WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, demanded answers from Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi about the validity of a Justice Department (DOJ) request for Vermont state officials to turn over Vermonters’ sensitive personal voter registration information to the Trump Administration. The request, signed by Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon, demands sensitive voter file information, including voters’ partial social security numbers.
Sen. Welch: “There is a point of view that is in dispute here about the fairness of elections. But you have the power as the U.S. Attorney General to use the authority of your office to make demands on states, and you did that with Vermont. That’s within your right to do it. I’m not disputing your legal authority to do it.”
Bondi: “Is Vermont disputing turning over the information to our office?”
Sen. Welch: “Vermont is—the Secretary of State is—and you can resolve that with her.”
Bondi: “And we have every right to have that information, Senator. Why wouldn’t they want to turn it in?”
Sen. Welch: “You’re a prosecutor with the awesome authority to make the decision that you’re going to start an investigation against a state, or against an individual. And I know from your experience as a county prosecutor and as the Attorney General in Florida, you took seriously that obligation to have a factual basis before you’d proceed, right?”
Bondi: “Senator, I take that role, I take my oath very seriously. And I take fair and free elections in this country very seriously.”
Sen. Welch: “We all do.”
Bondi: “And that information—our office is entitled to have that information. And we are involved in litigation on that, and I assume we’ll be involved in litigation with Vermont.”
Sen. Welch: “What I’m asking is: do you or does your head of this voting section have any factual basis that you can point to that justifies your demand that Vermont turn over all of this confidential voting rights information?”
Bondi: “Well, it would remain confidential with my office…We’ve asked that of every state, Senator.”
Sen. Welch: “Right. And I’m asking about Vermont, and what the factual basis is…”
Watch the exchange between Senator Welch and Attorney General Pam Bondi:
Senator Welch strongly opposed and voted against Bondi’s nomination to serve as Attorney General of the United States. He also voted against the nomination of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to lead the Civil Rights Division. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January, Senator Welch slammed AG Bondi’s evasion of questions about the 2020 presidential election and concerns about her willingness to stand up against the President to preserve an independent DOJ.
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