Pingree Statement on Firing of Pam Bondi

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on President Trump firing Attorney General Pam Bondi:

Pam Bondi will go down as the worst, most incompetent, and most corrupt Attorney General in American history. Her firing was long overdue-and richly deserved.

From the day she arrived at the Department of Justice, Bondi's primary objectives were painfully clear: to go after the President's enemies and to protect Donald Trump at all costs. From directing prosecutors to bring baseless charges against Democratic politicians and refusing to release the full Epstein files in accordance with the law, to her embarrassing, unprofessional behavior during high-profile public hearings (including lying under oath), Bondi demonstrated time and again that she lacked the judgment, temperament, and decision-making required of the nation's top law enforcement official.

And these are just the top-line failures. That so many of these pursuits required redirecting critical resources from far more pressing matters-combatting organized crime, prosecuting corruption, protecting the American people from all manner of threats-has objectively made our country less safe, and done incredible damage to the DOJ's reputation.

For Donald Trump, loyalty has always been a one-way street. Bondi's firing only reaffirms what we've known for years: that no amount of blind fealty or blatant corruption on his behalf will spare you from his erratic impulses. I have little doubt that many others will learn that same lesson before his time in office is up.

Whoever is chosen as the next AG, they have a serious and solemn responsibility to ensure the DOJ returns to its core mission of serving the American people-and not capitulating to the paranoia and petty grievances of a man whose sole aim is to protect and enrich himself.

It should be noted that the House Oversight Committee was set to depose Bondi on April 14 over the DOJ's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and her shambolic handling of the Epstein files. Getting fired doesn't get her off the hook. Bondi is still legally obligated to appear before the Committee and testify under oath. I, for one, am very much looking forward to that testimony.

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