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Perps, Not Victims: The Big Lie At The Heart Of Trump's Slush Fund

The Orwellian 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' Trump has created — the legal equivalent of twirling the combination lock on Fort Knox and driving off with gold bars — purports to be righting a wrong. The bogus (and badly written) "settlement agreement," which is laughable as there was no true lawsuit, claims to be compensating those who were victims of the "sustained use of the levers of government power by Democrat elected officials." It goes on like that, accusing Democrats of "lawfare" and "weaponization."

Even more than usual with Trump, this foul fund represents a total inversion of reality. It's as if he's trying to create a handy shorthand for projection. Trump, after more than a year of subjecting his critics and opponents to wrongful prosecution, firing and other harassment, now insists that he and his allies have been the victims of lawfare and weaponization. It's upside down.

When asked whether convicted rioters from January 6 should be eligible for taxpayer dollars, Trump responded with his familiar drivel about how "horribly they've been treated," about how their lives had been destroyed, about their legal bills, and closed with, "And they were right!"

No, they were fed a damnable lie and acted upon it. Millions of other Americans were credulous enough to believe the lie, too, but they didn't fly to D.C. to erect gallows and hunt for Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence. That required a certain criminal disposition. Dozens of the insurrectionists had prior records of criminal violence, and scores have been rearrested since receiving Trump's January 2025 pardon. One "patriot," Andrew Paul Johnson, was arrested in October 2025 for sexually abusing two children (one was 11). Confident in the character of the president for whom he climbed through a broken window on Jan. 6, Johnson somehow came to believe he was owed $10 million as part of his pardon, and used that anticipated windfall to try to buy the silence of one of his victims.

In no way were the January 6 rioters victims of "lawfare" or politicized prosecution. They assaulted Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan Police officers, causing five deaths and at least 150 injuries, including concussions, traumatic brain injuries, cracked ribs, heart attacks, spinal damage, loss of an eye, stab wounds, taser burns, and other severe trauma.

For Trump, it wasn't enough that even the most violent received unconditional pardons. No, now he proposes to enrich them with taxpayer funds. Those deserving of punishment get rewarded. The victimizer becomes the victim. The criminal becomes the patriot.

Letitia James, New York's attorney general, was indicted on mortgage fraud charges just a couple weeks after Trump publicly called for her to be charged with something. (She had successfully sued him for civil fraud.) It should go without saying that presidents are never supposed to demand that individuals be charged with crimes, far less those against whom the president has a personal vendetta.

Needless to say, the evidence was extremely thin, but neither a judge nor jury got the opportunity to rule on that. After U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert apparently signaled that he wouldn't pervert justice by bringing the politically motivated sure loser of a case, Trump replaced him with the inexperienced, hapless Lindsey Halligan — but did so illegally. Case dismissed. Undaunted, the Justice Department then attempted two more times to bring charges against James but was thwarted by grand juries who refused to indict.

Halligan, during her illegal tenure as a federal prosecutor, also indicted former FBI Director James Comey on the dubious charge of lying to Congress. When that case too was thrown out due to Halligan's illegitimate appointment, the Justice Department returned to the well and indicted him for threatening the life of the president — by posting a photo of seashells. If eye-rolling were a crime, every judge in America would be guilty.

Jerome Powell, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, was subjected to a criminal investigation due to ... cost overruns during a building renovation. Any high schooler could tell you that the true reason for the investigation — and the accompanying stress, expense and distraction — was Powell's refusal to set interest rates to serve Trump's short-term political agenda. (See also Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was fired when her agency reported accurate jobs numbers that displeased the president.)

Speaking of the Federal Reserve, let's not forget that Trump attempted to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, again on charges of mortgage fraud (the projection is almost too obvious to point out — almost). She fought back, and her case is before the Supreme Court. A decision is expected by June.

Sometimes the lawfare goes the other way. Trump directed that all charges be dropped against former New York Mayor Eric Adams, though the prosecution had him dead to rights. One of the top prosecutors in the case resigned, alleging a direct quid pro quo between the decision to drop charges and Adams' newfound willingness to use city resources to support Trump's political agenda.

Trump has also used the withdrawal of security clearances as a form of weaponization of government. Leading law firms need those clearances to represent clients, as do any number of former government officials. Among those who were targeted: the firms of Covington and Burling, Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, and Wilmer Hale. Among the individuals whose credentials were pulled were Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Mark Milley, James Clapper, and Sam Vinograd, among many others.

Trump has attempted to use the Federal Communications Commission to silence critics. It's Weaponization 101. When Jimmy Kimmel made a tasteless joke about Charlie Kirk's death, the FCC strong-armed ABC into firing him. Only a public backlash persuaded Disney (ABC's owner) to reverse course.

Kimmel came out fine, arguably stronger, from that brush with authoritarian government. Larry Bushart had a much tougher time. A 61-year-old former Tennessee law enforcement officer, Bushart posted a couple of Kirk-related items to social media, including reposting a quote from Trump after a school shooting, "We have to get over this." Bushart was arrested and held in jail for 37 days. Dozens of people were fired and several were prosecuted for saying the wrong things in the wake of Kirk's murder. The perpetrators of this lawfare were not Trump officials, but they were MAGA-adjacent and egged on by Vice President JD Vance.

The list of Trump critics or adversaries who've been investigated, indicted or fired in the past 18 months is staggering.

Who can forget "sandwich guy," who was charged with a felony for tossing a Subway sandwich at a National Guard member? Or the FBI officers fired for having participated in the search of Mar-a-Lago and other Trump cases? Or the widow of Renee Good, who was investigated after Good was shot and killed by ICE? Or Cassidy Hutchinson, the star witness in Trump's second impeachment, under investigation as of April 2026 by the Justice Department's Civil Rights division? There are hundreds more.

That is what lawfare and weaponization look like. Trump's fund is not just blazingly corrupt and unjust, it is also a massive exercise in gaslighting. Trump and his followers are not victims, they are perpetrators.

Mona Charen is policy editor of The Bulwark and host of the "Beg to Differ" podcast. Her new book, Hard Right: The GOP's Drift Toward Extremism, is available now.

Reprinted with permission from Creators

Nine Americans Who Actually Deserve Money From That Trump Slush Fund

President Donald Trump’s disturbingly corrupt fund to disburse nearly $1.8 billion to traitorous insurrectionists and other Trump loyalists who tried to steal the 2020 election may be on the rocks, as even the sycophantic Republicans in Congress know that letting Trump pay people who broke the law is political suicide.

But what if I told you there are people who actually deserve some of the $1.776 billion that Trump “negotiated” with himself to give out to people who have been the target of a weaponized Department of Justice?

None of them are the domestic terrorists who beat up law enforcement officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Nor are they Trump allies who conspired with him to steal the election. Those people were correctly prosecuted for their conduct, and were not victims of the DOJ, as Trump and other Republican monsters have deludedly convinced themselves.

Instead, the people who deserve compensation are the perceived “enemies” that Trump has either threatened with criminal investigations or actually indicted for the apparent “crime” of not supporting Trump.

They are also the average Americans who Trump’s out-of-control and actually weaponized DOJ has tried to jail for the non-crime of protesting his immigration goons or daring to be born into a minority group.

The following list is not exhaustive. In fact, you may think of others that I missed, and I encourage you to list them in the comments. (For example, New Jersey Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) could easily have made this list, but for the sake of brevity were left out.)

Nevertheless, here are just some of the people who should get some of Trump’s slush fund.

1. Maureen and James Comey

Former FBI Director James Comey and his daughter, Maureen Comey, have both been the target of Trump’s weaponized DOJ.

James has now been indicted by Trump’s DOJ twice—both on bogus charges.

The first indictment was on a bullshit charge of lying to Congress about the Russia investigation. That indictment was thrown out after a judge ruled that the incompetent attorney who sought the charges—now-former United States Attorney Lindsay Halligan—was illegally appointed, and thus the indictment she obtained was also unlawful.

Yet Trump never gave up his desire to punish Comey, and the former FBI director was indicted again in April on yet a new and even dumber fake charge.

The second indictment was over an Instagram post in which Comey published an image of the numbers “86 47” made out of seashells in the sand. The DOJ ridiculously claimed that the image constituted a “threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States.”

Even Republicans say the charge is bogus, and amounts to a violation of Comey’s First Amendment right to free speech. Like the first charge, this too will likely be thrown out.

Nevertheless, the weaponized DOJ is costing Comey time and money to fight Trump’s malicious prosecutions, and thus he should be compensated by the slush fund Trump created.

Meanwhile, Maureen was unjustly fired from her job as a federal prosecutor—where she successfully prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell—simply because she shares the same last name as her father.

She is suing the DOJ for her wrongful termination. And she should win.

2. New York Attorney General Letitia James

As New York’s top prosecutor, James successfully prosecuted Trump on charges that he falsified business records in the Empire State, which will ensure that Trump in perpetuity will be known as a convicted felon.

And that enraged Trump, who sought revenge on James by indicting her on made-up charges of mortgage fraud.

Like Comey’s indictment, James’ charges were thrown out by a judge, as the same dumb and illegally appointed prosecutor obtained the indictment.

Unlike Comey, James has not been indicted again—at least as of yet. Still, for having to challenge her indictment, James should be awarded compensation for her time and money.

3. Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton

Bolton served in Trump’s first administration as his national security adviser. But he left on bad terms and has since accused Trump in a book of being a malignant narcissist who abused the power of the presidency and gave aid and comfort to America’s enemies.

That book riled up Trump, who not only criticized Bolton but sought his indictment over the very book that made Trump so mad. The DOJ accused Bolton of taking classified information to write the book.

This case has not been thrown out, and Bolton has vowed to fight the charges in court.

“I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power,” Bolton said after the charges were brought.

4. Former Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell

Trump sicced sloshed sycophant Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host who he appointed as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, on Powell likely as a way to get Powell to resign early.

Pirro said that the DOJ was investigating Powell over cost overruns for renovations at the Federal Reserve Bank. Trump wanted Pirro to launch the bogus investigation because he loathed Powell, who did not bend to Trump’s will on lowering interest rates.

Indeed, Trump threatened to fire Powell multiple times. But when the stock market reacted negatively to Trump’s attempts to nix the Federal Reserve’s independence, he instead took the mob-boss route of threatening to make Powell’s life so miserable that Powell would view resigning as a better move than sticking around.

Powell, however, held firm and stuck around while he challenged the probe.

And one lone GOP senator’s protest ultimately helped push the DOJ to drop the probe into Powell. But for the stress of being the target of an unjust investigation, Powell should be compensated.

5. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook

Not content with ousting just Powell, Trump also decided to go after Federal Reserve Board members who also do not support his desire to lower interest rates at a time of high inflation.

Last August, Trump tried to fire Cook, accusing her of the same fake mortgage fraud as he charged Letitia James with. Cook, however, refused to step down. She challenged her firing in court, and won. And for that time and effort, she should be compensated.

6. Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Perhaps no one has been treated worse than Venezuelan immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom Trump falsely accused of being a criminal and wrongly deported him to a torture prison in El Salvador.

Garcia successfully fought the accusations and made his way back to the United States.

But since his return, he has been tormented by Trump, who has continued to falsely accuse him of being a criminal. And Trump’s immigration goons have continued their effort to try to deport Garcia to horrible places where he would face extreme danger, although a judge finally dismissed his bogus human smuggling charges on Friday.

His treatment amounts to torture, and he should be compensated for his suffering.

7. ChongLy Thao

Trump’s incompetent immigration goons created a lasting and disturbing image when they marched ChongLy Thao out of his home in freezing temperatures wearing just boxer shorts and a blanket after they wrongly confused Thao of being a wanted undocumented immigrant.

Thao was, however, not the person ICE was seeking. Instead, he is a law-abiding naturalized U.S. citizen who was ripped from his home by authorities who didn’t even have a warrant. Even worse, the person ICE was seeking to arrest was already in jail.

Thao has said he will sue the government for violating his civil rights. And he should win.

8. D.C. sandwich thrower Sean Dunn

Sean Dunn became a pop culture icon, after he was captured on video hurling a sandwich at federal immigration officers trying to abduct people off the street in the nation’s capital.

Trump’s Department of Justice charged him with felony assault for “forcefully” throwing the sandwich at officers.

“I just learned that this defendant worked at the Department of Justice — NO LONGER. Not only is he FIRED, he has been charged with a felony,” former Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that is somehow real and not an Onion article. “This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ. You will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement.”

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

In Trump's Department Of Justice, Bootlicking Blanche Wields 'Weaponization'

When then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton happened to meet on the tarmac in Phoenix, they said they exchanged pleasantries about life, family and Brexit. The June 2016 chat, which continued on her plane, lasted about half an hour.

Back then, it was long enough to create a scandal, an inappropriate breach, condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike.

There was the timing, in the middle of an FBI investigation of eventual Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s emails.

And there was the breaking of a post-Watergate tradition: keeping the Justice Department independent, free from influence and pressure from any official, past or present. That Lynch’s boss, President Barack Obama, didn’t weigh in was further proof of that practice.

The corruption that ran through Richard Nixon’s White House taught everyone a lesson, it was thought.

Think again.

The MAGA universe that railed against “weaponization” of the Justice Department during President Joe Biden’s time in office is now instilling it as policy.

Don’t believe me?

Just listen to Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former defense attorney, auditioning to replace ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi while, for now, he’s acting in her place. Bondi reportedly displeased her boss, who never hid his passion for revenge, by failing to successfully prosecute his enemies.

And in his first press conference in the new job, Blanche made it clear he’s fine with Trump continuing his vendettas.

“We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now, and it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and that he believes should be investigated,” Blanche said, as reported in The Washington Post.

“That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that.”

Blanche also said that if he is not the president’s choice as attorney general and is asked to take another job, that’s fine with him. “I will say, ‘Thank you very much, I love you, sir.’”

Now that’s downright embarrassing.

The Justice Department has been transformed from a place where accomplished, well-educated lawyers vied to earn a coveted spot into a place where the best are purged and replaced by people willing to sign up for an agenda set by the guy at the top.

It apparently never occurred to the rubber stamps in the current Department of Justice that perhaps it wasn’t a failure of effort but the flimsiness of the charges — along with the resolve and good sense of judges and grand juries — that made the legal attacks on Trump’s self-proclaimed enemies a waste of time and taxpayers’ money.

There was collateral damage, including the smearing of reputations and the need for high-profile targets, such as former FBI director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, to hire their own lawyers.

Paying a price were FBI agents, prosecutors and civil servants purged for duty-bound involvement — however tangential —in any investigation of Trump or for the “crime” of being too “woke,” the all-purpose word that’s come to mean anything or anyone the administration dislikes.

American citizens also lost, and will continue to lose, and not just in the amount of their hard-earned money squandered. Under Bondi, the Department of Justice shut down pending criminal cases and declined to prosecute many more, as reported in ProPublica.

“In total, the DOJ quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases,” the analysis said.

One closed case, an investigation into a Virginia nursing home with a recent record of patient abuse, seems pretty important to me — and the patients, I would imagine.

It’s all about priorities.

This version of making America great or even safe may not make sense, but it will certainly continue as long as there is no accountability.

That’s something else that’s been lost.

In 2016, as has been debated since, Comey, who has never been accused of possessing modesty, humility or a small ego, took the lead, clearing Hillary Clinton of criminal wrongdoing in a press conference while nevertheless criticizing Clinton and her staff for being “extremely careless in handling very sensitive, highly classified information.”

And when, 11 days before the 2016 election between Clinton and Trump, he informed Congress that the FBI was again looking into “her emails” and use of a private email server, several experienced prosecutors and Clinton’s team cried foul.

But because of that day on the tarmac, Loretta Lynch felt she could not overrule the decision made by Comey, the man who worked for her, no matter how much she believed it violated Justice Department protocol.

“Discussions were had at the highest levels of the department. My views were made known, they were communicated to him,” Lynch told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I think we’re all going to be looking at that for a long time.”

That was 2016.

Ten years later, things have changed.

There will be little reflection on decisions made, no pushback from the majority of congressional Republicans on the blatantly partisan words of Todd Blanche or criticism of the qualifications of the next candidate for attorney general.

And as for “weaponization,” there is no doubt whose thumb will be pressed on the scales held high by that lady with the blindfold.

Mary C. Curtis has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Charlotte Observer, as national correspondent for Politics Daily, and is a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project. She is host of the CQ Roll Call “Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis” podcast. Follow her on X @mcurtisnc3.

Reprinted with permission from Roll Call

Sycophant's Reward: Bondi Dumped As Attorney General With Zeldin In Wings

President Donald Trump has fired Attorney General Pam Bondi after he was apparently displeased with her performance in using the Department of Justice to pursue his personal vendettas.

Trump is reportedly planning to replace her with current Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, a Trump loyalist known for pursuing a pro-pollution agenda.

Bondi wasn’t Trump’s first pick to serve as attorney general. The original plan was to install former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, but a sex-trafficking scandal pushed him out, forcing Trump to pivot to Bondi.

Under Bondi, attempts have been made to pervert the criminal justice system to go after Trump’s ideological enemies. Charges were filed against figures like New York Attorney General Leticia James—who successfully prosecuted Trump—and former FBI Director James Comey—who exposed Trump’s role in the pressure campaign that led to his first impeachment.

But those cases have faced roadblocks from skeptical judges and grand juries who stand in the way of Trump using the court system as his plaything.

Bondi has also been a disaster while serving as the most public face attached to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. She touted Trump’s line early on, hinting that disclosures about the accused sex trafficker and his reported client list would be exposed. But Bondi quickly became the leader of Trump’s refusal to come clean about the lurid details of Epstein’s operation and his victims. Testifying before Congress, she was repeatedly defiant about the administration’s efforts to hide the Epstein files from the public.

The suddenly dumped attorney general has operated as a loyal foot soldier for Trump, pushing to silence his critics and rushing to defend his allies like racist billionaire Elon Musk. But like ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—another woman in Trump’s Cabinet who has been pushed out—Bondi has apparently outlived her usefulness.

House Oversight Committee Democrats issued a warning to Bondi after news of her firing broke.

“Attorney General Pam Bondi has been leading a White House cover-up of the Epstein files,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, said in a statement.

Garcia said that Bondi weaponized the DOJ to protect Trump in the Epstein case, accusing her and Trump of putting survivors in harm’s way by exposing their identities.

“She must answer for her mishandling of the Epstein files and the special treatment she has given [Epstein accomplice] Ghislaine Maxwell,” he added.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was also Trump’s personal lawyer, will operate as interim attorney general. Blanche has demonstrated his willingness to use the publicly funded DOJ as a tool of Trump’s personal interests.

Meanwhile, during his time in Congress, Zeldin was a zealous defender of Trump. And after a failed bid for New York governor, Zeldin was appointed to the EPA, where he has pushed for relaxing rules meant to keep environmental resources clean—endangering the lives of millions of Americans.

But whether he chooses Blanche, Zeldin, or another sycophant, Trump has made it clear that his priority is to bend the justice system to his will to continue his cover-ups and corruption.

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7 tags#Corruption #DOJ #DonaldTrump #PamBondi #LeeZeldin #ToddBlanche #EpsteinFiles1 group republished

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CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 02:20:28 PM

YES!! 😄😄😄😄

Now — some lawsuit to PRESERVE THE EVIDENCE against her so we can prosecute when sanity returns!! THANKS for the good news!

tmseattle CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 02:30:11 PM

It won’t make a bit of difference. She did exactly what Trump wanted, and was fired because she got backlash for following his orders. He’ll just find another sycophant to replace him, unless the Senate blocks him.

ktoz tmseattle Apr 02, 2026 at 02:32:18 PM

unless the Senate blocks him

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Like that’s going to happen.

Astronut ktoz Apr 02, 2026 at 02:50:31 PM

The Senate Guardians Of Pedophiles are probably already shivering with delight at the prospect of handing Dear Leader what he wants.

alterego55 Astronut Apr 02, 2026 at 04:05:57 PM

It’s Trump’s fault because he never told Blondi that releasing the Epstein files was nothing more than a campaign lie. She thought she had the holy grail in her and Trump would appreciate her initiative. He’d shower praise all over her. But now he blames her.

That’s how Trump operates.

Noodles alterego55 Apr 02, 2026 at 06:09:22 PM

She made him look bad. “Sorry, now you have to go, that's the ultimate crime”. Also she probably complained. Trump doesn't need any nattering like that.

Spancos ktoz Apr 02, 2026 at 03:04:13 PM

Otherwise, let the cavalcade of 120-day rotating, interim, acting AGs commence!
Nothing good can come of the good that’s just occurred.
Zeldin, a practicing lawyer for THREE years before entering politics.
Truly a shitshow in a rolling dumpster fire in a fourteen-ring circus.

Simnsays Spancos Apr 02, 2026 at 04:44:06 PM

...with a demented Ring Leader!

niemann tmseattle Apr 02, 2026 at 02:56:58 PM

That seems to be the pattern:

Sell your soul to Donald Trump for power and money.

He throws you under the bus anyway.

They never learn that, for Trump, loyalty is a one-way thing.

RenderBot niemann Apr 02, 2026 at 03:08:58 PM

In announcer her kick to the curb, Trump said she will be going to “the private sector”, which suggests his friends may have set up a sweet, golden job for her so she doesn’t … talk.

Should we expect anything less here?

PissedGrunty RenderBot Apr 02, 2026 at 03:16:47 PM

Or that he’s just making up shit. He does frequently.

TRsCousin PissedGrunty Apr 02, 2026 at 03:34:04 PM

Apparently Bondi will start at the important new job in “two to three weeks.” We know what “in two weeks” usually means.

PissedGrunty TRsCousin Apr 02, 2026 at 03:47:55 PM

What is “never”?

RenderBot PissedGrunty Apr 02, 2026 at 03:58:38 PM

As many other comments in this post have said, Trump or his handlers would want Pambi to go quietly and obediently. She knows some things about him, going way back and Epstein-deep. What better way than to prearrange a cushy landing for her? I am just speculating, no inside knowledge of how this exit was structured.

PissedGrunty RenderBot Apr 02, 2026 at 04:01:03 PM

I’m not saying its impossible. I’m just conditioned to assume with a 90% confidence that anything he says is a lie, unless he’s promising to hurt innocent people.

Firesideman PissedGrunty Apr 02, 2026 at 08:24:07 PM

What is: “A good bet?”

for 💯

RepublicanAirPollution RenderBot Apr 02, 2026 at 05:50:43 PM

"She knows some things about him"

Yeah and now watch her get her revenge!

ILoveBats RepublicanAirPollution Apr 02, 2026 at 06:38:31 PM

Another one who needs a secret safe-deposit box to be opened in the event of her death.

MadLibrarian9 RepublicanAirPollution Apr 03, 2026 at 12:38:29 AM

Awaiting the race. Who gets ahold of Bondi first, Faux Newz or Mother Jones? You can guess which I’d prefer.

Too Shy RenderBot Apr 02, 2026 at 11:11:27 PM

Does anyone else think that she’s made copies of every single epstein file, but she never told tfg?

walkshills RenderBot Apr 03, 2026 at 12:05:00 AM

As a former Florida AG, I bet she know a lot of shit about a lot of people aside from Trump and his gang. Florida is rather notorious for its range of crimes.

RepublicanAirPollution RenderBot Apr 02, 2026 at 05:48:49 PM

Everyone in Trump's orbit goes down to the private sector.
Trump's "private sector” that is (meaning kissing his ass)😘

Desert Scientist niemann Apr 02, 2026 at 04:27:13 PM

Bingo! And some of his MAGA buddies are starting to realize that! One reason his polls are going into the toilet. He should have stayed out of the 2024 race, if he wanted ti actually not get caught in his own lies!

Too Shy Desert Scientist Apr 02, 2026 at 11:12:57 PM

He ran in the 2024 race in the first place so that he wouldn’t go to prison.

Blue Choir Singer niemann Apr 02, 2026 at 04:28:44 PM

I Guess She Failed to Indict Senator Schiff,

I guess super-loyalist Bondi “failed” to appease “Dear Leader” because she failed to indict Senator Adam Schiff my fine junior Senator. I’m sure anyone else who takes her place will be just as wacko. But again, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.

Simnsays niemann Apr 02, 2026 at 04:49:33 PM

I keep trying and trying and trying to figure out why these folks who are willing to debase themselves on international TV, never think he will throw them under his bus. It’s like the women who think the married men who cheated on their wives with them won’t cheat on them too. It’s seems like a type of arrogance where they think they are some kind of special so the same thing won’t happen to them.

poalcat51 niemann Apr 02, 2026 at 07:18:22 PM

Yep. The scuttle is that Bondi and Trump got into a heated argument last week and despite her begging him to keep her job, she was out the door and on her way back to Florida by the time he stood in front of the TV cameras last night.

These folks just don’t seem to grasp the fact that if you agree to go to work for DJT you had better be good at knowing how to cover up for him and make him look good, because he sure as hell isn’t going to take the blame if anything goes wrong (which it usually does).

They just don’t get it.

Desert Scientist tmseattle Apr 02, 2026 at 04:23:59 PM

Exactly! Siding with T***p doesn’t keep you safe. He demands loyalty, but never gives it. He sees the world like most extreme narcissists, as composed of enemies and fools.

NickyZ CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 03:07:48 PM

skipppppp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:21:48 PM

So Trump is mad at her for releasing too much from the Epstein files?

abydenus skipppppp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:29:26 PM

It is hard to say. From what I heard Trump wanted to his please his Qanon base by releasing even more of the Epstein files. At the same time the Epstein files made Trump look bad and so he wanted Bondi to release less of them. It was basically a Schrodinger’s Epstein Files. Bondi was given an impossible task, obviously failed, and was canned for not being able to complete a contradictory and impossible mission.

Kevo2007 abydenus Apr 02, 2026 at 02:52:38 PM

How to please Trump enough in this job to not get fired:

Good: Redacting Trump from files and releasing them. This one is risky because sleuths could determine the subject to be Trump.

Better: Selectively releasing the files that Trump is not in and releasing all the files where he does not appear.

Best: Rewrite the files and make up fake files using AI to incriminate Democratic policitians and anyone that Trump considers an enemy.

Because Bondi was unable to perform to Trump’s demands (best), she is gone. It didn’t help that she said “Fifty thousand DOLLARS”.

abydenus Kevo2007 Apr 02, 2026 at 03:03:22 PM

The problem is that Trump’s supporters are morons (that is why they are Trump supporters). They were convinced that the unedited Epstein Files would vindicate Trump and convict the “perverted Dummicrats”:

The fact that Bondi did not release all the Epstein files made them conclude that she was too stupid to realize this or worse was evil and had been corrupted by the Dummicrats:

Basically good tsar, bad boyars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_tsar,_bad_boyars

In other words, Trump is wonderful and everything that goes wrong is because of his bad Cabinet. The doublethink is mind-boggling...2nd balcony abydenus Apr 02, 2026 at 03:46:33 PM

yeah, bad boyars…whatcha gonna do? anyway, although you invoke uncertainty, or indeterminancy, you also intimate that the maga version of the copenhagen interpretation is to just put a pinch between the cheeck and gum. j’approuve.

Leftleaner abydenus Apr 02, 2026 at 02:55:26 PM

What she was probably supposed to do was to replace the idiot with Clinton, or better yet Obama, and then release them.

niemann abydenus Apr 02, 2026 at 03:03:16 PM

She didn’t know that Trump is the only person who is allowed (for some reason) to get away with brazenly lying and claiming two completely contradictory things at the same time.

Mammadiquattro niemann Apr 02, 2026 at 06:06:26 PM

You forgot machine gun lips who can lie with impunity even better than her felon boss!

skipppppp abydenus Apr 02, 2026 at 05:01:08 PM

That sounds about right.

Sort of like how we’ve already won the war, yet we still have to get the job done.

And shame on NATO allies for not helping us win a war that we don’t need their help winning.

mungley skipppppp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:30:53 PM

I read on RawStory that it was over Bondi telling Congressperson Swalwell that they are reopening an investigation about his fundraising.

(An alleged Chinese spy helped him raise funds. Orig investigation was dropped because there was no “there” there.)

CathyM mungley Apr 02, 2026 at 02:44:44 PM

I doubt that was the real reason; either she said something he took wrong, or some other toady (Blanche?) convinced him to replace her, or his dementia just took hold and he’s lashing out randomly.

I want to know what bribe (job) she got — is it big enough to keep her quiet? She’s got a lot on him… does he have enough on her to keep her from monetizing her knowledge? Stay tuned.

TKO333 CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 02:59:29 PM

She took the bribe for the Trump University thing in Florida, but I heard she may have been involved with Trump and Epstein before that. I always figured the bribe in Florida was her primary qualification for this job, but I do not know if there is more in her history.

Astronut CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 03:01:08 PM

Or is he just getting rid of women? I heard that Tulsi Gabbard may be next. Or not; she’s as clearly a puppet for Putin as T**** and he’d need Pooty’s permission.

mungley CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 03:10:47 PM

As with Noem there is no traditional TACO “I’ve never met the woman/she’s dead to me” bluster.

He said “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector.”

Bondi has to have enough dirt on TACO to bury him. He’ll have to keep her happy.

A Noah Count mungley Apr 02, 2026 at 06:13:07 PM

“Bondi has to have enough dirt on TACO to bury him. He’ll have to keep her happy.”

On the other hand, he sees himself as being just like a mafia Don. He may well have “made her an offer she couldn't refuse”, if she has any ideas about getting even with him, if you know what I mean.

Too Shy A Noah Count Apr 02, 2026 at 11:29:33 PM

I’m sure she has a HUGE insurance policy set up so that doesn’t happen. Just like Ghislane Maxwell.

A Noah Count Too Shy Apr 03, 2026 at 08:35:09 AM

I’d love it if she not only showed up for her appearance before Congress on the 14th, but she also “spills ALL the beans” on the Pumpkin Pinochet when she’s there.

That would be SOOOO sweet!

NYVegan mungley Apr 02, 2026 at 03:04:37 PM

Meidas just published this:

Attorneys for Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., sent a formal cease and desist letter to FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday, demanding he immediately halt any effort to publicly release a decade-old investigative file related to the congressman — and threatening to haul him into federal court if he refuses.
... It was copied to Attorney General Pamela Bondi and FBI General Counsel Sam Ramer — a deliberate, public paper trail that signals Swalwell’s legal team is prepared to escalate fast.
The three-page letter alleges Patel directed the FBI to dig up and release the file on Swalwell, who is currently a leading candidate in California’s June 2 gubernatorial primary. Swalwell’s lawyers say the file relates to a counterintelligence matter in which the congressman cooperated with and assisted the FBI — and that he was never accused of any wrongdoing.

skipppppp mungley Apr 02, 2026 at 05:00:15 PM

Why would Trump fire her over that?

I would bet he directed her to open the investigation.

mungley skipppppp Apr 03, 2026 at 12:55:39 AM

She allegedly tipped Swalwell off. TACO wouldn’t like that.

Too Shy mungley Apr 02, 2026 at 11:20:06 PM

They just wanted to dirty him up, because he spoke out against the kleptocrats.

nila skipppppp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:50:31 PM

Donny fired her because she’s weakening the brand...but Pam did her best with the hair...he should use it, Bondi’s hair is better than his at half the cost

Roger Mexico nila Apr 02, 2026 at 03:15:46 PM

No, no, no — She needed long extensions, draped down the bosom, and “work” on her lips, eyebrows, and face in general. Plus higher heels. So she just didn’t fit in with Drumpf’s ideas about “beautiful.” Failure.

Brian3 nila Apr 03, 2026 at 08:21:25 AM

Should have used a better dye.

gfp skipppppp Apr 02, 2026 at 03:19:27 PM

Did he consult with Laura Loomer before making this decision?

Methinks They Lie Apr 02, 2026 at 02:22:10 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Oh no! Does this mean she has to go back to chasing ambulances???????

CathyM Methinks They Lie Apr 02, 2026 at 02:45:24 PM

No — he’s set her up in a “private sector job” — paying her off somehow. Media needs to get on this and find the job…

MemoryCells Methinks They Lie Apr 02, 2026 at 02:50:41 PM

She got paid big money by Qatar to be a lobbyist. Maybe Iran might need to hire someone connected to Trump to hash out the bribes?

eyesoars MemoryCells Apr 02, 2026 at 05:40:27 PM

I gather they’re trying to get their beautiful 747 back. Maybe they can pay her to do that, but it might not sit well with Hair Furor.

RenderBot Methinks They Lie Apr 02, 2026 at 03:12:39 PM

She still has a Congressional subpoena to answer to, that should be fun.

A Noah Count RenderBot Apr 02, 2026 at 04:31:01 PM

Even if she complies with the subpoena, she’ll just do her Junior High School mean girl shit.

Roger Mexico Methinks They Lie Apr 02, 2026 at 03:18:04 PM

Huh? I thought only excitable pooches do that.

exlrrp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:23:06 PM

The only bad thing about Bondi getting the boot is her replacement (Lee Zeldin? Todd Blanche??) will be worse. Trump's giving her the boot because--unbelievably-- she wasn't fascist enough.

TomPaineEsq exlrrp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:25:37 PM

It’s Blanche, at least temporarily.

NepentheRising TomPaineEsq Apr 02, 2026 at 02:58:09 PM

Get him to testify under oath!!!

tightlikethat exlrrp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:27:10 PM

Or at least she was not effective enough at imposing fascism...

exlrrp tightlikethat Apr 02, 2026 at 02:29:11 PM

Maybe wouldn't let him grab her whatever

SpaceElevator exlrrp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:37:54 PM

She has been at tRump’s side for a long time; odds are pretty good they have ‘bumped uglies’ in the past. She adores Fat Donnie.

barneydogg SpaceElevator Apr 02, 2026 at 02:47:19 PM

Just lost my lunch.

Will Smirk 4 Food SpaceElevator Apr 02, 2026 at 03:30:18 PM

Jesus did you have to say that?? I was reading this while eating. Now I have to scrape chip dip off my computer screen!!!

A Noah Count Will Smirk 4 Food Apr 02, 2026 at 04:33:59 PM

You’ve been here long enough that I would think that you’d know by now this can be a “dangerous” place.

; ]

Too Shy A Noah Count Apr 02, 2026 at 11:41:32 PM

LOL

tmseattle exlrrp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:32:24 PM

She was plenty fascist. She was just unable to make the Epstein files go away and get retribution on Trump’s enemies, thanks to the remaining ethical judges in the justice system.

Karmala exlrrp Apr 02, 2026 at 02:34:06 PM

Plus that upcoming April 14 Oversight Committee deposition, though I didn’t really think she’d appear. There are plenty of law firms that will hire her at a much higher salary.

CathyM Karmala Apr 02, 2026 at 02:58:11 PM www.theguardian.com/…1h ago13.33 EDT

Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democratic representative from Florida, released a statement noting that Bondi is still expected to testify before the House oversight committee, noting that her ouster “does not get her out of that bipartisan, lawful subpoena. We will see her soon.”

CathyM CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 02:59:17 PM same post: 2h ago13.27 EDT

...Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, welcomed Bondi’s ouster and said that she led “a White House cover-up of the Epstein files”.

..Today, Garcia said that he still expects the ousted attorney general to testify.

“She will not escape accountability,” he said. “She must answer for her mishandling of the Epstein files and the special treatment she has given Ghislaine Maxwell.”

...“If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken,” Garcia said of the Democrats’ ongoing investigations into the former officials.

Karmala CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 03:04:41 PM

I’m skeptical that she will show.

Saint Stephen Karmala Apr 02, 2026 at 04:03:39 PM

As well all know, rules and laws don’t apply to Republicans.

quiet thought CathyM Apr 02, 2026 at 03:09:31 PM

She should show up to the hearing and throw Trump under the bus. He’s earned it.

RenderBot quiet thought Apr 02, 2026 at 03:14:52 PM

Then goodbye cushy job “in the private sector” for Pam.

CathyM RenderBot Apr 02, 2026 at 07:55:35 PM

Sadly… as long as they think they are safer together, no one will rat on the other…

Dartagnan Apr 02, 2026 at 02:23:09 PM

Nancy Mace is a lickspittle idiot.

“Bondi handled the Epstein Files in a terrible manner and made this situation far worse than it had to be for President Trump,” Mace said.

“Far worse than it had to be?” Exactly how much worse should it have been?

PissedGrunty Dartagnan Apr 02, 2026 at 02:37:11 PM

“Life in prison” worse, though I doubt Mace agrees with me.

gfp Dartagnan Apr 02, 2026 at 03:27:30 PM

Because the most important consideration is not justice or closure for the survivors or accountability among the guilty, but whether it makes things better or worse for Trump.

They aren't even trying to pretend to care any more.

A Noah Count gfp Apr 02, 2026 at 04:37:45 PM

When she flat out refused to acknowledge the Epstein victims seated right behind her showed she didn’t care one bit.

Clytemnestra Apr 02, 2026 at 02:24:20 PM

What position in the “Shield of the Americas” will she now inhabit?

Durability Clytemnestra Apr 02, 2026 at 02:26:19 PM

Car Shield

Roger Mexico Durability Apr 02, 2026 at 02:37:41 PM

I hear that car shields can be easily replaced, eh? Says so on TV.

Don Dumitru Clytemnestra Apr 02, 2026 at 02:26:37 PM

The bleet had her being dumped into the private sector.

Olds88 Don Dumitru Apr 02, 2026 at 02:31:11 PM

A “much needed” private sector job.

She must be hard up. Guess she didn’t charge enough to her brother’s pardon clients.

Roger Mexico Olds88 Apr 02, 2026 at 02:38:50 PM

Floor mop girl at a Taco Bell. It’s a sort of living.

shabbedolle Roger Mexico Apr 02, 2026 at 06:47:14 PM

“Floor mop girl at a Taco Bell” — its a honest job (that I’ve done — my roommates made me change out of the uniform on the porch tho). Much more honest and less “ewww” than covering for Trumpstein, i.e., changing his diapers.

BobRR Olds88 Apr 02, 2026 at 02:40:18 PM

A “much needed” private sector job.
She must be hard up. Guess she didn’t charge enough to her brother’s pardon clients.

My local Wal Mart is hiring. $20 an hour to start, $23 an hour for the optical department, no experience necessary.

Too Shy BobRR Apr 02, 2026 at 11:46:38 PM

Where is your Walmart? My husband has been there for 15 yrs, and he’s making less than that.

BobRR Too Shy Apr 03, 2026 at 01:32:35 AM

Where is your Walmart? My husband has been there for 15 yrs, and he’s making less than that.

It’s in Kona, Hawaii. Of course, the cost of living is higher here. Hawaii’s minimum wage is $16 an hour, and will be $18 an hour in 2028.

I’m sure the pay is also higher because the available work force is smaller.

Too Shy BobRR Apr 03, 2026 at 02:24:33 AM

Probably. We live in the eastern part of the state, and the town is all about the service industry. Snowing in the winter (when we get snow) and the snooty rich valley people come up here during the summer to escape the heat.

Too Shy Too Shy Apr 03, 2026 at 02:52:09 AM

btw. the minimum wage is $15.50 in arizona. Years ago, when I worked at Walmart, arizona raised its minimum wage to $9/hr. I had been at Walmart for about 10 years, and I was really aggravated that the new cashiers were making 50cents/hr less than me. You would think that if they were going to follow the new minimum wage policy of the state that they would adjust other people’s wages. Walmart is way too cheap to do that. It might hurt the corporate profits.

CathyM Don Dumitru Apr 02, 2026 at 02:47:19 PM

Some kind of bribe job… or maybe somewhere she’ll be watched closely. I shudder to think of the treachery involved in working anywhere near Rump…

tightlikethat Apr 02, 2026 at 02:25:43 PM

Can't wait to see which ghoulish MAGA Monstrosity is appointed to replace her...

ontheleftcoast tightlikethat Apr 02, 2026 at 02:31:10 PM

^^ THIS ^^

Every time, every damn time, Shitler replaces someone they turn out to be some new form of horrible.

Baby Seal tightlikethat Apr 02, 2026 at 02:31:31 PM

Word is that it will be Lee Zeldin.

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