Pam Bondi's 2013 investigation into Trump University resurfaces after AG pick

President-elect Donald Trump has named Pam Bondi his Attorney General pick after the initial choice Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration.

In a statement posted to Truth Social on Thursday (November 22), Trump announced the news: "I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals."

Bondi - a longtime Trump ally - was previously the first female attorney general of Florida from 2011 to 2019, and during this time there were ethical concerns over her ties with Trump.

Now an investigation from over a decade ago has resurfaced following the recent announcement of Trump naming Bondi as his new pick for Attorney General.

Back in 2013, complaints were sent to Bondi's office where they alleged they had been scammed by Trump University seminars and so considered whether to join New York in suing Trump University over these fraud allegations.

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Bondi's political committee received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation in September of that year.

It was later reported that Bondi dropped her investigation into the alleged fraud, citing “insufficient grounds” which came days after Trump's donation.

Both Bondi and Trump have denied any wrongdoing on this matter.

Trump's decision to choose Bondi as Attorney General comes after Matt Gaetz announced he was dropping out of consideration.

The Florida Republican was seen as a controversial choice due to previously being under investigation by the Department of Justice for sex trafficking - no charges were brought in this case. While Gaetz is also under investigation by the House ethics committee over alleged sexual misconduct and drug use. He vehemently denies any wrongdoing.

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, the 42-year-old announced his decision: "There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump's DOJ (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1.

"I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I'm certain he will Save America."

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