Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi is underneath scrutiny over her feedback about cracking down on sure rhetoric within the wake of the killing of Charlie Kirk, marking the newest controversy of her personal making.
Bondi and different Justice Division officers have needed to clear up the lawyer basic’s feedback from earlier within the week, when she stated the company would goal these utilizing hate speech, one thing that’s typically protected by the First Modification.
The lawyer basic has beforehand taken warmth from some on the fitting for her feedback concerning the case of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the place critics argue Bondi overpromised and underdelivered on releasing paperwork.
Whereas some on the fitting have known as for President Trump to maneuver on from Bondi, there are not any indications he plans to take action. Administration officers pointed to the lawyer basic’s loyalty and her work on key elements of Trump’s agenda.
“Pam Bondi has done an unbelievable job, and everybody agrees with that,” Trump stated Tuesday.
Bondi raised eyebrows when she stated Monday that the administration would “go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.” The lawyer basic individually threatened to prosecute Workplace Depot over an worker’s refusal to print posters for a vigil honoring Kirk.
Bondi’s feedback about hate speech drew pushback from distinguished conservatives together with Megyn Kelly, Erick Erickson, Matt Walsh and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who famous hate speech is usually protected underneath the First Modification.
The lawyer basic, in addition to different high officers within the Justice Division, have since clarified her feedback.
“We are not prosecuting people for nasty speech alone — but true incitement to violence, or hate-motivated attacks, are illegal and will be treated as such by this DOJ!” Assistant Lawyer Normal Harmeet Dhillon posted on the social platform X.
CNN’s chief information analyst, Harry Enten stated Wednesday that weekly Google searches without cost speech have been up 186 p.c in contrast with the five-year common, an indication Bondi’s feedback broke via past Washington.
One supply near the White Home stated Bondi has “run into some problems” and that this week’s controversy was the newest occasion the place she “overspoke.” Historically, the lawyer basic has not had an outsized media presence, however Bondi is a daily on Fox Information, the place she usually touts the president’s agenda and her company’s work.
The Wall Avenue Journal editorial board admonished Bondi over her hate speech feedback in an editorial revealed late Tuesday. The editorial, titled, “Pam Bondi Needs a Free Speech Tutorial,” additionally criticized the lawyer basic’s tenure extra broadly.
“Ms. Bondi hasn’t had a distinguished tenure as AG, as she too often seems to follow the latest social-media, cable-TV mood swing,” the paper’s editorial board wrote. “But she is a law enforcer, not a social-media anger management coach, and she’s sworn to uphold the Constitution.”
This week isn’t the primary time Bondi’s personal phrases have gotten her into hassle, together with with a few of the president’s supporters.
The lawyer basic was on the middle of a firestorm over the administration’s dealing with of the Epstein recordsdata.
Whereas members of the MAGA motion expressed frustration with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, Bondi took the brunt of the backlash, with some Trump allies calling for her ouster.
Bondi’s critics cited her personal feedback pledging transparency across the Epstein recordsdata, together with an interview in February through which she stated the general public would see “a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information.” She additionally stated in February an Epstein shopper listing was “sitting on” her “desk” to be reviewed. She has since asserted she was referring to a wide range of recordsdata associated to the Epstein case.
Bongino, a well-liked determine amongst Trump’s base, clashed with Bondi over the Justice Division’s dealing with of the Epstein matter.
The Justice Division has since turned over quite a few Epstein-related paperwork to the Home Oversight and Authorities Reform Committee in response to a subpoena. The division additionally revealed the audio and transcript from an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein affiliate serving a jail sentence and in search of a pardon for or commutation of her intercourse trafficking conviction.
Regardless of the controversies, Trump has repeatedly provided reward for Bondi, who is commonly on the White Home and has traveled extensively with the president.
“The attorney general has handled that very well. She has really done a very good job,” Trump stated amid the uproar over the Epstein recordsdata in July.
Bondi, who was confirmed to the place after Trump’s first choose for lawyer basic, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrew within the face of bipartisan resistance, has additionally led the cost on key Trump administration initiatives.
A White Home official pointed to the Justice Division’s efforts cracking down on sanctuary cities, focusing on drug cartels, defending non secular liberty and lowering violent crime.
The official argued that Bondi’s work to implement Trump’s agenda “deserves more attention.”
