Such an investigation would have to overcome a number of legal and practical hurdles, but an order by Attorney General Pam Bondi asking for a grand jury inquiry accomplishes political objectives.
The decision by Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the “Russia Hoax” comes at a time of increasing pressure on the Trump administration to produce more information about the F.B.I.’s files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Justice Department officials on Friday interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein’s, in Florida, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
The move demonstrates President Trump’s determination to deploy the powers of federal law enforcement to pursue a campaign of retribution against those who once sought to hold him accountable.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to use a so-called strike force is the latest in a succession of the Justice Department’s efforts to repurpose existing entities to suit the president’s political dictates.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has contended that the intelligence work in 2016 was not only flawed but also amounted to a conspiracy against President Trump.
The latest effort by Trump subordinates is intended to quell a political crisis precipitated by the department’s announcement that it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation.
The attorney general plans to ask a court to release the papers. But even if the request succeeds, it would fall far short of critics’ demands to release all investigative materials.
The administration asked the judge in the case to sentence the former officer to essentially the brief time he had served when he was first charged, and three years of supervised release.
The sustained backlash has exposed the hazards of the attorney general’s focus on courting President Trump, with the assumption that he maintains the total backing of his base.
Connexion
