by Jorge Gomez • 3 minutes
Pam Bondi—President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney General—is pledging to end the weaponization of the Justice Department, which the Biden administration used to target its political opponents, as well as religious Americans.
“I think that is the whole problem…the weaponization that we’ve seen over the last four years,” Bondi said during her Senate confirmation hearing earlier this week. “That will not be the case if I am Attorney General. I will not politicize that office. Justice will be administered evenhandedly throughout this country.”
Bondi’s statement is great news for religious liberty, especially looking back on the administration’s dismal record. Evidence abounds showing that Biden’s DOJ repeatedly went after people of faith.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri asked Bondi whether she will put a stop to these attacks, noting that “in the last four years this administration has carried unprecedented campaign against people of faith.”
“We’ve never seen anything like it in America,” Hawley continued. “It has been one of the most disgraceful chapters in the history of the DOJ. I hope you will reverse this and do right by every American citizen, especially people of faith.”
“Will you protect churches and pregnancy care centers when they are targeted for violence, when they are targeted for intimidation?” Hawley asked.
“Yes, senator,” Bondi replied.
Hawley also asked if Bondi would “stop the disparate treatment of Americans on the basis of religious faith” and “stop the deliberate persecution of pro-life Americans for nothing more than their pro-life beliefs?”
“Yes, senator,” Bondi said.
“Under your leadership, will you put a stop to the use of FBI or Department of Justice resources to try and recruit informants or spies into Christian churches or any church or house of worship in this country on the basis of nothing more than faith?” Hawley asked.
“Of course, senator,” Bondi responded.
In 2023, First Liberty reported on claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation—an agency of the DOJ—spied on American Catholics. A congressional report released in December of that year confirmed those claims.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government conducted a lengthy investigation into the FBI’s categorization of Catholic Americans as potential “domestic terrorists.” The committees published a 30-page report titled: “The FBI’s Breach of Religious Freedom: The Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Catholic Americans.”
“Religious liberty is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Accordingly, the FBI’s own policy claims it ‘never conducts investigative activities or opens an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity. The Richmond memorandum, however, paints a different picture,” the report stated.
The report concluded that “under the guise of domestic terrorism, the Richmond memorandum cast swaths of Catholic Americans as ‘radical-traditionalist Catholics’ and those practicing it as ripe opportunities for FBI ‘threat mitigation.’”
The congressional investigation was prompted by a leaked memo, which revealed the FBI had efforts underway to identify Catholics as “potential terrorists.” That document allegedly stated that the agency vowed to spy on “radical traditionalist Catholics and their ideology.” It sparked national controversy and drew sharp criticism from religious groups across the country.
This infamous “Richmond memo” relied on information from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a discredited, radical organization known for labeling political opponents as “hate groups.” It also referenced multiple Left-leaning news sources, citing them as evidence of the emergence of “white supremacy” among “radical traditionalist Catholics.”
The congressional report revealed that the FBI “interviewed a priest and choir director affiliated with a Catholic church in Richmond, Virginia” when drafting its memo. It also “relied on at least one undercover agent to develop its assessment and the FBI even proposed developing sources among the Catholic clergy and church leadership.” The FBI’s probe even involved several field offices, including Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Portland.
Dr. Ben Carson and former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker pointed out how Biden’s DOJ selectively prosecuted Christian pro-life activists for praying and singing hymns outside abortion facilities.
“Since the moment he took office, Joe Biden and his administration have engaged in a full-fledged campaign to weaponize the federal government against their political opponents and people of faith,” Carson and Whitaker wrote in a Fox News op-ed.
“11 anti-abortion protesters were convicted for peacefully protesting and praying at a Tennessee abortion clinic in 2021,” they continued. “Their crime? Arriving at an abortion clinic before it opened and sitting in prayer while handing out flyers that shared the value of human life.”
And while Biden’s DOJ prosecuted Americans simply because of their religious beliefs, the department turned a blind eye to a wave of anti-Catholic violence across the country.
“Bricks hurled through windows. Churches set on fire in the middle of the night and worshippers harangued at services. Bigoted graffiti spray-painted on walls. Death threats against students,” wrote Tommy Valentine of CatholicVote.
“These heinous acts…have all occurred over the last two years, and the Biden administration has turned a blind eye to them,” Valentine continued. “The Department of Justice under our second Catholic president has not prosecuted a single one of the attacks on Catholic churches.”
Under Bondi’s leadership, the outlook for religious liberty appears to be much better. Her record shows she will be a strong ally of religious freedom as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
In stark contrast to Biden’s tenure, the first Trump administration took the DOJ in a direction that was very favorable to religious freedom. Bondi will have an opportunity to continue these positive actions during Trump’s second term.
“Pam Bondi is a passionate advocate for religious freedom and is widely recognized as a leading defender of the First Amendment,” said First Liberty President, CEO & Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford. “She is an exceptional attorney with decades of experience as a prosecutor and in public service. She is an outstanding choice to lead the U.S. Department of Justice.”
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