Donald Trump Fires Attorney General Pam Bondi
Washington – President Donald Trump fired his Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, a loyal ally criticized for her handling of the Epstein case, announcing her departure to the “private sector.” The interim for Ms. Bondi will be taken over by the number 2 of the Department of Justice, Todd Blanche, former personal lawyer of Donald Trump, added the American president on his Truth social network, praising the outgoing minister’s action, described as a “great patriot,” against crime. This is the second high-level official ousted from the Trump administration, less than a month after the Minister of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Several American media outlets, including CNN and Fox News, had previously reported on this firing. Donald Trump reproached Pam Bondi for her handling of the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and for not having indicted personalities he considers personal enemies, CNN reports. Todd Blanche, described by Donald Trump as a “very talented and respected lawyer,” was in the spotlight on the Epstein case when the Department of Justice published on January 30th “more than three million pages” of Jeffrey Epstein’s file, who died in prison in 2019 in New York before his trial. “Ordering indictments like pizzas” Pam Bondi, former attorney general of Florida (southeast), distinguished herself as Attorney General with unconditional defense of the Republican president, especially during tumultuous hearings with Democratic lawmakers in Congress. In February, several Democratic lawmakers accused her of “smothering” the Epstein case by not complying with the law requiring the Trump administration to fully disclose this politically explosive issue. “You do not show much interest for the victims, Madam Attorney General, whether they are victims of Epstein’s exploitation network or of deadly government violence against American citizens in Minneapolis,” said Jamie Raskin, the principal Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee. He notably referred to two protesters protesting against immigration police (ICE) who were killed in January by federal police. Democrats also questioned the minister about criminal prosecutions directed by the president against targets of his vindictiveness, many of which failed. The justice system thus threw out the charges against former FBI director James Comey and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and citizen juries refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers who had urged the military to disobey the administration’s “illegal orders.” “You have turned the Department of Justice, meant to serve the people, into Trump’s instrument of revenge. Trump orders indictments as he would order pizzas, and you comply,” mocked Jamie Raskin. In September, Donald Trump publicly pressured his Attorney General, wondering on Truth Social why James Comey and Letitia James had still not been indicted. Selim SAHEB ETTABA © Agence France-Presse
