It's Time for Pam Bondi To Go
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino—all three are caught up in an internal feud over the now-you-see-them-now- you-don't files of the felonious financier, Jeffrey Epstein.
But Pam Bondi is ultimately responsible. Her botched handling of this issue combined with her other disasters mean she shouldn't continue holding the highest law enforcement position in the United States.
Bondi has racked up a string of embarrassments for the president that, despite a supportive post, President Donald Trump won't endure long.
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 8, 2025.
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 8, 2025.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
First of all, DOJ has done a disastrous job defending the administration in court, winning just 31 percent of the time. If the first duty of the department is to win court cases, Bondi's leadership has a record of failure that is probably worse than any attorney general in DOJ history.
Meanwhile, Bondi embarrassed the Trump administration by boasting about things she plainly didn't achieve. After just a few months on the job, Bondi claimed her anti-fentanyl operations saved 258 million lives—a number that is roughly three-quarters of the entire U.S. population.
She boasted that she would end weaponization at the Justice Department then used her power to fire dozens of non-partisan career employees to settle scores with whomever she chose. Another batch was just terminated last week.
She claimed about her prosecution of Kilmer Abrego Garcia that, "This is what American justice looks like," just before the case was exposed as a sham in court.
She is fighting a whistleblower accusing DOJ of planning to break the law intentionally when faced with court orders.
She is facing serious ethics complaints in Florida filed by over 70 people, including lawyers, law professors, and retired judges that accuse her of firing employees who refused to engage in unethical conduct.
And she promised us the Epstein client list. Now her lies about it are turning President Donald Trump's own base against him.
The facts are already well known and have been highlighted by Fox News, where Bondi was once a regular commentator. In February, the attorney general was asked a very specific question and gave a very specific answer on video: "DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?" Her response was crystal clear: "It's sitting on my desk right now."
Now, pay close attention to what the official Justice Department memo said as Bondi ended her much bragged about transparency regarding Epstein: investigators found "no incriminating 'client list.'"
The memo didn't say there was no Epstein client list. It said there was no "incriminating" client list. It was the classic lawyer's dodge. Insert a word that you can define yourself—"It didn't look 'incriminating' to me"—and now you can sound like a list that exists doesn't really exist at all. But remember, it's an "incriminating" list that doesn't exist, not a list. This is the lie inside the lie.
And Bondi is compounding it. She is allowing the public impression that there is no list at all—"incriminating" or otherwise. She said that when she referred to the list she meant the file.
Bondi's credibility is shot at a time when DOJ's ability to defend the country and the administration are at a critical juncture. Many of the key issues concerning Trump's power have yet to come before the Supreme Court.
Can Trump end birthright citizenship? Can Trump invoke the Alien Enemies Act to assist in speeding up his deportations? Can he cancel spending mandated by Congress? Will he be able to make all the independent agencies created by Congress dependent on him instead. Should the incompetently crafted Abrego Garcia case be withdrawn so he can be deported?
This is no time to have an incompetent hand at the helm. It's also no time for internal squabbling. If the attorney general can't work with the FBI leadership, we are all in trouble, yet the deputy FBI director is headed for the exit, and the director might not survive if Bondi does. Bondi is chiefly tormented about leaks rather than trying to mend fences.
It's time for Bondi to get out before she is shoved out. American law enforcement needs more bang and less bunk.
Thomas G. Moukawsher is a former Connecticut complex litigation judge and a former co-chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Employee Benefits. He is the author of the book, The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce It.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
8 minutes ago
- CNN
Apple just spent $500 million to source a material that's critical for iPhones from the US
Apple is investing $500 million in a deal with US rare earths company MP Materials as the iPhone maker faces pressure from President Donald Trump to produce its popular smartphones domestically. As part of the partnership announced on Tuesday, Apple committed to buying rare earth magnets directly from MP Materials to help bolster its US supply chain. Apple will also collaborate with the company on a new recycling line in California, which will repurpose recycled rare earth materials to use in Apple products. The move is part of a $500 billion investment Apple announced earlier this year to expand its US operations as the Trump administration pushes to onshore technology manufacturing and reduce reliance on China. Rare earths, which are critical for everything from smartphones to TVs and military jets, have been a key bargaining chip in trade talks between Washington and Beijing. That's because China controls nearly all rare earths processing. 'American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we're proud to deepen our investment in the US economy,' Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a press release. 'Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States.' MP Materials' facility in Fort Worth, Texas, will create new magnet manufacturing lines specifically for Apple products. Shipments are expected to begin in 2027 and will eventually support 'hundreds of millions of Apple devices,' according to MP Materials. The materials will be delivered throughout the United States and around the world. Apple says the expansion will create dozens of new jobs. Both companies will also provide training to develop a US workforce for magnet manufacturing. China has a virtual monopoly on rare earth elements, which are critical components for everyday products from smartphones to wind turbines to LED lights and flat-screen TVs. They're also crucial for batteries in electric vehicles as well as MRI scanners and cancer treatments. The name rare earths is also a bit of a misnomer. The materials are found throughout the Earth's crust but are difficult and costly to extract and process. China has the only equipment needed to process some of the various elements and currently controls 92% of the global output in the processing stage. While the MP Materials deal could help Apple curry favor with Trump amid tariff threats, it also aligns with Apple's efforts to incorporate more recycled materials into its products – a plan already in place long before Trump took office. The iPhone 16e, which launched earlier this year, includes 30 percent recycled content, for example. Apple says it uses recycled rare earths in its major products, including in magnets found in the latest iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBook and Mac models. The Trump administration has been pushing for Apple and other tech giants to produce their products in the United States rather than rely on assembly facilities and supply chain operations largely located in China, India and Vietnam. 'I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,' Trump posted on Truth Social in May. 'If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.' Apple hasn't discussed plans to move iPhone manufacturing to the US, and doing so seems unlikely. That's because it would require the tech giant to upend how it builds its most lucrative product. Critically, Apple and MP Manufacturing's collaboration involves developing the talent pool needed for magnet manufacturing. That's part of the reason why it's so challenging to move iPhone production to the United States – America lacks the highly specialized labor required to do so, experts have said. 'The expertise to make each of the components is something that has to be worked on for a long period of time,' David Marcotte, senior vice president at international market research company Kantar, previously told CNN. Cook has also spoken about the labor gap in the past, describing the workforce in China as being a combination of 'craftsman' skills, 'sophisticated robotics' and 'the computer science world' when speaking at a Fortune Magazine event in 2017. But the commitment to invest in US-sourced rare earths is likely to please Trump. The president has touted Apple's previous investment announcement as a victory in his efforts to boost American manufacturing. Apple is just one of many tech giants that have expanded their American footprint over the past several months. Texas Instruments committed $60 billion to make semiconductors in the United States in June, and Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC invested $100 billion in US manufacturing in March. Leading AI chipmaker Nvidia also said it would build its supercomputers in the United States in April. – CNN's Chris Isidore contributed to this report
Newsweek
17 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Who Is Omar Fateh? Mamdani of Minneapolis Faces MAGA Abuse
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Omar Fateh, a mayoral candidate for the city of Minneapolis, has received a backlash from MAGA figures on social media. Newsweek contacted Fateh for comment via email. Why It Matters Fateh, the son of immigrant parents from Somalia and a Democratic state senator in Minnesota, is facing abuse from social media users on X. In June, New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani—another Democratic politician who advocates for progressive causes, such as rent freezes—won New York City's Democratic mayoral primary and faced a similar Islamophobic backlash online. Mamdani also faced anti-Muslim messages and death threats during his campaign. The incidents raise questions about political polarization in the U.S., which recently saw the assassination of Democratic Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. University student Austin Berger, left, posing for a portrait with Omar Fateh, who was running for the Minnesota House of Representatives in Dinkytown, on June 1, 2018. University student Austin Berger, left, posing for a portrait with Omar Fateh, who was running for the Minnesota House of Representatives in Dinkytown, on June 1, 2018. Easton Green/The Minnesota Daily via AP What To Know Writing on X, some accounts questioned Fateh's citizenship, falsely claiming that he was not American. Others falsely linked him to other politicians with Somali heritage. In one post, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote: "Muslims are commanded to take over the government in the land they live. The attempted Islamic takeover of America is made possible thanks to mass migration." Fateh commented on the post: "Minneapolis is a beautifully diverse city that stands firm in our progressive values. The hate I've seen today—and most days—is not who we will ever be. I'm running for Mayor to work with you to achieve the affordable city we know Minneapolis can be." Mamdani, an American citizen who was born in Uganda, has faced similar challenges over his citizenship—with some Republicans calling on President Donald Trump's administration to denaturalize the New York lawmaker and deport him. What People Are Saying On his campaign page, state Senator Omar Fateh wrote: "We deserve a Mayor who makes it so people want to continue to live here, raise families here, and start businesses here." Political analyst Scott Lucas called Kirk's comments "bigotry, xenophobia and race-baiting." He told Newsweek: "This is not criticism of his record. It's not criticism of his policies. It is not an engagement for discussion on the political issues facing Minnesota. It is not a discussion of his record in the Minnesota Senate." He added: "Omar Fateh is not an immigrant. He is a U.S. citizen." He also said it was important to call out "religious hatred" when it occurs. What Happens Next The Minneapolis mayoral election is scheduled to take place on November 4. Fateh is running against two-term Democratic incumbent Jacob Frey.
Time Magazine
22 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Chinese Universities Rise in the Ranks as Senate Democrats Accuse Trump of ‘Ceding Global Leadership to China'
President Donald Trump's attacks on higher education have hurt colleges across the country, but they may also weaken the U.S.' ability to compete with its geopolitical rival China, some lawmakers say. The Trump Administration's protectionist actions, from issuing sweeping global tariffs to the shuttering of USAID, are 'ceding global leadership to China,' Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a report released on Monday. Commissioned by ranking member of the committee Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the report comes after House Republicans proposed an appropriations bill that includes further cuts to foreign aid. [time-brightcove not-tgx='true'] The report was also published amid the backdrop of China stepping up its diplomatic efforts, opening itself up to more tourists, and advancing the global reputation of its universities. China has long sought to court the world's top talent by increasing government investment into higher education, boosting funding for science and technological research, and recruiting faculty from overseas. Chinese universities have risen steadily in global rankings, with 15 schools in mainland China and Hong Kong listed among the top 100 universities on the 2025-2026 Best Global Universities Rankings, compiled by U.S. News and World Report. Tsinghua University in Beijing ranked the highest of the Chinese universities on the USNWR list, moving up two spots from last year to place at 11th (tied with Imperial College London). Peking University and Zhejiang University also rose in the rankings to 25th, up from 31st, and 45th, up from 51st, respectively. That's a sharp jump from seven years ago, when just two Chinese universities were in the top 100: Tsinghua University at 50th and Peking University at 68th. While U.S. universities still dominate the top ten, the ranking suggests that Chinese universities are becoming more attractive to global talent at a time when the Trump Administration's targeting of U.S. colleges threatens to hurt American competitiveness. 'As America retreats from global leadership under the Trump Administration, China is well-positioned and eager to exploit this moment of American disengagement,' said Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The report also warned that Trump's crackdowns on higher education 'have laid the groundwork for a brain drain.' 'At a time when China is articulating its vision for a future that leaves America behind, the Administration's abdication of global leadership is dangerous and will impose real costs on the American people,' Sen. Shaheen said. Trump's pressure campaign on U.S. universities has ranged from slashing billions of dollars in research funding to restricting international students. Trump has especially targeted elite schools in the U.S., such as Harvard University, which still occupies USNWR's number one spot. Asian universities are already trying to make the most of the possible 'brain drain' from the U.S., with several courting Harvard transfers. Read More: How Trump's Crackdown on International Students Could Escalate Trade Tensions With China This year's rankings don't yet reflect the direct effects of Trump's policies, but experts have said that Trump's campaign is likely to accelerate the growing global popularity of Asian, especially Chinese, universities, while discouraging international students from going to the U.S. 'There is a slow, long-term strengthening of the position of the global power of universities in China,' says Simon Marginson, a professor of higher education at Oxford University. 'And the turmoil in U.S. higher education will hasten that trend. The present Administration has created a space for international rivals to fill.' Chinese enrollment at U.S. universities has declined over the years Chinese students and researchers had already started to turn away from the U.S. before Trump returned to the White House for a second term. Chinese students were the largest proportion of international students in the U.S. in the 2019-20 academic year, with more than 370,000 of them. That number had shrunk more than 25% by the 2023-2024 academic year, with India overtaking China for the number of nationals studying in the U.S. Nearly 20,000 ethnic Chinese scientists left the U.S. for other countries, including China, between 2010 and 2021, according to a study by researchers at Princeton, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That trend accelerated in 2018 during Trump's first term, when his Administration introduced the 'China Initiative,' which investigated scientists affiliated with China on the basis of national security concerns and resulted in charges against more than two dozen academics. Critics accused the program of racial profiling and fearmongering, and said it created a 'chilling effect' within the scientific community that curtailed research and innovation. A 2021 MIT analysis found that a majority of the cases the Department of Justice opened against Chinese and Asian American researchers were not related to economic espionage or intellectual property theft. (The Biden Administration ended the China Initiative in February 2022.) The Trump Administration also targeted Chinese students through a restrictive visa policy beginning in 2020. Proclamation 10043 prohibited the entry or issuance of visas to Chinese students enrolled in U.S. graduate programs with ties to Chinese 'military-civil' universities, resulting in the cancellations of more than 1,000 student visas. A 2021 letter signed by over 40 associations, including the Association of American Universities and the American Council of Education, expressed concern about 'reports of this proclamation being applied very broadly.' Biden resumed regular visa services in China in May 2021, but left the proclamation in place, with reports of Chinese students being denied visas on that basis occurring up to at least 2023. Several U.S. universities have also ended their academic partnerships with Chinese universities in the past year. The University of California, Berkeley, cut ties with the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute in February after the Trump Administration opened an investigation into undisclosed funding from the Chinese government. The University of Michigan abruptly ended a two-decade partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in January on the basis of national security concerns. In September, the Georgia Institute of Technology ended its partnership with the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute for the same reason. In the meantime, thousands of Chinese researchers have returned to China, according to the aforementioned study, and higher education experts predict that Chinese applicants to the U.S. may begin looking elsewhere, including within China itself. Chinese universities' ability to attract homegrown talent has been a key strength, Senthil Nathan, managing director and co-founder of higher education consultancy Edu Alliance, told United Arab Emirates state-owned outlet the National last year. 'These Chinese universities are selecting the best Chinese students. That's a huge difference. They are not following the western blueprint,' Nathan said. 'They are not attracting the best and the brightest from the world, but from within their country because they have enough resources.' Read More: What to Know About New Social Media Screening Rules for Student Visas A hostile environment for some international students in the U.S. The Trump Administration in recent months has clamped down on international students in the U.S. In May, Trump introduced heightened screenings for student visa applicants, including requiring applicants to have 'public' social media profiles, while the Administration that month said it would begin 'aggressively' revoking Chinese student visas. Earlier this year, Trump also began targeting foreign-born students for deportation and threatened to bar international students from enrolling at Harvard—moves widely seen as attempts to compel U.S. universities to comply with his demands on academic curricula and campus activism. Trump has also threatened Harvard with budget cuts and federal contract cancellations as part of that pressure campaign. 'For a long time, the U.S. has been considered a top destination by international students, and at the same time, U.S. higher education has benefited much from international students especially regarding financial stability and research,' Lili Yang, an associate professor specializing in higher education at the University of Hong Kong, told TIME in May. The U.S. has cultivated a 'reputation as a place for free expression.' But Trump's policies have 'damaged' that reputation, she said. 'Without brilliant international students, U.S. research and technology may gradually face a shortage of human resources and lose its globally leading position.' While China has been trying to boost its soft power, in no small part through academic exchange, Trump's higher education policies demonstrate that 'the Administration no longer relates to the world in terms of soft power in education and science,' Marginson told TIME in May. Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, told USA Today that the Administration's actions will help 'faculty and graduate students to focus their attention on advancing science' by targeting antisemitism on campus. Quelling pro-Palestinian speech has been positioned as a driving force behind Trump's pressure campaign. However, many of the students whose visas were initially revoked (before Trump reversed course) did not participate in any pro-Palestinian activism and some of Trump's demands are broadly related to diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) related programs. 'American universities that are committed to their academic mission, protect students on campus, and follow all federal laws will have no problem accessing generous taxpayer support for their programs,' Biedermann added. China is investing in research as Trump slashes funding The growth of Chinese universities' global reputation has been in large part due to significant government investment into higher education, especially scientific research and development. China has steadily increased its spending in that sector over the last five years, and it has seen dividends in its output. Between 2018 and 2020, China published nearly a quarter of the world's scientific papers, surpassing the U.S., and it has since worked to maintain this pace. Duncan Ross, the chief data officer at Times Higher Education which also compiles an annual global rankings list, told the National last year that the Chinese government has targeted investment at the national, regional, and city levels. 'It's not that U.S. universities have got worse in any way. They are improving,' he said, but universities in Asia 'are just improving more quickly.' At the same time, Trump has ordered billions of dollars in federal research grants to be cut, which would gut research on cancer, HIV, sickle cell disease, and more. An analysis published on July 9 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that Trump's cuts put a third of basic scientific research programs at risk, while the National Institutes of Health could have its budget cut by 40%. Even if international students were willing to take the risks of studying in the U.S. under a tremulous immigration policy, experts say a decline in research could knock U.S. universities off their global perch. It could even push American talent to look overseas. A March poll by British scientific journal Nature found that 75% of U.S. scientists are considering leaving the country. 'China is already trying to seize the moment and recruit some of the brightest talent,' Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) said at a congressional hearing in April. 'Bright young people, who want to do medical research here, are suddenly worried. Why start that PhD if their funding is going to get yanked away? Why study new vaccines if RFK Jr. [Secretary of Health and Human Services] is going to meddle in their work? Why come to the U.S. for promising research if Trump might just try to deport them for jaywalking?' Phil Baty, the chief global affairs officer at Times Higher Education, told the National last year that the steady rise of Chinese universities in global rankings suggest 'tectonic shifts in higher education from the West to the East, with real excellence demonstrated in East Asia and South-East Asia in particular, and well beyond.' 'The U.S. needs to remind others, and itself, that it's constantly competing for its position in the global talent marketplace. We can't be complacent if we want to maintain our dominance in innovation and tech even as other nations fight to take the lead,' Lex Zhao, a managing partner at immigrant-founded venture capital firm One Way Ventures, told TIME in May. Trump's policies, he adds, are 'driving foreign talent away from our institutions and into the arms of more welcoming nations—even those hostile to us—when we should be doing the exact opposite.'
