Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi fired off a collection of memos late Wednesday pledging to “root out corruption” amongst Justice Division employees and threatening termination for anybody discovered to fall brief in advocacy for President Trump’s insurance policies as “his lawyers.”
The memos from Bondi set up a “Weaponization Working Group” — one that can assessment the work of the Justice Division over the past 4 years in addition to the work of particular counsel Jack Smith.
Further memos name for ceasing any range efforts throughout the Justice Division and directing its Civil Rights Division to determine alternatives to crack down on DEI practices.
One other seeks to finish funding for so-called sanctuary cities that “unlawfully interfere” with enforcement operations.
Bondi mentioned attorneys engaged on circumstances would not have the “latitude to substitute personal political views or judgments for those that prevailed in this election,” saying that doing so “undermines the constitutional order and deprives the president of the benefit of his lawyers.”
“No one who has acted with a righteous spirit and just intentions has any cause for concern about our efforts to root out corruption and weaponization,” she wrote in a memo reviewed by The Hill.
The memos strike on the coronary heart of issues raised by Democrats throughout Bondi’s listening to — that she would view the Justice Division as attorneys for Trump fairly than for the residents of the USA.
The nod to plans to assessment Smith comes after she refused to say throughout her listening to whether or not she would examine him.
Additionally they echo her protection of Trump as being unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Division.
The directive on range would additionally mark a shift for the work of the Civil Rights Division, which historically brings circumstances to guard the rights of varied minorities, together with these dealing with discrimination based mostly on their race, gender, or a incapacity.
Bondi directs the division to give attention to range, fairness and inclusion efforts, leaving the door open to doing so at non-public firms.
“There is no place in these materials for race- or sex-based preferences,” Bondi wrote.
