Pam Bondi’s time as attorney general was marked by repeated clashes with ethics officials who tried to stop her from holding onto expensive gifts and perks, according to a new report by The New Yorker.
Sources familiar with the discussions told the outlet that Bondi and her staff pushed back hard on federal rules that limit gifts. Among the disputed items were a FIFA soccer ball Donald Trump tossed her way during a meeting, and a box of cigars from MMA fighter Conor McGregor, who had just lost an appeal in a civil case where he was found liable for sexual assault.
“Every new administration needs time to adjust to ethics rules that might seem trivial,” one source explained. “What wasn’t normal was the amount of pushback that we got”, reported the Independent.
In July, at the height of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Bondi reportedly made it known she wanted to sit in the president’s box at the FIFA Club World Cup finals. Ethics officials quickly flagged the request, warning it could break federal rules. Bondi’s staff tried to justify it by saying she might need to brief Trump on security matters. Officials allowed her to enter the box to answer questions but stressed that was the limit.
Even with that warning, Bondi and her husband ended up in the VIP section alongside Trump, where he greeted her with a signature thumbs-up. A department official later tried to play down the incident, saying Bondi had respected the ethics guidance and that the couple didn’t stay for the full match.
Still, the report describes a pattern of Bondi testing boundaries and sparring with compliance officers. The tug-of-war over gifts and perks became routine, with staffers and ethics watchdogs arguing over where to draw the line.
The former attorney general’s time in Washington coincided with Trump’s own appetite for the spotlight and freebies. At the same Club World Cup finals, Trump took center stage, collecting the original trophy, a medal, and even joining Chelsea Football Club on stage as they celebrated their win.
For Bondi, the controversies around gifts and VIP access fueled questions about her approach to ethics rules, especially at a time when public scrutiny of Trump’s inner circle was already at a peak. The image of her and her husband in the luxury box, smiling alongside the president, became a symbol of the blurred lines between official duties and personal perks.
According to those who worked with her, the pushback from ethics officials was constant, with every item—whether a cigar box or a luxury seat at a global sporting event—turning into a debate over what she could accept. What some inside government saw as clear violations, Bondi and her staff argued were part of her role.
The report underscores how Bondi, like others in Trump’s orbit, operated in a gray area where ethics rules clashed with a culture of indulgence. And while officials tried to hold the line, Bondi’s persistence ensured the issue never stayed out of the headlines for long.