Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has finally started to get some attention for the cash she personally “requested” from Donald Trump, the fat check which landed in Florida just in time to cause the state’s version of the Trump University lawsuit to conveniently go away, and the peachy-keen “thanks for not filing a lawsuit” prom Donald threw for her. If it’s not an obvious instance of bribery, it certainly appears to be.
But as it turns out, this is far from the only time Bondi was paid to look away.
Attorneys general are supposed to be crusaders of justice: men and women who aren't afraid to step on toes, take on tough cases and make the bad guys pay.
... the only thing the bad guys are paying is the tab. ...
If Washington has pay-to-play, these guys have pay-to-look-away. ...
And right in the middle of it all was Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The dollars Bondi asked for—and received—before Donald Trump’s little multimillion dollar lawsuit went missing are far from unique. They’re part of a pattern of behavior.
One of the attorneys lobbying Bondi represented online travel companies that were trying to avoid paying certain taxes in Florida. Bondi's predecessor, Bill McCollum, had sued the companies, trying to get the money. But Bondi dropped the matter, saying it wasn't something her office needed to pursue.
The Times listed other examples of cases that Bondi decided not to prosecute, including a for-profit online school and nutritional-supplement company — both of which were probed by authorities in other states for shady sales practices.
The way that Donald Trump funneled money to Bondi through his foundation? As it turns out, that’s Bondi’s M.O. Companies that are under investigation don’t put a stack of bills directly in Bondi’s hand. They give it to a Republican organization, and that organization then turns around and pays Pam.
Seriously, you don't have to go to law school to know that you shouldn't take money from people you might investigate. It's a blatant conflict.
Think about it. If someone mugged your wife, and a suspect then funneled $10,000 in campaign cash to prosecutor Jeff Ashton — who then decided not to prosecute — you'd be outraged.
But when it's corporate lobbyists, politicos such as Bondi claim there's nothing to see. That's just the way the game is played.
Well, the game stinks.
Pam Bondi got several checks from Donald Trump, as well as a swell party where more people could write checks—and she got it from someone who was under investigation by her office. “Stinks” is one way to say it. Bribery is another.