Senate Judiciary Democrats Slam DOJ Decision To Replace Apolitical Ethics Official With Inexperienced Political Appointees
SJC Democrats to Bondi, Bove: “Your sworn testimony misled Congress and the American people and eliminated a critical safeguard against corruption within the Department.”
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in an oversight letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, criticizing Department of Justice (DOJ) officials’ reported decision to replace a high-ranking career official handling sensitive ethics matters with two inexperienced political appointees.
The decision is a dramatic departure from practice under previous Democratic and Republican administrations. Additionally, the removal is in direct conflict with promises Bondi made to Congress and the American people during her confirmation hearing and may allow Bondi to participate in cases where she otherwise may have been told to recuse due to conflicts of interest.
The Senators begin by voicing their strong objection, writing: “We write to strongly object to your alarming decision to grant decision-making authority regarding sensitive ethics and personnel issues—responsibilities long assigned to a senior career Department of Justice (DOJ) official—to two inexperienced political appointees. This decision is a dramatic departure from practice under previous Democratic and Republican administrations, where a senior DOJ career official had decision-making responsibilities on matters related to ethics, employee discipline, whistleblower complaints, and information provided to inspectors general and Congress. Previous administrations did not consider granting these responsibilities to political appointees for good reason; politicizing this role is profoundly dangerous to the integrity of the Department and threatens the employees who work there.”
The Senators continue by underscoring the direct conflicts between this removal and Bondi’s testimony to Congress, writing: “This new directive is in direct conflict with promises you made, under oath, to Congress and the American people in your confirmation hearing. When Ranking Member Durbin asked you about your many potential conflicts of interest as a former lobbyist—including your representation of foreign regimes like Qatar, corporate giants like Amazon and Uber, and the private prison company, the GEO Group—you responded that, to avoid conflicts, you ‘would consult with the career ethics officials within the Department and make the appropriate decision’ (emphasis added). In your written responses to senators’ questions after your confirmation hearing, you again pledged that you would consult with career ethics officials to avoid conflicts of interest. By transferring responsibilities for ethics decisions from a senior career ethics official to political appointees, you have coincidentally removed the appropriate career ethics official with whom you promised to consult.”
The Senators further highlight Bondi’s misleading testimony to Congress and the American people in light of this removal, writing: “Business leaders from wealthy corporations were reportedly optimistic upon President Trump’s announcement that he intended to nominate you as Attorney General, and, without a serious check on your decision-making regarding corporate interests, we are concerned that you will fail to hold companies accountable. Already, on February 5, you signed a memo disbanding Task Force KleptoCapture, which coordinated the investigation of certain companies for illegal exports and money laundering, and announced steps to scale back efforts to enforce laws related to foreign lobbying transparency and bribes of foreign officials. And now, important decisions on ethical questions related to companies that you have lobbied on behalf of—businesses with an extraordinary reach that impact millions of American consumers—will be made by political aides who report to you.”
The Senators conclude with a series of oversight requests—including a copy of the delegation order and related records—for information to be produced to the Committee.
For a PDF copy of the letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, click here.
-30-