Donald Trump has fired Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, according to multiple reports, dismissing a loyalist who reshaped the justice department, but still failed to please a president fixated on prosecuting political enemies and frustrated with the politically explosive release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year. Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “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.” He added that Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, would serve as acting attorney general.
Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman who now leads the Environmental Protection Agency, is said to be a top contender to replace Bondi.
Bondi presided over a major purging of career justice department staff, shifted focus away from criminal prosecutions toward immigration cases and spearheaded the defense of Trump’s towering stack of executive orders as they faced legal challenges.
But she will be perhaps best remembered for complying with Trump’s public demand last year that federal prosecutors bring criminal charges against his personal enemies. Within three weeks, federal prosecutors had indicted James Comey, a former FBI director, and Letitia James, the New York attorney general.
Federal prosecutors during Bondi’s tenure also indicted John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, and tried unsuccessfully to convince a grand jury to bring criminal charges against six members of Congress after Trump publicly accused them of “seditious behavior”. The Department of Justice has continued to investigate other Trump foes.
Bondi is also widely known for her contradictory statements about the Epstein files, which helped drive the push for their release in the name of transparency.
Trump had grown increasingly impatient in recent months with her handling of the Epstein files, which have become a continuing liability to the White House.
More details soon …
