Committee chair Chuck Grassley asks Attorney General Pam Bondi about accusations from the Democrats that the Justice Department has moved money intended for law enforcement to immigration enforcement.

Bondi says those accusations are inaccurate, adding that law enforcement agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency are working with immigration forces to target those in the country illegally, "many of whom have committed violent crimes".

She points to the deployment of federal agents in Washington DC as an example.

Bondi touts the progress she claims law enforcement has made under her watch, delivering on Trump's tough-on-crime campaign promises.

"Our federal surges in Washington DC and Memphis are a perfect example of how the Department of Justice should operate," she say - referring to federal agents deployed by the Trump administration to those cities in a crackdown on crime.

She mentions operation Summer Heat, the FBI's crackdown on violent crime, which led to thousands of arrests and the seizure of thousands of guns and millions of fentanyl pills.

Trump's deployment of the National Guard into several US cities in recent months has drawn a round of legal challenges by state and local officials.

Image source, Reuters

Bondi begins her opening statement with a commemoration for the victims of Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023.

She then turns her focus to the progress she says her department is making in ending the "weaponisation of justice", adding that it is "returning to our core mission of fighting real crime".

Bondi accuses Democrats of playing politics with law enforcement to "take Trump off the playing field" which she says has shattered public trust.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, a ranking member on the committee, is the first Democrat with a chance to speak, using the moment to criticise Pam Bondi and the Trump administration.

He calls Trump's deployment of federal immigration agents in Chicago an "assault" on a city he represents and said its an example of Bondi "systematically weaponising" the government - mirroring the language of Grassley who alleged the same in his attack on the Biden administration.

He accuses the department of targeting Democrat-run cities rather than Republican-run cities which have higher rates of crime.

Durbin then chastises Bondi for firing "hundreds" of officials from the FBI and justice department, saying the FBI lost "thousands of years of expertise".

He also calls attention to the Epstein files - documents related to the federal investigation into the late sex offender. He says that Bondi once claimed she had Epstein's client list sitting on her desk but has yet to produce these files eight months later.

"You have fundamentally transformed the Justice Department and left an enormous stain in American history. It will take decades to recover," Durbin says.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

We’re expecting Pam Bondi to get pointed questions from Democratic senators during this congressional hearing, but the Republican senators on the committee will get their say, as well. We got a taste of what those exchanges with chair Chuck Grassley’s opening statement.

Bondi, he said, has “taken steps to institute needed reforms” and eliminate “politicised programmes”. He said the department is now “focusing on crime and getting tough on criminals”. He focused on what he said were misdeeds during the Biden administration and he criticised what he said was Democratic obstruction of the administration priorities in the Senate.

There are a few Republicans on the committee who have shown a willingness to criticise the Trump administration – Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Thom Tillis of North Carolina in particular – but they won’t get their chance to talk until later this morning.

Committee chairman Chuck Grassley next discusses the so-called "Arctic Frost" investigation carried out by the FBI under the Biden administration.

Ahead of the hearing today, Republican senators said an FBI report showed the agency had carried out surveillance of nine Republican senators in 2023. They say it took place during Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations into President Trump's unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, which culminated in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Grassley published a one-page FBI document listing the senators whose call logs between 4 January 2021 and 7 January 2021 were accessed. The content of the call was not accessed, they say.

"What I’ve uncovered today is disturbing and outrageous political conduct by the Biden FBI," Grassley said in a statement on Monday.

"The FBI’s actions were an unconstitutional breach, and Attorney General Bondi and Director Patel need to hold accountable those involved in this serious wrongdoing."

Image source, Getty Images

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is starting the hearing by criticising the work of the Department of Justice under the Biden administration.

Attorney General Pam Bondi will soon be sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee, marking the final moments before what is almost guaranteed to be a testy senate hearing.

She will begin by giving opening remarks in a carefully prepared statement.

Image source, Reuters

President Trump's anger at James Comey goes back years.

During his first presidential term, Trump fired Comey.

At the time, Comey was leading an investigation into Russian election interference and whether there were any links between Moscow and Trump's campaign.

The White House said the firing was over Comey's handling of a Hillary Clinton probe. Democrats said it was due to the Russia investigation.

This assertion was given extra weight when Trump said in an interview that Russia had been on his mind in acting against Comey.

As a result of the firing, the investigation was placed in the hands of a special counsel.

It led to dozens of criminal charges against Trump campaign staff and associates for offences including computer hacking and financial crimes.

But it did not find that the Trump campaign and Russia had conspired to influence the election.

After his firing, Comey was critical of Trump and wrote a book recounting conversations in which he said the president had acted like a mob boss by asking him to be loyal.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are filing in to take their seats in the hearing room.

As the hearing gets under way, you can follow along with us here or click watch live above.

Image source, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

In a social media post, President Trump urged Bondi to aggressively go after some of his opponents, including former FBI director James Comey.

Days later, Comey was indicted by the Justice Department and Trump was back on social media declaring: "JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI."

The sequence of events has Trump's critics accusing the president of weaponising the department for his own purposes, shattering the independence from political meddling that the agency is traditionally meant to uphold. Conservatives argue that norm was already broken with what they see as partisan investigations against Trump.

Trump has said there could be more charges coming against other political figures.

He has urged prosecutors to charge Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has denounced his actions as "a disgraceful attack on the rule of law".

Comey maintains he is innocent.

We'll likely hear more about Comey during the hearing shortly.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Pam Bondi wasn’t Trump's first choice to be attorney general during his second term– former Congressman Matt Gaetz was his original pick – but she’s become the face of Trump’s bid to dramatically reshape the Justice Department.

Top career prosecutors, FBI agents and legal advisers have been pushed out or fired for past comments, actions or an unwillingness to follow administration directives. The traditional wall of separation between the Justice Department and the White House has been eroded. The president himself has publicly called for liberal advocacy groups and some of his political adversaries to be investigated. In the case of former FBI Director James Comey, the Justice Department brought charges just days after Trump called for his indictment.

Bondi has been at the centre of the storm as one of the president’s most vocal defenders and promoters of his policies. This morning, she will face a grilling from Judiciary Committee senators, who are sure to ask about all these controversies, as well as the Justice Department’s handling of files related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex trafficker who had ties to many rich and powerful men, including Trump himself.

During her confirmation hearings in January, Bondi said her goal was to reform a Justice Department that was "weaponised" against Trump and conservatives. Democratic senators may now try to use those words against her, claiming her department is engaging in exactly the kind of politicised actions she pledged to end.

Robin Levinson King
North America reporter

Image source, SAMUEL CORUM/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock

President Donald Trump has called on the country's top law enforcement official, Attorney General Pam Bondi, to more aggressively investigate his political adversaries.

In a social media post in September, addressed directly to Bondi, he said: "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility."

Trump expressed frustration that "nothing is being done", before calling on Bondi to investigate former FBI director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who oversaw his first impeachment trial.

"I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, "same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam "Shifty" Schiff, Leticia??? They're all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done," Trump said.

During his election campaign, Trump promised to seek revenge against many of his perceived political enemies - including former President Joe Biden - and others who have opposed him.

He has revoked the security clearances - which allows people to access classified material - of several officials, including James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the criminal hush-money case,

He has fired several prosecutors who worked for special counsel Jack Smith on two criminal probes against him. He has also taken actions against law firms with attorneys who were involved in investigations into allegations against him, including the firm that employed former special counsel Robert Mueller.

• Read more: Trump pushes justice department to prosecute his political opponents

Image source, Reuters

Pam Bondi is the US Attorney General, America's highest ranking prosecutor.

She leads the justice department and is in charge of its roughly $45bn (£35.7bn) budget.

Once the first female attorney general of Florida, she plays a key role in defending any legal challenges to Trump policies and implementing his vow to remake the department.

Bondi was the chair at America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank founded by former Trump staff members, leading its legal arm. She has also served on Trump's opioid and drug abuse commission.

Bondi, a longtime Trump ally, was part of Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial and when it made false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him due to voter fraud.

She also publicly supported him by showing up at court during his hush money trial in New York, which ended with a conviction of 34 counts of fraud.

Before entering politics, Bondi spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor at the Hillsborough county state attorney’s office, trying cases "ranging from domestic violence to capital murder", according to a profile on her lobbying firm's website.

Pam Bondi's stint as US attorney general has not been smooth sailing so far.

The highest-ranking prosecutor in the US has faced fierce criticism from Democrats, and even some Republicans, for the actions her Department of Justice (DoJ) has taken.

Trump's appointee has been central to the swirling public discontent with the release, or lack thereof, of the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files. She once said the list was on her desk, nearly ready for release. But the documents released by the government since then have not satiated what the public, and lawmakers alike, were expecting.

Bondi has also been accused of wielding the DoJ to seek retribution against President Trump's foes. One of those political enemies, ex-FBI director James Comey, is set to be arraigned this week after the DoJ indicted him on two counts.

That indictment came just days after Trump wrote a message to Bondi on social media demanding action be taken against Comey, and several others.

Bondi will soon walk into the Senate Judicairy Committee for what is usually a regular oversight hearing. But it's shaping as anything but normal.

Stick with us.