The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks
Tag: pam bondi
Worse Than The Old Boss: Todd Blanche Drives Justice To A New Low

Worse Than The Old Boss: Todd Blanche Drives Justice To A New Low

When Pam Bondi was sacked earlier this month, amid reports that her firing offense was, of all things, insufficient zeal in securing convictions of Trump’s enemies, the logical question was: just what more could she have done? Bondi had seemingly pulled out every possible stop to deliver the scalps to the King, foiled only by the checks that exist outside DOJ’s walls, especially grand juries that refused to indict the innocent targets she had placed before them.

At the time, the question seemed rhetorical. It wasn’t. In Todd Blanche’s three weeks as Acting AG, he has taken screws that seemed fully turned and tightened them another notch. His initial moves suggest that, hard as it is to conceive, he will be even more vicious, more slavish toward Trump, and more willing to jettison the public interest and the rule of law than was his consummately servile predecessor.

Meet the new boss. Worse than the old boss.

In 14 months, the shortest confirmed tenure of any Attorney General in 60 years, Bondi managed to eviscerate the mission and good faith of the DOJ to the point where courts that had always assumed the best of government lawyers had begun to assume the worst. It was the antithesis of justice without fear or favor, the Justice Department’s historic watchword: instead, Bondi’s DOJ delivered favor to Trump’s allies and tortured his enemies.

Yet in barely three weeks on the fifth floor, Blanche has done Bondi one better, which is to say the country one worse. The Department, in April, has moved to whitewash the criminal records of the worst January 6 offenders; fired career prosecutors for working righteous cases now in political disfavor; deployed loyalist assistants to intimidate the Federal Reserve in a manner both nakedly political and downright bizarre; and routed a reprisal perjury prosecution to a division with no conceivable jurisdiction over it.

Start with the most historically consequential. On Tuesday, the Department filed a bare-bones motion in the D.C. Circuit seeking to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of the worst January 6 offenders: eight Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, and four Proud Boys, including Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean.

These men were the architects of the worst assault on democratic self-governance in our lifetimes. Their prosecutions, for seditious conspiracy, arguably the most serious and demanding charge in the federal arsenal, were the hardest and proudest achievement of the largest criminal investigation in DOJ history.

The seditious conspirators had already received an outrageous windfall when Trump commuted their sentences on his first day back in office. Since then, he has embraced them as “hostages,” “unbelievable patriots,” and “warriors,” and called January 6 itself “a day of love.” The motion to vacate takes this grotesque revisionism to its logical conclusion.

The four-page motion offered no legal argument, no claim of innocence, no suggestion of prosecutorial error. It simply declared that dismissal “is in the interests of justice.”

Whose justice might that be?

On remand, the government will move to dismiss with prejudice, meaning no retrial is ever possible. The legal system will formally reflect that Stewart Rhodes and company committed no January 6-related crimes. At that point, these newly exonerated defendants will be positioned to sue the United States for malicious prosecution, just as Michael Flynn did, walking away with 1.25 million taxpayer dollars. A collection of pardoned January 6 defendants has already brought a class action against the Capitol police officers they overran that day, alleging excessive force. Rhodes and company can now wave their own dismissals with prejudice.

This is not, as Bondi and Trump might suppose, the triumph of one political faction over another. The whitewashing of the worst January 6 crimes is an offense against the entire country, Republicans and Democrats, MAGA and never-Trump alike. The convictions Blanche erases belonged to all of us.

The second item involves firing people for doing their jobs, and smearing them on the way out.

This week, the department fired at least four career prosecutors who had worked FACE Act cases under Merrick Garland, simultaneously releasing a 900-page “weaponization” report accusing those same prosecutors of selective enforcement. They got the knife and the smear at the same time.

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act was passed in 1994 with bipartisan support, its primary target the physical blockading of abortion clinics, with protections for houses of worship added to bring Republicans along.

The felony cases Garland’s prosecutors brought involved defendants who physically blockaded clinic entrances. Not people standing peacefully with signs. The cases were not close calls. In Washington, D.C., defendants forced their way into a clinic and blockaded the doors while a co-conspirator livestreamed it. In Mount Juliet, Tennessee, a coordinated group physically blocked a patient from receiving care while two ringleaders ran a deliberate deception operation to delay police. That is the conduct Blanche has now declared a firing offense to prosecute.

What makes this doubly perverse is the asymmetry Blanche has enshrined as policy: FACE Act cases involving houses of worship get the Justice Department’s full attention, as with the tenuous prosecution of Don Lemon for covering a protest in a St. Paul church; cases involving abortion clinics are now restricted to “extraordinary circumstances.” Same conduct, same statute, different outcomes depending on the political valence of the victim.

Then there is Tuesday’s drop-in visit to the Federal Reserve by two prosecutors in Jeanne Pirro’s office and an investigator.

Chief Judge James Boasberg had already quashed Pirro’s subpoenas targeting the Fed in March, finding that the government had produced “essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime” and that the investigation was transparently designed to pressure Powell on interest rates. So Pirro dispatched two prosecutors, Steven Vandervelden and Carlton Davis, to show up unannounced at the Fed’s Washington headquarters and request a tour of the renovation project Trump has cast as the source of Powell’s supposed criminal exposure.

It is hard to overstate how anomalous this is. Prosecutors don’t make unannounced visits to subjects of an investigation and ask for a tour. Beyond that, the Fed is represented by counsel, Robert Hur, the former United States Attorney who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents and found no basis for charges. Contacting a represented party without counsel present is a blatant ethical violation. Hur responded with a tart letter advising Pirro’s office that if it wished to challenge Boasberg’s ruling, the courts provided an avenue. That avenue is called an appeal. Pirro has yet to file one.

A word about Vandervelden and Davis. They are also the same Pirro soldiers who previously tried to indict six sitting Democratic members of Congress for taping a video urging military personnel they need not comply with illegal orders. Vandervelden has no prior federal prosecutorial experience; Davis previously served as a congressional staffer and has a single brief stint as an AUSA to his name.

The result: not a single vote to indict. It’s the first total shutout in federal grand jury practice that I’ve ever even heard about. The old saw is that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich. It wouldn’t bite on the very different malodorous sandwich Vandervelden and Davis were serving.

The only plausible explanation for the Fed field trip is raw intimidation, a rattling of sabers, saying we still have you in our sights. Trump confirmed as much the next morning, telling Fox Business the probe would continue and that it was “more than a criminal probe.” The President of the United States, on camera, volunteered that his prosecutors are doing something other than pursuing criminal justice.

Finally, there is Cassidy Hutchinson, the then-25-year-old former White House aide whose June 2022 testimony remains one of the most consequential public accounts of Trump’s conduct on January 6. She was a loyal Republican staffer with no political animus toward Trump. She simply told the truth under oath, at considerable personal cost, against documented pressure from her Trump-supplied attorney not to, an attorney she eventually discharged.

The prospective perjury charge centers on her relaying what she had been told by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato about Trump lunging for the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle. The Secret Service agent in the car disputed the account; Ornato himself later claimed not to remember telling her. Relaying in good faith what a senior White House official told you is not perjury, by any stretch. The willful and material falsehood the charge requires is nowhere in evidence.

Bondi opened the inquiry in her final weeks as a last-ditch bid to please Trump. Blanche greenlighted the next step: assigning the matter to Harmeet Dhillon’s Civil Rights Division. Dhillon is a longtime Trump personal attorney, an ardent promoter of his 2020 election fraud claims, and an official who has described her mission as not merely slowing civil rights enforcement but “turning the train around and driving in the opposite direction.”

But perjury prosecutions are not her job. Every division in the Department has its own bailiwick. I don’t know of a single instance in which the Civil Rights Division has handled a congressional perjury case. There is no institutional authority to do so. The assignment is designed for one purpose: to show Trump that the Hutchinson prosecution is in the hands of a trusted enforcer.

What distinguishes Blanche, and has earned him particular contempt among former DOJ colleagues, is that he knows better. Bondi was over her head from day one, a Fox News personality dropped into the nation’s premier law enforcement institution. Blanche is a former Assistant United States Attorney who spent years in the Southern District of New York. He knows that the career prosecutors he has fired acted with integrity and dedication to justice. He knows the value of the traditions he is feeding through a meat grinder, because he was formed by them.

Blanche served in a Justice Department where it was forbidden for the White House even to communicate with DOJ about a pending case, and he knows precisely why that rule existed and what its abandonment means. Now he takes pride in turning that rule upside down.

At his first press conference as Acting AG, asked about Trump’s explicit public demands that DOJ investigate his political opponents, Blanche said: “It is true that some of them involve men, women, and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and believes should be investigated. That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that, meaning to lead this country.”

Whoa. The Acting Attorney General of the United States describes it as the president’s duty, and a function of his leadership, to order prosecutions of his political enemies. It is a breathtaking characterization of Trump’s corrupt agenda, now become the Department of Justice’s mission statement.

In three weeks, Blanche has made clear there is no floor he recognizes. He is all in, past Bondi, past any limiting principle. We thought we had seen the bottom. We hadn’t.

And that gives rise to one question, also unfortunately not rhetorical: how much lower can he drive the Department of Justice?

Harry Litman is a former United States Attorney and the executive producer and host of the Talking Feds podcast. He has taught law at UCLA, Berkeley, and Georgetown and served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Clinton Administration. Please consider subscribing to Talking Feds on Substack.

Reprinted with permission from Talking Feds.

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

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

Will Firing More Cabinet Members Improve Trump's Sagging Approval Numbers?

Will Firing More Cabinet Members Improve Trump's Sagging Approval Numbers?

A Reuters report on Saturday claimed President Donald Trump was weighing a “reset” in his administration to arrest what he considered “unfair” media coverage over his Iran fiasco. That one sentence undersells just how unhinged this is.

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a broader cabinet shake-up in the wake of Attorney General Pam Bondi's removal this week, as he grows increasingly frustrated with the political fallout from the war with Iran, five people familiar with internal White House discussions said.

Of course he’s frustrated. He created this mess himself, and this time he can’t declare bankruptcy, stiff his creditors, or sic lawyers on the problem until it disappears. He promised “no wars,” and now he owns one. There’s no easy exit.

Any potential reshuffling could serve as a reset for the White House as it confronts a politically challenging stretch: The five-week-old war has driven up gas prices, dragged down Trump's approval ratings and intensified anxiety about the consequences for Republicans heading into November's midterm elections.

That’s the reality. Republicans tied themselves to Trump, and now they’re stuck with the consequences. The problem is the rest of the country and the world is stuck with him, too.

Some allies said his televised speech to the nation on Wednesday - which one senior White House official described as an attempt to project a sense of control and confidence about the direction of the war - fell flat, adding to the sense that changes in messaging or personnel were needed.

There was never a scenario where another rambling Trump speech was going to reassure anyone. If anything, it was always going to make things worse. People are done with him. They gave him a second chance, and he’s screwed it up beyond recognition. No one outside the MAGA deplorables is giving him the benefit of the doubt, ever again.

Several of the sources said Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are among those potentially on the chopping block, after Trump ousted Bondi and Homeland Security ⁠Secretary Kristi Noem in recent weeks.Trump has in recent months expressed displeasure with Gabbard, said one senior White House official. Another source with direct knowledge of the matter said Trump had asked allies about their thoughts on potential replacements for his intelligence chief

Gabbard is awful, but funny how his immediate hit list is all the women in his Cabinet. That’s not a coincidence.

The same report notes that Trump himself isn’t particularly bothered by Lutnick. The discomfort is coming from others in his orbit over Lutnick’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump’s own history there speaks for itself.

Trump could ultimately decide, however, not to make any changes to his administration's senior ranks. Several others close to Trump have said the ⁠president is reluctant to overhaul his cabinet too frequently, after recurrent staffing changes during his first term dominated headlines and created the impression of chaos at the White House.

Nothing about this is about governing. He assembled a Cabinet of loyalists with little regard for competence, and now that his administration is trapped in a public opinion death spiral, his instinct is to reshuffle the deck rather than change course. The people he’s thinking about firing didn’t create the underlying problem.

Still, after his disappointing speech on Wednesday, doing nothing could be just as politically dangerous as making a significant change that, for better or for worse, would dominate news headlines, one White House official said.

Actually, doing nothing for the next three years would quite literally be the best political move Trump could do.

Trump worked with his speechwriting team and top advisers on this week's prime-time address, one official said, after aides had urged him for weeks to speak directly to the nation about the U.S. role in Iran [...]"The speech did not accomplish what it was supposed to," the official said, adding that while Trump's core supporters still backed him on the war, they are broadly under economic strain.

Even that framing misses the point. The issue isn’t presentation. It’s the substance.

Two ⁠of the White House officials said Trump is extremely frustrated with what he perceives to be unfair media coverage of the war in Iran, and he has made clear to his team he wants more positive news accounts. He has not indicated, however, that he is interested in adjusting his own messaging strategy.

There is no “messaging strategy” to adjust. The behavior is the problem. Demanding better coverage while continuing the same actions that caused the backlash is not a plan.

If Trump wants more positive news coverage, there is one obvious option: step aside.

Still, the sources said the possibility of a shake-up had grown decidedly more serious in recent weeks. One senior White House source said Trump wants to make any big changes now, well ahead of the midterms.

Quite literally every single one of his Cabinet members deserves to be fired, and every single possible replacement would look the same: loyalists first, competence optional.

We are stuck in a political nightmare. The only silver lining is that Trump, himself, is as well.

Markos Moulitsas is founder and editor of the blogging website Daily Kos and author of three books.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

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

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.

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.

Bad news: Daily Kos’ revenue is down.

Good news: You are a big part of the solution, and small donors have never let us down.

Donating $5 today can help us out in a big way so we can continue to bring you the coverage you enjoy most!

One-timeMonthly$5$15$25Other$ORDonate withDonate with PayPal button7 tags#Corruption#DOJ#DonaldTrump#PamBondi#LeeZeldin#ToddBlanche#EpsteinFiles1 group republished

Was this story worth reading?

Recommending and sharing stories helps us decide which stories are most
important to show our readers.Recommend Story293ShareMen Can’t Get Enough of These Cozy Linen ShortsWalkergrey|SponsoredBest walking shoes for seniors with balance issuesveloraea|SponsoredComfy Orthopedic Walking Shoes for Seniorsveloraea|SponsoredMemory Loss Linked to a Food Millions ConsumeThe Modern Health Report|SponsoredThis Popular Food May Be Influencing Memory Retention In Every ServingDaily Health Report|SponsoredWhy Your Rotator Cuff Won’t Heal (What Most Doctors Miss)Shoulder Relief News|SponsoredThere are no unread comments at this time.245 CommentsClose SettingsAuto refreshCollapse on load
Keyboard navigation:
  • ( L ) Recommend
  • ( r ) Reply
  • ( p ) Parent
  • ( o ) Open/Close
  • ( j ) Next
  • ( k ) Prev
  • Show all hotkeys...
CathyMApr 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!

tmseattleCathyMApr 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.

ktoztmseattleApr 02, 2026 at 02:32:18 PM
unless the Senate blocks him

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Like that’s going to happen.

AstronutktozApr 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.

alterego55AstronutApr 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.

Noodlesalterego55Apr 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.

SpancosktozApr 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.

SimnsaysSpancosApr 02, 2026 at 04:44:06 PM

...with a demented Ring Leader!

niemanntmseattleApr 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.

RenderBotniemannApr 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?

PissedGruntyRenderBotApr 02, 2026 at 03:16:47 PM

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

TRsCousinPissedGruntyApr 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.

PissedGruntyTRsCousinApr 02, 2026 at 03:47:55 PM

What is “never”?

RenderBotPissedGruntyApr 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.

PissedGruntyRenderBotApr 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.

FiresidemanPissedGruntyApr 02, 2026 at 08:24:07 PM

What is: “A good bet?”

for 💯

RepublicanAirPollutionRenderBotApr 02, 2026 at 05:50:43 PM

"She knows some things about him"

Yeah and now watch her get her revenge!

ILoveBatsRepublicanAirPollutionApr 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.

MadLibrarian9RepublicanAirPollutionApr 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 ShyRenderBotApr 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?

walkshillsRenderBotApr 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.

RepublicanAirPollutionRenderBotApr 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 ScientistniemannApr 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 ShyDesert ScientistApr 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 SingerniemannApr 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.

SimnsaysniemannApr 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.

poalcat51niemannApr 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 ScientisttmseattleApr 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.

NickyZCathyMApr 02, 2026 at 03:07:48 PMgiphy-Snoopyhappydance.gifskippppppApr 02, 2026 at 02:21:48 PM

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

abydenusskippppppApr 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.

Kevo2007abydenusApr 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”.

abydenusKevo2007Apr 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 balconyabydenusApr 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.

LeftleanerabydenusApr 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.

niemannabydenusApr 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.

MammadiquattroniemannApr 02, 2026 at 06:06:26 PM

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

skippppppabydenusApr 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.

mungleyskippppppApr 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.)

CathyMmungleyApr 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.

TKO333CathyMApr 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.

AstronutCathyMApr 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.

mungleyCathyMApr 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 CountmungleyApr 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 ShyA Noah CountApr 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 CountToo ShyApr 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!

NYVeganmungleyApr 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.
skippppppmungleyApr 02, 2026 at 05:00:15 PM

Why would Trump fire her over that?

I would bet he directed her to open the investigation.

mungleyskippppppApr 03, 2026 at 12:55:39 AM

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

Too ShymungleyApr 02, 2026 at 11:20:06 PM

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

nilaskippppppApr 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 MexiconilaApr 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.

Brian3nilaApr 03, 2026 at 08:21:25 AM

Should have used a better dye.

gfpskippppppApr 02, 2026 at 03:19:27 PM

Did he consult with Laura Loomer before making this decision?

Methinks They LieApr 02, 2026 at 02:22:10 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

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

CathyMMethinks They LieApr 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…

MemoryCellsMethinks They LieApr 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?

eyesoarsMemoryCellsApr 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.

RenderBotMethinks They LieApr 02, 2026 at 03:12:39 PM

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

A Noah CountRenderBotApr 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 MexicoMethinks They LieApr 02, 2026 at 03:18:04 PM

Huh? I thought only excitable pooches do that.

exlrrpApr 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.

TomPaineEsqexlrrpApr 02, 2026 at 02:25:37 PM

It’s Blanche, at least temporarily.

NepentheRisingTomPaineEsqApr 02, 2026 at 02:58:09 PM

Get him to testify under oath!!!

tightlikethatexlrrpApr 02, 2026 at 02:27:10 PM

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

exlrrptightlikethatApr 02, 2026 at 02:29:11 PM

Maybe wouldn't let him grab her whatever

SpaceElevatorexlrrpApr 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.

barneydoggSpaceElevatorApr 02, 2026 at 02:47:19 PM

Just lost my lunch.

Will Smirk 4 FoodSpaceElevatorApr 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 CountWill Smirk 4 FoodApr 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 ShyA Noah CountApr 02, 2026 at 11:41:32 PM

LOL

tmseattleexlrrpApr 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.

KarmalaexlrrpApr 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.

CathyMKarmalaApr 02, 2026 at 02:58:11 PMwww.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.”

CathyMCathyMApr 02, 2026 at 02:59:17 PMsame 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.

KarmalaCathyMApr 02, 2026 at 03:04:41 PM

I’m skeptical that she will show.

Saint StephenKarmalaApr 02, 2026 at 04:03:39 PM

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

quiet thoughtCathyMApr 02, 2026 at 03:09:31 PM

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

RenderBotquiet thoughtApr 02, 2026 at 03:14:52 PM

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

CathyMRenderBotApr 02, 2026 at 07:55:35 PM

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

DartagnanApr 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?

PissedGruntyDartagnanApr 02, 2026 at 02:37:11 PM

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

gfpDartagnanApr 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 CountgfpApr 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.

ClytemnestraApr 02, 2026 at 02:24:20 PM

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

DurabilityClytemnestraApr 02, 2026 at 02:26:19 PM

Car Shield

Roger MexicoDurabilityApr 02, 2026 at 02:37:41 PM

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

Don DumitruClytemnestraApr 02, 2026 at 02:26:37 PM

The bleet had her being dumped into the private sector.

Olds88Don DumitruApr 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 MexicoOlds88Apr 02, 2026 at 02:38:50 PM

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

shabbedolleRoger MexicoApr 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.

BobRROlds88Apr 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 ShyBobRRApr 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.

BobRRToo ShyApr 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 ShyBobRRApr 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 ShyToo ShyApr 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.

CathyMDon DumitruApr 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…

tightlikethatApr 02, 2026 at 02:25:43 PM

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

ontheleftcoasttightlikethatApr 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 SealtightlikethatApr 02, 2026 at 02:31:31 PM

Word is that it will be Lee Zeldin.

Load moreby TaboolaSponsored LinksFROM THE WEBWhy Your Rotator Cuff Isn't Healing (It’s Not Just Age)RejuvaCareThe Best Walking Shoes For Women To Wear All DayWalkergreyBrain Doctors Connect Cognitive Decline to This Daily Food - Is It on Your Plate?Memory and Health12 Expenses Retirees Are Quietly DroppingGreensprout12 Things To Cut When Living On RetirementGreensprout$25 Patch Is Going Viral After Shocking Weight Loss PhotosBetterLivingTrending ListAbbreviated Pundit Roundup: Lame duck president quacks upby Greg Dworkin,CommunityAP260920633816891422182hThursday Night Massacre . . . 12 senior military officials firedby Clytemnestra,CommunityDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)23810611hSo let me get this straight—by GregryJ,CommunityFILE - Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George speaks during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)1735510h10 Gems of Bluesky Today - Day 301by ZenTrainer,Communitybkkkk5896hL - O - S - E - R, and other Iranian propaganda videos show they know us better than we know themby Clytemnestra,CommunityStill from Iranian propaganda video3952hBwahahahahahahaha....Bwahahaha....snort...snickerby LaFeminista,CommunityKribi3071hGNR for Friday, April 3, 2026: Good Fridayby chloris creator,Communitypansies47292hADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE Creates 24/7 "Hungarian Radio Ukraine" To Counter Orban Propagandaby Decimus,CommunityHungarianRadioUkraine47

Shop our Store

Constitution Cork Coaster

Constitution Cork Coaster

Democracy Mug

Democracy Mug

Make America Think Again Hat

Make America Think Again Hat

Constitution Rocks Glass

Constitution Rocks Glass

Headlines

James Comey

Why Blanche's 'Seashellgate' Prosecution Of Comey Is Dead On Arrival

Americans Reject Monarchy, But On This Occasion We Admired The Actual King

Americans Reject Monarchy, But On This Occasion We Admired The Actual King

Facing Our True History May Be Inconvenient Or Uncomfortable, But It Can Be Liberating

Facing Our True History May Be Inconvenient Or Uncomfortable, But It Can Be Liberating

As Redistricting Fiasco Unfolds, Raging Republicans Blame Everyone But Trump

As Redistricting Fiasco Unfolds, Raging Republicans Blame Everyone But Trump

Editor's Blog

Trump 'Justice': Fascists Celebrate Bogus DOJ Indictment Of Southern Poverty Law Center

No Deal: Why Trump's Negotiations With Iran Are So Unlikely To Succeed

It's The Corruption, Stupid -- With Both Viktor Orban And Donald Trump

'We're Fighting Wars': Trump's Swindle Of American Voters Is Now Complete

Corona Virus

Worse Than The Old Boss: Todd Blanche Drives Justice To A New Low

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

Will Firing More Cabinet Members Improve Trump's Sagging Approval Numbers?

Trending

Americans Reject Monarchy, But On This Occasion We Admired The Actual King

Facing Our True History May Be Inconvenient Or Uncomfortable, But It Can Be Liberating

Why Blanche's 'Seashellgate' Prosecution Of Comey Is Dead On Arrival

World

Americans Reject Monarchy, But On This Occasion We Admired The Actual King

Iran War: Ceasefire Deadlines May Come And Go, But TACO Is Forever

It's The Corruption, Stupid -- With Both Viktor Orban And Donald Trump

Orange Man Goes Green? How Trump's Attack On Iran Is Advancing Clean Energy