Trump Pushes Bondi on Political Prosecutions, Nominates Personal Lawyer for U.S. Attorney Role

Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing pressure from President Trump to get a new U.S. Attorney for Virginia in place, getting her marching orders in a series of TruthSocial posts in which the president expressed alternating frustration and satisfaction with Ms. Bondi’s pursuit of his political adversaries. In a post on Saturday evening, the president called out Ms. Bondi for failing to act swiftly to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, Senator Adam Schiff of California, and New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, all of whom have accused the president of wrongdoing.“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, “same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,” the president wrote.“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”Mr. Comey has long been on tinterhooks with Mr. Trump, who fired him in 2017 during Mr. Comey’s investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s campaign had ties to Russia, allegations that have since been disproved. A congressman in 2019, Mr. Schiff led Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial in which Mr. Trump faced allegations he withheld nearly $400 million in military aid from Ukraine to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. The Senate acquitted the president.Ms. James successfully brought fraud charges against Mr. Trump and his sons in a five-year-long case in which she accused their company of fraudulently inflating the value of assets on financial statements to secure favorable loans and insurance terms. The $450 million penalty was reduced by an appeals court in August.Much like his boardroom musings during his TV show, “The Apprentice,” Mr. Trump softened his tone after his tirade, saying his attorney general was “doing a GREAT job as Attorney General of the United States.” Asked Sunday if he would fire Ms. Bondi if Ms. James is not indicted, Mr. Trump repeated that she’s “doing a great job” and will go down as “as one of the best attorney generals—of the ages.” He added that it is up to the Justice Department to determine whether to pursue Ms. James “I look at the facts like everybody else. She is terrible. She looks like she’s very guilty but that’s gonna be up to the DOJ.”In his Saturday post, Mr. Trump criticized former acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, which is responsible for overseeing federal cases in Washington, D.C., Erik Siebert. Mr. Siebert declined to pursue charges against Ms. James on allegations of mortgage fraud. He resigned in September after the fallout with the president. “Then we almost put in a Democrat supported U.S. Attorney, in Virginia, with a really bad Republican past. A Woke RINO, who was never going to do his job. That’s why two of the worst Dem Senators PUSHED him so hard. He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case. No, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so,” he said.Ms. Bondi appointed the current acting U.S. Attorney, Mary “Maggie” Cleary, to the position held by Mr. Siebert, which evidently displeased Mr. Trump. Late night Saturday, Mr. Trump said he was appointing his former defense attorney and current White House aide, Lindsey Halligan, to the post.“It is my honor to appoint Lindsey Halligan, who has been serving as Special Assistant to the President at the White House, as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Lindsey is a tough, smart, and loyal attorney, who has worked with me for a long time, including in the winning fight against the Weaponization of our Justice System by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats, which she witnessed firsthand when she stood up for my rights during the Unconstitutional and UnAmerican raid on my home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.” U.S. Attorneys must be confirmed by the Senate.

Trump Pushes Bondi on Political Prosecutions, Nominates Personal Lawyer for U.S. Attorney Role

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