Washington, Feb 6: New Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday ordered a review of the federal prosecution of Donald Trump as she unveiled a series of directives designed to overhaul a Justice Department the president claims is biased against conservatives.
Hours after she was sworn in at the White House, Bondi called for the creation of “weaponization working group” that will examine the work of special counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump in two criminal cases. The group will also review the “pursuit of improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, among other things, according to the memo.
The memo satisfies the longstanding contention of Trump and his allies that the Justice Department under the Biden administration had become “weaponized” against conservatives, even though some of its most high-profile probes concerned the Democratic president and his son and there’s been no evidence to support the idea that the prosecutions against Trump were launched for a partisan purpose.
Bondi herself had foreshadowed the working group’s creation by asserting at her confirmation hearing last month that the Justice Department had “targeted Donald Trump.” Bondi, who was Florida’s first female attorney general before becoming a lobbyist, is likely to be one of the most closely scrutinized members of Trump’s Cabinet, given her close relationship the president, who during his 2024 campaign suggested that he would try to exact revenge on his perceived enemies. (AP)
