AG Pam Bondi Launches Investigation Into Targeting of President Trump

Newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a “Weaponization Working Group” to review the leaders of the political prosecution of President Donald Trump. She will focus on Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, and New York AG Letitia James.

Bondi’s swift actions are a huge step forward in cleaning up former AG Merrick Garland’s mess. She sent out a memo with the subject title: “RESTORING THE INTEGRITY AND CREDIBILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.” How pathetic it is that the DOJ had to put out a memo with this title?

In addition to investigating Smith, Bragg, and James, the Weaponization Working Group will review the “improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” related to January 6 as well as why the FBI determined “that certain Catholic religious practices were affiliated with violent extremism and criminal activity.”

The Group will also look into why concerned school parents were labeled as threats to the country, and Bondi’s memo even called out Garland by name on this issue. (Don’t forget that he labeled such parents as “domestic terrorists.”) The Group will also investigate those who criminally prosecuted pro-life advocates and the “retaliatory targeting . . . of legitimate whistleblowers.”

So Bondi is getting to work to fulfill the American people’s mandate that the DOJ must be cleaned up. And as you know, the ACLJ has been actively involved for years in the issues listed in Bondi’s memo.

We have been fighting against the political prosecution of President Trump, the outrageous labeling of “radical traditionalist” Christians, the DOJ’s attacks on pro-life advocates, and the Deep State’s retaliation against FBI whistleblowers for exposing the targeting of Christians and conservative school parents.

It has been a long time coming for the DOJ to be cleaned up. The previous Administration immediately dismissed many of the concerns we have raised over the years. And in fact, the DOJ has been weaponized against President Trump for at least nine years, if you include the impeachment trials. (My dad, ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, defended President Trump in the first impeachment trial.)

ACLJ Senior Counsel and Director of Policy Harry Hutchison reacted to Bondi’s determination to stop the weaponization of the DOJ:

So what we have witnessed over the past nine years or so is massive malfeasance by Deep State actors. . .  . The Department of Justice has been engaged in a nine-year campaign to prevent Donald Trump from taking office in 2016. Or alternatively, they’ve been engaged in a program and policy of weakening and hampering the administration of justice. And so who could forget, for instance, the Alvin Bragg trial – a 34-count indictment basically bootstrapping state misdemeanor claims into, in essence, a federal election felony charge, leading ultimately to a jury finding Donald Trump guilty. . . . We also had Fani Willis in Atlanta working with the [Biden] White House. We had Jack Smith bringing out January 6 charges, essentially, in Washington, D.C., a classified documents trial.

Bondi is determined to restore faith in our Justice Department, and we applaud her efforts.

I also have a major ACLJ victory to report in our defense of two elderly pro-life advocates who were brutally beaten outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Baltimore. A jury has found 27-year-old Patrick Brice guilty on four charges related to his violent assault.

The prosecution of this case and ensuing conviction are incredibly encouraging as the legal system of late has been targeting those with pro-life views instead of protecting them. With sentencing anticipated on March 20, 2025, Brice faces substantial prison time. Each of the second-degree assault charges carries up to 10 years in prison, and the judge could order them to be served consecutively, meaning that Brice faces up to 20 years of prison time on the assault charges.

This is a tremendous victory after nearly two years of fighting for justice. The ACLJ will continue to stand vigilant in defense of life and constitutional freedoms. Be sure to sign our petition to join us in defending pro-life advocates.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of AG Pam Bondi establishing a “Weaponization Working Group” to end the egregious weaponization of the DOJ against the American people. West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey joined us to discuss his multistate lawsuit against a New York law that could impact coal miners in West Virginia.

Watch the full broadcast below: