Durbin Speaks On Future Of Justice Department Following Pam Bondi’s Firing

Durbin Speaks On Future Of Justice Department Following Pam Bondi's Firing

Durbin: "We now have a vacancy in the Attorney General's position… I certainly hope that in the weeks and months ahead we can go back to a Department of Justice that we can trust as an apolitical agency doing its best to bring safety and peace to America."

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, addressed the future of the Department of Justice (DOJ) after President Trump's firing of Pam Bondi and the beginning of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's temporary tenure.

Durbin began by addressing Bondi's firing, saying: "She transformed the Department from the nation's preeminent law enforcement agency into a political entity, and, apparently, she didn't go far enough to please the President, and he fired her."

Durbin then condemned Bondi's purging of career officials and installing of loyalists, saying: "At the core of this MAGA makeover at DOJ was a systemic purge of career professionals. I've met with them. Hundreds of experienced prosecutors and agents were forced out, stripping the Department of decades of institutional knowledge and experience."

Durbin continued: "The Acting Attorney General said that there remain no more employees that worked on the investigation of Donald Trump. They've all been fired, forced out. The impact of the last year can't be overstated. The Department recently said that its National Security Division is facing unprecedented personnel constraints at a time when our country is embroiled in significant conflict in Iran."

Durbin then slammed Trump and Bondi for protecting violent insurrectionists, saying: "At the same time, the Department, under Pam Bondi, was quick to welcome individuals who were involved in violent efforts to overturn the 2020 election. What happened when President Trump was elected to the second term? The day he was sworn in, he signed a full and unconditional pardon for all who had been arrested for descending upon the Capitol on January 6. More than 1,600 people charged with offenses related to January 6 were subject to the President's blanket pardon. The Department of Justice hired a pardoned insurrectionist named Jared Wise. This man was berating officers and calling them 'Nazis' and 'gestapo' and urged the crowd to the kill them. This is on video tape. Thankfully, he left the Department the same day that Attorney General Bondi was fired."

Durbin then highlighted the dangers of Bondi's weaponization of DOJ, saying: "While the Department's leadership prioritized installing Trump cronies and forcing out experienced attorneys, they quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal investigations in the first six months of the Trump Administration. To prioritize Trump's unpopular and cruel mass deportation campaign, the Department declined to pursue prosecutions in hundreds of terrorism, drug, and white collar criminal investigations. The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, which was dedicated to investigating crypto-related fraud and money-laundering, was disbanded. All this took place while the President pardoned his wealthy allies who have defrauded Americans out of millions of dollars, founded notorious dark-web drug markets, and supported President Trump's family businesses. This drastic shift away from the Department's core public safety mission highlights indifference to the rights or safety of Americans."

Durbin concluded with a recommended prescription for the future of DOJ, saying: "We have to decide whether to fill the ranks. I think Americans can agree on the basics. We want a Department of Justice which is not run for political purposes, but to keep us safe in America, safe in our homes, safe in our neighborhoods, safe in our nation. That is the bottom line. Getting even with people who are fair or unfair to the current President is not the mission of the Department of Justice. It is the administration of justice in a nonpolitical way. I certainly hope that in the weeks and months ahead while we debate this issue that we can go back to a Department of Justice that we can trust as an apolitical agency doing its best to bring safety and peace to America."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

-30-