Trump dismisses Pam Bondi as US Attorney General

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump has dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her duties, a White House official said, following growing dissatisfaction with her work, including her handling of investigative files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump also reportedly became frustrated that Bondi did not act quickly enough in prosecuting critics and opponents he wanted to face criminal charges, Reuters reported.

In a social media post, Trump praised Bondi as a "great American patriot and loyal friend" and said she would move on to work in the private sector.

Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, would lead the Justice Department in the interim.

During her tenure as the top US law enforcement official, Bondi was a staunch advocate for Trump's agenda and broke with the long-standing tradition of the Justice Department's independence from the White House in its investigations.

But, repeated criticism over the Epstein files, including from Trump allies and some Republican lawmakers, became dominant during her tenure.

Bondi has been accused of concealing or mismanaging the release of documents from Justice Department investigations into sex trafficking against Epstein, a financier who cultivated ties with a number of wealthy and powerful figures.

Political Headache

This issue created political headaches for Trump and brought renewed attention to his friendship with Epstein, which he said ended decades ago.

Her dismissal could lead to a change in strategy at the Justice Department and potentially renewed pressure to use the US legal system against Trump's targets.

Bondi is the second high-ranking Trump official to be recently dismissed.
On March 5, Trump dismissed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following criticism of her management of the agency and Trump's immigration agenda.
Bondi, a former Republican Attorney General of Florida, said she worked to refocus the Justice Department on violent crime and rebuild trust with Trump supporters after federal prosecutors twice prosecuted Trump during his years out of office.

Bondi also faced criticism for dismissing dozens of career prosecutors who worked on investigations that Trump did not approve of, with critics accusing her of abandoning the Justice Department's traditional focus on impartial justice.
Bondi defended the release of the Epstein files, saying the Trump administration had been more transparent on the issue than previous presidents and that Justice Department lawyers had worked within a compressed timeframe to review a large amount of material.

Clashes with Lawmakers

During a heated hearing before a House committee in January, Bondi responded to criticism with political attacks aimed at lawmakers.

She refused to apologize or look at the victims of the Epstein case and their relatives who attended the proceedings.

Bondi became involved in heated speculation about the Epstein files early last year, saying there was a list of his clients on her desk. But after the initial release included material that was largely already public, the Justice Department and the FBI declared in July that the case was closed and no further disclosures were needed.

That move triggered an eruption of criticism, and in November, a bipartisan law was eventually passed requiring the Justice Department to release almost all files.

The release of approximately three million pages of records still did not quell the controversy, as lawmakers criticized redactions in the files and the disclosure of the identities of some of Epstein's victims.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Bondi, and she was scheduled to testify on April 14.