Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) fiercely defended herself on Wednesday during a House hearing, pushing back against recent criticisms from former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Crockett dismissed Bondi’s remarks made on Fox News — or “Faux News,” as she called it — and accused her of politicizing free speech and making veiled threats.
Bondi recently appeared on Fox News, where she accused Crockett of using dangerous rhetoric toward Elon Musk and Tesla, pointing to Crockett’s livestream comments in which she said she wanted Musk to be “taken down.” Bondi claimed such language could inspire violence, referencing protests against Tesla that have escalated into property damage and even Molotov cocktail attacks. She further argued Crockett’s comments warranted an apology “to Tesla shareholders and the nation.”
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Crockett, however, refused to back down, questioning Bondi’s appearance on national television to criticize a sitting member of Congress. “To have the sitting attorney general go on ‘Faux News’ — I know some of y’all love it, but it’s fake to me — to have her go on Fox News and to then decide that she wanted to send a threat to me — it was wrong,” she said.
The Texas Democrat insisted she was simply exercising her First Amendment rights and criticized Bondi for turning her comments into a political spectacle. “I don’t like Elon Musk. I’m going to say it 50,000 times. I don’t like him,” Crockett stated, before outlining her grievances with Musk’s business practices and federal connections.
“I think that he’s a crook,” she continued. “The rest of us can’t sit around and get whatever federal contracts that we want… That is somebody that is operating above the law.” Crockett added that she was “happy” to see peaceful global protests against Musk occurring on her birthday, calling him “a problem.”
She also pushed back on Bondi’s implication that her words incited violence. “She knew good and well, if she watched the entire thing, that I specifically told protesters to make sure you consult with lawyers,” Crockett said. “The fact that there are sitting members who have received letters of threat from this DOJ tells me that they are about retribution and they are not about following the law.”
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Crockett’s fiery remarks underline a growing tension between progressive lawmakers and conservative figures as debates over powerful tech moguls and political accountability continue to intensify.
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