Attorney General Pam Bondi is feeling the heat after Donald Trump’s revenge indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
Insiders within the department have been speaking out after the DOJ announced on Thursday that Comey had been charged with obstructing a congressional investigation and making false statements. One source labeled it as “among the worst abuses in DOJ history” to MSNBC.
Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.”
But not everyone on the inside is convinced.
“The Comey indictment is among the worst abuses in DOJ history,” sources told MSNBC Justice and Intelligence Correspondent Ken Dilanian. “Shocking,” the sources added. “It’s hard to overstate how a big a moment this is.”
That intel was backed up by former DOJ Director of Public Affairs Xochitl Hinojosa.
“Everybody is in shock,” she told CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront on Thursday.
Hinojosa said she had been in contact with current and former employees of the office now run by Bondi.
“It doesn‘t surprise them, though, because this is the way the Justice Department has been. Career officials have largely been either pushed out or silenced and are not in meetings about major decisions about cases.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
She noted Bondi’s claim that “no one is above the law” is “standard DOJ speak.”
“That is what we all believe in, in that building,” Hinojosa added. “But the reality is that the actions over the last nine months are not the case. Donald Trump was charged on 44 counts. He is the sitting president of the United States… And now Donald Trump is going after his political enemies.”
“So I think that right now morale is low at the Justice Department,” Hinojosa added. “And the Justice Department, I think is on its way to being broken, if not already. And I think you‘re going to see more career officials leave.”
Comey has denied the allegations, posting on Instagram on Thursday, “My family and I have known for years there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump. But we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other ways. We will not live on our knees. And you shouldn’t either.”
Even Bondi herself feels the case is thin and that her department may struggle to convict Comey and please Trump, sources told CNN. The Attorney General fears the perjury case against Comey may not deliver the result the president wants.
Reaction to the decision was instant. Former White House lawyer in Trump’s first term, Ty Cobb, told CNN Comey’s indictment was a “tragic day for America”.
“We have here is a clear vindictive prosecution, a clear selective prosecution. We have a president for the first time in history ordering his Attorney General to indict his enemies,” Cobb said. “And the Attorney General, instead of being the independent force that she’s supposed to be saying: ‘Yes, sir. How fast can I get that done for you?’”
While Cobb said it was a “weak case” he noted it was also a potentially monumental one.
“This is a very problematic case for the government to bring, but I think the way in which they brought it is problematic for the entire country,” Cobb noted. “This is either the end of the rule of law in America or it’s a tipping point against the authoritarian activity we’ve seen from this president and his Attorney General.”
Appearing on Anderson Cooper 360, former Federal Prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin said it was an “extremely thin” indictment against Comey.
“I think it‘s worth reflecting on how the power to prosecute is the most profound power that the government has,” Toobin said. “This isn‘t about like deciding who gets a federal contract. This isn‘t about barring someone from being a lawyer or a contractor for the government. This is about the government deciding who goes to prison or who might go to prison. And the fact that it is now being directed from the very top.”
“This is in complete violation of how the Justice Department is supposed to work,” he added, saying it was “a profound and scary thing.”
Democratic reaction, meanwhile, focused on the president. Senator Amy Klobuchar called out Trump directly on Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN.
“Trump ordered this prosecution,” Klobuchar said. “I’m sure he ordered it behind closed doors, but he also ordered it right there on Truth Social… he fired the U.S. attorney… and installed a White House aide to overrule career prosectors. This is simply dangerous. He is literally weaponizing the Justice Department.”
Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal told OutFront on CNN it was a “sad, dark, really scary day for America.”
“Donald Trump directly singled out James Comey, a critic and political adversary, for charges that seem to be unfounded,” Blumenthal said. “Remember, a career prosecutor resigned rather than bring them—and only because Donald Trump appointed his personal lawyer to be the U.S. Attorney are these charges going forward.”
Blumenthal cited “vengeance and vanity” as the reason for the charges.
“I think we all ought to be frightened today,” he added. “If Donald Trump can populate the Department of Justice with Federal Prosecutors throughout the country nobody is safe.”
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