Pam Bondi Out as Attorney General
She's transitioning to an as-yet unspecified role the private sector.
NYT (“Bondi Fired as Attorney General“):
President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, removing the nation’s top law enforcement officer after privately venting his frustrations for months over her handling of the Epstein files and her failed efforts to prosecute his political enemies.
In a social media post, Mr. Trump said he was replacing Ms. Bondi with Todd Blanche, her deputy, on an interim basis.
“We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Ms. Bondi is the second cabinet member in recent weeks to lose her job, after Mr. Trump ousted Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, last month.
The firing of Ms. Bondi, 60, ends a turbulent 14-month tenure as attorney general in which she tried desperately to appease a boss who demanded unimpeded control of the Justice Department to pursue politically motivated investigations against targets of his choosing, even when prosecutors warned that there was no evidence to do so.
In the process, Ms. Bondi surrendered much of the department’s historic independence and oversaw the exodus of experienced career officials, leaving the department’s public corruption and national security units, along with many local U.S. attorneys’ offices, weakened and demoralized.
Yet Mr. Trump remained annoyed by Ms. Bondi’s inability to secure indictments of people he referred to as “scum” during a speech in the department’s Great Hall about a year ago.
The president’s support for Ms. Bondi has steadily eroded since last summer, when her early stumbles in managing the release of the Epstein files created a political liability for Mr. Trump among a segment of his supporters. He has also complained about her shortcomings as a communicator and TV surrogate — a role he thought would suit her talents.
Ms. Bondi spent much of the last day making her case to stay in the cabinet, according to two people familiar with the situation. But her team could sense those chances slipping away when Mr. Trump issued only a lukewarm statement when The New York Times requested comment on rumors she was about to be removed.
Rumors that this was coming have been circulating for the last day or so, so this isn’t a huge surprise. The irony is that being a crony willing to use the powers of the Justice Department to go after the President’s enemies who had committed no crimes wasn’t good enough.
SEMAFOR (“Trump ousts Bondi from atop the Justice Department“) adds:
Bondi’s departure follows months of mounting pressure stemming largely from her handling of DOJ’s files on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, which became a constant thorn in her side. Long-simmering frustration among Republicans over the chaotic release of the files resulted recently in a bipartisan congressional subpoena, and Trump lost confidence in her leadership.
[…]
Trump was also frustrated with Bondi because he believes she may have alerted California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell to an effort by the administration to release files from an investigation into his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy, one of the sources told Semafor.
The Daily Mail (“Pam Bondi begged Trump not to fire her during dramatic White House showdown as insider reveals his final straw“) confirms the Swalwell angle:
Trump’s reasoning for the sudden dismissal comes in part because the President believes Bondi tipped off Eric Swalwell about the FBI’s efforts to release investigative documents related to his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.
The FBI was preparing a cache of documents on Swalwell’s relationship with Christine Fang.
‘She’s intervening in those matters. The White House wasn’t pleased she was intervening due to her personal friendship with Swalwell,’ the source added.
It is unclear why Bondi would have intervened, but it is believed that Bondi and Swalwell have a friendly relationship.
Swalwell has openly criticized her since she took the AG position after failing to prosecute multiple death threats against him and his family.
Fox News (“Pam Bondi already fired as attorney general, Cabinet official teed up as replacement: sources“) reports:
The president is reportedly considering replacing Bondi with Environmental Protection Agency Director Lee Zeldin, according to the sources familiar with the matter. Trump held a meeting with Zeldin at the White House Tuesday to discuss wildfire and prevention, where talks of the transition also unfolded, according to an individual familiar with the meeting.
That source relayed to Fox News Digital that Zeldin would be a plausible replacement, adding that Trump could change his mind at any point.
[…]
Sources confirming to multiple outlets Zeldin’s potential ascension to her former role comes as he prepares for an event with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday afternoon to make an announcement on addressing rising instances of microplastics in drinking water.
Zeldin’s resume does not exactly scream “chief law enforcement officer of the land,” but that has not been an impediment to filling cabinet posts in this administration.
Yeah, it can’t be. In court, one has to prove charges and provide evidence. There’s no proof and no evidence for non-existent crimes.
It’s not that Fixer Barbie hasn’t been aggressive or zealous enough (assault with a sandwich, anyone?), but that her task is impossible. Whoever succeeds her, if El taco even bothers to appoint a new AG rather than leave the acting AG in place, will have similar results.
Also, at Democracy Docket, Marc Elias constantly brings up the incompetence of many US attorneys, largely in voting related cases. Things like serving a subpoena to the wrong person, not being able to serve a subpoena on time (60 days!), etc. Which indicates the quality of people willing to undertake political persecutions rather than actual criminal prosecutions.
As with Noem, Trump doesn’t have the balls to explain why he’s firing Bondi or even to bluntly admit it is a firing rather than “transitioning” to another job. Not only is Trump an insurrectionist, grifter, rapist, idiot, but he is truly the most abject of cowards. I don’t know why the sycophants who love him for him for his bullying and “strength” don’t see through all that bluster to the crybaby under all of it.
@Kathy:
This is why I’ve found the dubious premise of “lawfare” to be one of the most pernicious concepts to take hold over the Republicans in these Trumpian times.
Comey couldn’t create a Biden Crime Family out of whole cloth no matter how many congressional fishing expeditions he chaired. And Bondi can’t make Trump’s enemies indictable for non-existent crimes with the full power of the DOJ at her beck and call.
I guess Lawfare ain’t so easy if your target isn’t actually guilty of impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors or a fraudulent crook like Trump provably is.
@Scott F.:
“Comey couldn’t create a Biden Crime Family out of whole cloth no matter how many congressional fishing expeditions he chaired.”
I think you meant Comer there. James Comer was the chair of the House Oversight Comittee. James Comey was head of the FBI.
She should be disbarred.
@Scott F.:
They likely both have bent or broken the law on his behalf, so getting too nasty with their firings would probably not be wise.
The Hegseth Rule: Fire the women first.
First Kristi Noem, then Pam Bondi ….
Maybe Tulsi Gabbard would be well-advised to begin packing her bags.
Bill Kristol…
https://x.com/BillKristol/status/2039754834048413851?s=20
A “yet unspecified role” could be anything from a think tank to being shoved into a woodchipper at a landscaping company.
Hopefully she will spend a long lifetime of testifying and/or defending herself from criminal prosecution related to her “service.”
You’d have to have a heart of stone not to mock.