WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a powerful op-ed published today in Bloomberg Law, Not Above the Law co-chair Praveen Fernandes and Patrick McGlone, former President of the DC Bar, describe how former Attorney General Pam Bondi systematically dismantled the Department of Justice’s independence – stripping away safeguards that had protected the rule of law for generations.
As Praveen and Patrick make clear, DOJ lawyers must serve the American people, not any one president. But under Bondi’s tenure, that principle was shattered. Career attorneys were purged in vast numbers, internal ethics safeguards were dismantled, and a proposed rule now threatens to grant the Attorney General unlimited power to indefinitely block state bar discipline of DOJ lawyers.
With a new Attorney General nomination on the horizon, Congress faces a critical moment: demand real reform, or watch the Justice Department become a tool of presidential whim.
Read more from Bloomberg Law:
“The Department of Justice under former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s leadership began systematically dismantling the safeguards that allow the DOJ to fulfill its mission“to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights.”
“Congress will have the opportunity in the coming months to push forward a replacement, whether it be Todd Blanche or someone else, to correct the department’s downward course. […]
“The American people deserve the best lawyers—which means a DOJ with a stable core of career professionals and principled political appointees who meet the highest legal and ethical standards. Unfortunately, these career professionals—and the department’s commitment to adhering to the highest standards—are both under attack. […]
“DOJ career lawyers have been purged or resigned in vast numbers. Consider the Civil Rights Division. By late last year, roughly 75% of career civil rights attorneys had left—a mass departure that former DOJ attorneys describe as a “coordinated effort” to drive out experienced leadership.
“Career professionals provide oversight and guidance—and resist politicization—in investigative and prosecutorial decisions. Without these attorneys, the division’s core functions have been gutted: voting rights enforcement has been redirected away from constitutional protection toward relitigating the 2020 election.
“It’s not just the Civil Rights Division. A department-wide memo issued hours after Bondi was sworn in referred to the DOJ’s lawyers as the president’s lawyers and began to erode the traditional understanding of the agency’s independence, leading to more departures and dismissals.
“One of the latest threats can be seen in the DOJ’s proposed rule that would allow the attorney general to intercept and indefinitely freeze any state bar ethics complaint against DOJ attorneys. The proposed rule sets no deadline for DOJ review and threatens states with unspecified consequences if they fail to comply. […] The proposed rule would grant the DOJ the power to block such disciplinary proceedings indefinitely without explanation, effectively a permission slip for unethical conduct. This is a moment that calls for action. […]
“When protections meant to preserve independence and high professional and ethical standards are undone, the American people are harmed. The DOJ has long acknowledged the need “to earn the public’s trust by following the facts and the law wherever they may lead, without prejudice or improper influence.”
“The American people want to know that the lawyers meant to serve on their behalf meet the highest standards. They deserve nothing less.”
Read the full op-ed here.