Christina Bobb | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bobb in 2022 | |
| Born | Christina Gabrielle Bobb November 4, 1982 Michigan, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Military career | |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 2009–2012 |
Christina Gabrielle Bobb (born November 4, 1982)[1] is an American lawyer and former broadcaster. She gained prominence for her role in the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents. Prior to working as a Trump attorney, she worked as executive secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and as an anchor at One America News Network, a far-right cable channel.
Bobb was born in Michigan as the younger of two girls. She attended high school in Phoenix, Arizona, graduating early to attend the University of Arizona.[2] She played soccer for the university.[1][2]
According to her Department of Homeland Security (DHS) biography, Bobb was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2008 after studying at the California Western School of Law,[2][3] and got a master's degree in national security law from Georgetown University prior to joining the United States Marine Corps as a judge-advocate.[3]
Bobb completed officer candidate school in August 2009 and was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps as a second lieutenant. She then completed The Basic School in May 2010 and then went on to the Naval Justice School.[4] She subsequently served as a judge-advocate, where among other duties, she provided legal advice to military commanders in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Bobb left the Marine Corps two years later.[5]
In 2014, Bobb ran for Congress as an independent in California's 53rd district. She came in last among the eight candidates in the blanket primary, with just 929 out of 88,953 votes.[2][3] According to the Federal Election Commission, Bobb filed no paperwork with it, which is required if a candidate spends or raises over $5,000 in campaign activity.[2]
In 2018, Bobb started working as executive secretary for the DHS.[2][3] According to her former boss Miles Taylor, Bobb clashed with DHS officials by weighing in on issues such as counterterrorism, which were viewed as repeated efforts to exceed her mandate.[2] Some DHS officials expressed concern about trusting Bobb with certain types of classified information due to her being "mega MAGA".[2][3]
In June 2020, Bobb was hired by One America News Network (OANN), a far-right cable channel. She first covered the White House and then hosted Weekly Briefing with Christina Bobb, a weekend political talk show.[2]
After the 2020 presidential election, Bobb promoted Trump's baseless allegations of election fraud and volunteered for Trump's legal team while also reporting for OANN.[2] Rudy Giuliani said in an October 2021 deposition that Bobb had to run stories she developed past the Trump campaign so that they "didn't violate any of our rules or whatever".[6][2]
Bobb was present in the Willard Hotel "command center" where top Trump associates worked to prevent Joe Biden's election from being certified.[7][8] The Washington Post reported in January 2022 that Bobb worked with Giuliani and other Trump campaign officials in December 2020 to execute a plan for Republicans in seven states to create fraudulent certificates of ascertainment to falsely assert Trump had been reelected.[9][10]
Bobb and OANN colleague Chanel Rion co-operated Voices and Votes, a nonprofit organization. The organization donated $605,000 to support the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit. The organization also provided volunteers for the audit effort.[11]
In August 2021, Bobb and Rion were named in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against OANN for promoting false claims that the company engaged in election fraud.[12] According to the company's complaint, Bobb joined Rion in "falsely accusing Dominion of rigging the election and stealing it from Trump" while "simultaneously and covertly moonlighting as a Trump campaign advisor".[2]
In March 2022, Bobb announced she would be leaving OANN to work for Trump's Save America political action committee.[2]
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Main article: FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents |
On May 11, 2022, the DOJ subpoenaed Trump for "any and all documents or writings in the custody or control of Donald J. Trump and/or the Office of Donald J. Trump bearing classification markings".[13]
Investigators from the DOJ and the FBI met with Trump's attorneys at Mar-a-Lago on June 3 about the classified material that was subpoenaed on May 11. During this meeting, Bobb, who was Trump's custodian of records, gave the DOJ a signed declaration that had been drafted by Evan Corcoran, attesting that all classified material had been returned.[14] As it turned out, the declaration had been drafted by Corcoran and handed to Bobb, who insisted on adding caveats because she had not done the search herself.[15] Two months later, after the falsehood came to light, The New York Times reported that the signed declaration possibly indicated that Trump's legal team had not been forthright with federal investigators about the material.[16] As of September 16, 2022, investigators had not decided whether to pursue a criminal inquiry against Bobb and Corcoran.[17]
In October 2022, NBC News reported that Bobb was speaking with federal investigators in connection to the Mar-a-Lago probe.[18] According to Bobb, Corcoran told her that he had conducted a thorough search of Mar-a-Lago before asking her to certify that all of the requested records had been returned.[19]
In February 2023, Bobb testified before a grand jury in connection with the investigation.[19][20]
Bobb's sister is a survivor of sexual assault. According to Miles Taylor, Bobb supported efforts to provide support for sexual assault victims, and to get Congress to enforce laws against child sex exploitation and sex trafficking.[2]