
Trump told associates he would like to fire Nielsen and replace her with Kansas secy of state Kris Kobach, who lost the governor's race, but he knows Kobach can't be confirmed. Also mentioned as a replacement: Pam Bondi – https://t.co/tgRln7yO02
— Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) November 8, 2018
While all of the facts around that donation and the subsequent dismissal of calls to investigate the fraudulent Trump University are not fully known, the issue is sure to be raised should Bondi be chosen as Trump’s appointee.
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
