Bob Sparks: Groups believe Pam Bondi’s endorsement of Donald Trump is somehow corrupt

As Donald Trump marches closer to the Republican nomination for president, more prominent elected officials are endorsing him. Florida Gov. Rick Scott is the latest, giving his approval following Trump’s blowout victory in Florida on Tuesday.

The day before the primary, Attorney General Pam Bondi endorsed Trump, the part-time resident of Palm Beach County. The reaction by some Republicans to that endorsement is an example of how deep and wide the gulf within the party has become.

While Trump was my fourth choice among Tuesday’s four candidates, I want no part of the “Anybody But Trump” or the “Our Principles” crowd that is now popping up. These are examples of the establishment on steroids.

For her taking such a step, these saviors of the republic believe Bondi is wrongheaded at best and corrupt at worst. The attorney general’s decision to declare her allegiance to the New York billionaire is just that: her decision. Elected officials have free speech rights, too.

It seems Trump’s foundation contributed $25,000 to Bondi’s 2014 re-election campaign after a news story appeared indicating her office was “reviewing complaints” about Trump University. The online school was under severe fire in New York for alleged fraud.

No action was taken in Florida, which must mean Bondi, according to the anti-Trumpers, was bought off by the contribution. Katie Packer, a former Mitt Romney aide, runs Our Principles.

“It’s too bad people defrauded out of money by Trump University don’t have that kind of money to buy an advocate in the Florida Attorney General’s Office,” Packer was quoted as saying by Politico.

Packer’s hyper hyperbole does not withstand scrutiny. Politico’s Matt Dixon and Marc Caputo found the Attorney General’s Office was in possession of a grand total of one complaint on Trump University when the contribution was given.

Here’s how it works. The Office of the Attorney General receives thousands of complaints each year.

Some are multiple complaints about an individual or entity that lead to official investigations. Others involve one or two complaints, which normally do not trigger more than a preliminary examination.

When Bondi’s spokesman stated the preliminary examination “didn’t rise to her level,” this fits the normal pattern of the Chief Legal Officer’s complaint triage operation. In this case, Florida’s sole complaint would be addressed within the actions already being taken by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The complainant was also advised to seek private counsel, mirroring advice routinely dispensed in similar circumstances. The attorney general is not permitted to represent an individual.

To be sure, something clearly was amiss within the hallowed cyber walls of Trump U., but the right entity was taking the lead. As one might expect, Trump referred to Schneiderman as “a political hack.”

“She should have to answer for this,” Packer told Politico. “(Trump) gave her money. There was a problem and she didn’t investigate.”

A one-word response is all that is needed. Nonsense.

Many can agree with Packer that our political system is ill. Unfortunately, she and her former boss are now part of the symptoms.

Count me among those who believe Mitt Romney would have been a good president. Many of us who voted for him remain convinced more people would be working and our nation would not be as polarized had the 2012 election gone his/our way. A majority of voters thought otherwise.

When Romney recently fired his full arsenal of rhetorical Tomahawk missiles at Trump, something happened many thought was not possible; the 2016 campaign sank even lower.

After the Romney speech, the confrontations at Trump rallies grew angrier and more intense. Make no mistake, Trump’s longshoreman-style rhetoric provides him with some culpability, but the outside agitators who instigate the violence have become more emboldened in recent days.

Some of the GOP’s conservative base is buying into Anybody But Trump. The dreaded “third party” talk, with Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse among the loudest voices, is increasing.

Sasse, according to Fox News personality Sean Hannity, got into Hannity’s face at CPAC earlier this month for the commentator’s light treatment of Trump, calling it “b******t.” Though we prefer more civility, many conservatives agree that Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have not held Trump to the same conservative litmus test as those administered to Jeb Bush, John Kasich or Chris Christie.

Now we have one of Romney’s former assistants trying to peddle the story that Pam Bondi is possibly corrupt after committing the sin of endorsing Trump. Want to see what quid pro quo really look like, Katie? Read Peter Schweizer’s book Clinton Cash.

Then you can go back to preserving our principles for us. The rest of us will let the voters decide.

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Bob Sparks is a business and political consultant based in Tallahassee. He is also the former chief spokesperson for Attorney General Charlie Crist. Column courtesy of ContextFlorida.