Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s brother is under scrutiny following the Department of Justice’s decision to drop charges against two of his clients.
Posting on social media, critics raised conflict of interest concerns about the DOJ ending federal legal action against two clients represented by attorney Brad Bondi, who works at the firm Paul Hastings, in a month.
The DOJ told ABC News that the attorney general had no role in either decision.
Why It Matters
While the DOJ has asserted Pam Bondi was not involved in the decisions, dropping both cases raises concerns about whether the Trump administration is favoring those linked to it.
Brad Bondi has also represented figures linked to President Donald Trump, including the Trump Media & Technology Group and Elon Musk.
What To Know
On Wednesday, Thomas Albus, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, filed court papers with a judge dismissing an indictment against property developer Sid Chakraverty over wire fraud charges. He had been accused in 2024 by prosecutors under the Biden administration of lying about hiring minority staff to obtain tax deals.
Albus said that the “defendants have agreed to make restitution of the taxes,” meaning it was “prudent for the government to end this criminal prosecution.”
Earlier this month, prosecutors in Florida dropped charges against another client of Brad Bondi, former Republican lawmaker Carolina Amnesty. She was accused by the Biden Justice Department of two counts of theft of government property related to COVID relief fraud and faced, if found guilty, up to 20 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Brad Bondi also represented Trevor Milton, who, despite being sentenced to four years in prison for lying about his electric vehicle technology, secured a pardon from Trump in March.
“The mere appearance of a conflict of interest is so important for trust in the criminal justice system,” Matthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, told Newsweek. “While the ‘mere appearance of a conflict’ is not sufficient for a prosecutor’s disqualification—we’re not talking about a ‘favorable’ plea offer for a former law partner or colleague of the attorney general; we’re talking about charges being dropped for a client of the AG’s brother—this has conflict of interest written all over it.
“No, she may not have had her hands on this case, but some Assistant U.S Attorney wants to protect his/her job, and knows retribution is a trait of the current DOJ,” Mangino said.
What People Are Saying
A Department of Justice spokesperson told ABC News about both decisions: “This decision was made through proper channels and the Attorney General had no role in it.”
Attorney Mark S. Zaid, on X: “Yea, nothing suspicious here.”
Political historian Brian Rosenwald, on X: “I mean this is just a jaw dropping conflict of interest. Both Bondis should be disbarred.”
Chris D. Jackson, a political strategist who worked on the Biden campaign, on X: “The media literally stalked the GOP’s clown show ‘investigation’ into Hunter Biden. They came up empty, but ran with it nonstop. Now there’s actual corruption sitting in plain sight—and silence. What the hell are we even doing?”
James McCarthy, a spokesperson for Chakraverty and his alleged co-conspirator Victor Alston, in a statement to ABC News: “[Chakraverty and Alston] credit the wisdom and integrity of their counsel, especially Brad Bondi, Renato Mariotti, and Jeff Jensen, who righteously and compellingly made clear that this case should never have been brought and that it could not withstand the scrutiny of either a jury of St. Louisans or the jurists of the federal court.”
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