Attorney general pick Pam Bondi earned millions from Donald Trump-related groups: filing
WASHINGTON – Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to become attorney general, made at least $3 million from the creation of the parent company of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, according to her personal financial disclosure form.
The form filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and obtained by Paste BN detailed her financial links to Trump through organizations he owns or that supported him.
Bondi, “like all other shareholders,” received $3 million in shares and warrants of Digital World Acquisition Corp. from Renatus LLC "on the morning of a merger" between Digital World and Trump Media & Technology Group, according to the disclosure form. The shares and warrants were then converted to stock in Trump Media, the filing said.
Bondi was listed as a “consultant” for the merger. She owned another $2 million to $10 million in shares and warrants in Trump Media, the filing said. She is a former Florida attorney general and local prosecutor who represented Trump during his first impeachment.
The form filed as part of her Senate confirmation process also listed her nearly $1.1 million salary last year from Ballard Partners, where she performed government and public affairs consulting.
Some of her lobbying, such as for the government of Qatar and a private prison company called GEO Group, prompted questions at her confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Independence from Trump?
Several Senate Democrats, who said Bondi is likely to be confirmed, questioned at the hearing whether she could be independent of Trump.
Trump has named at least four personal lawyers to top posts at the Justice Department, which legal experts said raises questions about whether those appointees would represent Trump or the national interest. Besides Bondi, he named his criminal defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove as deputy attorney general and principal associate deputy attorney general, respectively. Trump chose John Sauer, who represented him at the Supreme Court in personal criminal appeals, as solicitor general.
Bondi testified she would not let politics play a role in her leadership of the Justice Department.
"I believe that the Justice Department must be independent and must act independently,” Bondi said. “The No. 1 job is to enforce the law fairly and evenhandedly, and that’s what will be done if I am confirmed as the attorney general.”
“Politics will not play a part,” Bondi added. “I’ve demonstrated that my entire career as a prosecutor, as attorney general and I will continue to do that.”
Trump's transition team didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Bondi's filing.
Bondi also earned $520,000 last year from consulting for the America First Policy Institute, a think tank of former Trump administration officials. She earned $203,738 from providing legal serves to Pfizer through the law firm Panza, Maurer, & Maynard, P.A., according to the filing.
Bondi earned between $110,003 and $1 million from renting out commercial real estate properties in Florida. She earned $27,600 in contributor fees from Newsmax and a $20,000 speaking fee from a conference last year hosted by bitnile.com, an online gaming company.