News: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) are leading an effort looking into whether the Department of Justice improperly handled cases involving Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother, Brad Bondi.
In a letter to Bondi, the Democrats claim there’s “a troubling pattern” of “repeated interventions or dismissals in cases involving Mr. Bradley Bondi — Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother — that consistently favors his clients.”
Brad Bondi is the co-chair of the investigations and white collar defense practice at Paul Hastings.
The letter argues that a number of decisions taken by the Justice Department “call into question whether the DOJ has properly implemented firewalls and screening procedures to separate Attorney General Bondi from her brother.”
The letter cites four instances involving Brad Bondi’s clients: Cruise Lines Int’l Ass’n v. Hawai’i, U.S. v. Carolina Amesty, U.S. v. Sidarth Chakraverty and the pardon of Trevor Milton.
Democrats allege in these situations that Bondi’s clients received favorable treatment. Reporting from this summer reveals how the DOJ dropped charges in the Amesty and Chakraverty cases after Brad Bondi joined the legal teams of the defendants.
Milton, who was pardoned in March, said that while Brad Bondi was one of his lawyers, the attorney general’s brother didn’t work on the pardon application.
The Democrats are asking the DOJ to provide internal communications on whether any firewall protections were discussed. Read the full letter here.
It’s unlikely Democrats will get much cooperation here on the Hill given Republicans control all levers of power in Washington.
