Phoenix: US President Donald Trump has publicly criticised his Attorney-General, Pam Bondi, for failing to bring charges against his political enemies quickly enough in an extraordinary intervention that puts enormous pressure on the Justice Department chief.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, which was explicitly directed at Bondi, Trump said he had reviewed more than 30 “statements and posts” complaining that nothing was going to be done about his foes, naming former FBI director James Comey, Democratic California senator Adam Schiff, and the Democratic Attorney-General of New York, Letitia James.
Donald Trump made the provocative post as he travelled to Mount Vernon for a conservative dinner.Credit: AP
It was not clear which statements and posts Trump was referring to, but there has been frustration in the MAGA community that Bondi has not yet brought charges against people such as Schiff, who led efforts to impeach the president in his first term, and James, who successfully brought fraud charges against Trump and his company.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Trump wrote in the post, addressed to “Pam”.
There was initially some speculation that it was posted by accident and had been intended as a private message, but then Trump’s account deleted the original and reposted it to make some references clearer.
Later, Trump made an additional post, saying Bondi was doing “a GREAT job”, and was “very careful, very smart”, but needed a tough prosecutor in the eastern district of Virginia. He would nominate Lindsey Halligan for the role “to get things moving”, he said.
Pressure on Attorney-General Pam Bondi has been mounting for weeks.Credit: AP
Halligan is one of Trump’s former personal lawyers who now works in the White House as special assistant to the president.
She would replace Erik Siebert, who resigned on Friday after Trump said he wanted him out. The Virginia office was involved in probes of both Comey and James, but Siebert had previously told officials he did not believe the evidence was strong enough to bring charges, sources told Reuters. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
