Pam Bondi is 4th ex-Donald Trump defense lawyer chosen for Justice Department

This story has been corrected to reflect that Pam Bondi declined to join a New York state lawsuit against Trump University after Trump donated to a political action committee supporting her reelection.

President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be the next U.S. attorney general marks at least the fourth nomination of a former or current Trump defense lawyer for a top role at the Justice Department.

Trump previously nominated his criminal defense attorneys Todd Blance and Emil Bove for the number two and three positions at the department, respectively. He nominated John Sauer, who represented Trump in criminal and civil appeals, for solicitor general.

Bondi represented Trump in his first impeachment trial, in which he was accused of withholding aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigative now-President Joe Biden. The Senate acquitted Trump in that trial, largely along party lines.

The selections have sparked fears among Trump critics that the lawyers could prioritize personal loyalty to Trump over neutrally wielding the power of the Justice Department. However, the nominees' defenders have highlighted the relevant experience each pick has for the job. Bondi served as Florida's chief legal officer from 2011 to 2019.

Bondi was selected for the high-profile attorney general role hours after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz announced he would remove himself from the Senate confirmation process.

Gaetz had come under fire in part over investigations by the Justice Department and House ethics committee into allegations about sex trafficking, paying women for sex, and having sex with a minor. Gaetz has strongly denied wrongdoing and the Justice Department declined to bring charges against him. Trump transition spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer said in a statement that the allegations were "baseless," noting Gaetz was never charged. The House ethics committee has so far declined to release the report on its investigation.

Political Justice?

Trump pleaded not guilty in two cases brought by the department's special counsel Jack Smith, one alleging he unlawfully tried to overturn the 2020 election and one claiming he mishandled classified documents after leaving office. In naming Bondi for the top Justice Department role Thursday, Trump said the department would no longer be politically "weaponized."

“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”

For investigations into both Trump and Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsels, whose roles come with greater independence from Justice Department leadership. Garland said appointing Smith to oversee the Trump investigations would allow prosecutors "to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law."

Which other defense lawyers has Trump nominated?

Trump has also nominated three defense lawyers who represented him in his criminal cases.

The president-elect tapped Todd Blanche for deputy attorney general, the No. 2 spot at the Justice Department. He gave Emil Bove the No. 3 spot, principal associate deputy attorney general. Blanche and Bove represented Trump in his New York hush money trial and his two federal criminal cases. Blanche, but not Bove, will need Senate confirmation.

Trump also nominated John Sauer for solicitor general, the nation's top advocate at the Supreme Court. Sauer represented Trump in appeals in the federal criminal case dealing with 2020 election interference and in Trump's New York civil fraud case.

Why are critics concerned?

During Trump's first administration, he reportedly made efforts to use the Justice Department to go after rivals, and during the 2024 campaign, he posted on social media memes calling for his rivals to be indicted and depicting his political opponents behind bars.

Trump's first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, told federal prosecutors Trump asked him to direct the department to investigate and prosecute Hillary Clinton in the summer of 2017, according to the Mueller report. Sessions refused.

The following spring, Trump told White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II he wanted to direct the Justice Department to prosecute both Clinton and former FBI director James Comey, according to the New York Times. McGahn had White House lawyers write a memo warning that the real estate mogul could be impeached if he ordered law enforcement to go after his rivals.

Even as he was campaigning for president this year, Trump appeared to threaten rivals. For instance, he shared with social media followers a post depicting President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others in jumpsuits. He shared a separate post calling for the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol to be indicted.

Critics fear that lawyers who have represented Trump before may not be sufficiently independent or resistant to pressure from him.

As Florida attorney general, Bondi chose not to join a New York state lawsuit against Trump University shortly after a political action committee supporting her 2014 reelection got a $25,000 contribution from Trump. Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor, referenced that choice in a post on Bluesky, saying Bondi "dutifully did Trump’s bidding."

Trump agreed in 2016 to pay $25 million to settle the suit brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who alleged that Trump scammed students with false promises. The Florida attorney general's office had also received complaints from former students and Bondi had said the office was reviewing them, but she ultimately declined to open a formal investigation.

"The Florida Ethics Panel cleared Pam Bondi," Alex Pfeiffer, a Trump transition spokesperson, told USA TODAY about the "This is old, discredited news.”

Asked for a response to critics' concerns more broadly, the Trump campaign touted his election victory and his nominees' qualifications.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail — and his Cabinet picks reflect his priority to put America First," Karoline Leavitt, a Trump-Vance transition team spokesperson, said in a statement to USA TODAY.

"President Trump will continue to appoint highly-qualified men and women who have the talent, experience, and necessary skill sets to Make America Great Again," Leavitt said.

What qualifications do the nominees have?

Bondi, Blanche, Bove, and Sauer all come with relevant experience.

As Florida's top legal officer for several years, Bondi secured a settlement of more than $3 billion after a BP oil spill that she said would help the state avoid a "black hole" of litigation. She also pushed for legislation that helped the state crack down on clinics overprescribing opioids.

Sauer previously served as Missouri's solicitor general, where he oversaw the state's legal representation in court appeals. He was also a law clerk for former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Blanche and Bove, who are partners at the firm Blanche Law, have each only held prosecutorial positions that were relatively junior compared to the top Justice Department spots they have now been pegged for.

Blanche spent nine years in the federal prosecuting office in Manhattan, co-heading a violent crimes unit for some time. Bove also spent about nine years in that office, co-leading its national security unit for his last two years.

Still, Blanche and Bove's significant federal prosecuting experience contrasts with Gaetz, who has never been a prosecutor.

Contributing: Bart Jansen – USA TODAY, Ana Gon?i-Lessan – USA TODAY Network

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Pam Bondi? 4th ex-Trump lawyer picked for Justice Department