Washington, D.C. – Following President Trump’s statement that he has fired U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman issued the following statement:
“Pam Bondi’s time as the U.S. Attorney General will be remembered for her disregard for justice: politicizing the Justice Department and its investigations, undermining the rule of law, wreaking havoc on people and communities, and using the power of her office to target the lawyers and law firms. Her tenure will also be marked by an astonishing lack of transparency, including around her firing of career prosecutors who pursued cases against those responsible for violence on January 6, 2021, the president’s significant violations of the law, and the handling of the Epstein Files, where key information was withheld from the American public and Congress, and basic questions went unanswered, deepening distrust in the department.
“Bondi’s removal does not repair the damage inflicted on people living in America, civil rights, due process, or the integrity of our legal system. And the naming of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting head will neither promote a return to the rule of law nor be a move toward re-establishing trust in the department and its leaders. Every lawyer must use Bondi’s firing to continue to demand accountability. We at Democracy Forward will continue to challenge the unlawful policies advanced under Bondi’s leadership.
“For lawyers and law firms who found it expedient to try to stay in the president and Bondi’s good graces through cutting deals instead of reaffirming a commitment to the Constitution and the unique role the legal profession plays in upholding the rights of people and the checks and balances of our republic, or for those who are still on the sidelines, today’s events should be the latest wake-up call. People are going to overcome the generational threat to our nation that the president and his administration have created; history is watching what we all do in this time.
“Our team at Democracy Forward will continue doing what we have done throughout Bondi’s tenure: we will go to court for people and for our democracy, defend our Constitution and rule of law, and pursue accountability for those who fail to do so. It is not too late for lawyers and powerful institutions to get on the right side of history and join this work.”
Democracy Forward has served as a critical bulwark against the unconstitutional actions of the Trump-Vance administration, filing more than 400 legal actions and securing significant victories that protect people and communities in America from harmful executive overreach. Among the many cases challenging Bondi’s abuses of power are those urging her to reject political attacks on law firms and the American Bar Association, the unlawful handling of the Epstein files, the weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice, and investigations into taxpayer-funded collusive litigation to benefit the president.
Early in her tenure, Democracy Forward and the Society for the Rule of Law Institute organized more than 4,300 individuals and organizations, including several notable conservative and progressive signatories – including former judges, Members of Congress, senior political appointees from both Republican and Democratic, administrations, private law firms and legal organizations – in sending a letter to Bondi urging her to reject political attacks on attorneys and law firms.
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