By Anthony Zurcher

Copyright bbc

If Democrats were focused on what they view as the unprecedented weaponisation of the justice department under Trump, most of the Republican senators were more interested in fighting battles from the Biden presidency – or earlier.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley spent much of the hearings interjecting on how Democrats had, in his view, stonewalled investigations into the Biden family’s business dealings.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham condemned the FBI’s Russia investigation following the 2016 presidential election. Ted Cruz of Texas focused on protests outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices in the wake of their 2021 decision overturning abortion rights.

Eric Schmidt of Missouri filled out a veritable bingo card of right-wing complaints directed at the justice department.

Bondi, for her part, wholeheartedly agreed with the Republican chorus.

When the five-hour hearing finally concluded, the event had the feeling of a partisan house of mirrors, with each side accusing the other of political weaponisation and partisan prosecutions.

“The Department of Justice is supposed to be the nation’s guardian of fairness and the rule of law,” Senator Alex Padilla said during his questioning. “When the public trust breaks down, then justice itself is at risk.”

It is the kind of comment that both Republicans and Democrats on the committee could agree with – before casting the other side as the source of the nation’s ills.