New Attorney General Pam Bondi Orders Review of Trump, Jan. 6 Cases

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks in Washington on Feb. 5, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in one of her first acts in office, directed officials on Feb. 5 to review the prosecution of President Donald Trump, as well as the prosecutions of people allegedly involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Shortly after being sworn into office, Bondi established in a memorandum what she called a Weaponization Working Group. She said the working group would examine what she described as the weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which she now leads, by former special counsel Jack Smith and his team as they investigated and later brought charges against Trump.

Smith stepped down before Trump became president. The DOJ, under acting control, recently fired members of his team.

The group will review actions taken during the previous administration that appear to have been “designed to achieve political objectives or other improper aims rather than pursuing justice or legitimate governmental objectives,” Bondi wrote.

The group’s review will cover how state and local officials cooperated with Smith’s team, “improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” related to the Jan. 6 prosecutions, the prosecutions of people charged for protesting at or near abortion clinics, and retaliation against whistleblowers, according to the memo.

Bondi quoted Trump, who in a Jan. 20 executive order said that the “prior administration and allies throughout the country engaged in an unprecedented, third-world weaponization of prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process.”

The order said it is U.S. policy to identify and take action to correct past misconduct by the federal government related to the weaponization of law enforcement and the intelligence community and directed the attorney general to review the activities of all departments that exercise civil or criminal enforcement authority, including the DOJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission.

“The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end,” Trump said in his inaugural address on Jan. 20.

Smith’s team charged Trump in two cases, one for allegedly mishandling classified documents after Trump left office in 2021 and one that accused the president of illegally interfering with the Jan. 20, 2021, certification of electoral votes.

Trump pleaded not guilty in both cases.

After Trump won the 2024 election, the DOJ dropped the charges. The agency cited its policy against indicting or prosecuting a sitting president. The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that presidents are immune from prosecution for official conduct.

U.S. officials have defended the charges. Smith said in his final report that there was substantial evidence against Trump and that he thought the evidence was strong enough to lead to a conviction.

Trump said at Bondi’s swearing-in ceremony that she would “restore fair, equal, and impartial justice and ... the constitutional rule of law in America.”

He added later: “I know I’m supposed to say she’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats, and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be. I’m not sure if there’s a possibility of totally, but she’s going to be as total as you can get.”

Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general, told Trump, “I will make you proud and I will make this country proud. I will restore integrity to the Justice Department and I will fight violent crime throughout this country and throughout this world, and make America safe again.”

The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Bondi in a 54-46 vote, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joining Republicans in voting for the nominee.

Bondi said in the new memo that the weaponization group would be one step “to restore integrity and credibility with the public that we are charged with protecting, and to ensure that the Department’s personnel are ready and willing to faithfully implement the policy agenda of the duly elected President of the United States.”

She said that employees who “acted with a righteous spirit and just intentions” have no cause for concern.

A similar message was delivered earlier Wednesday to FBI employees, who are being subject to a review of the Jan. 6 cases.

“Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove stated in a memorandum to employees.

The DOJ asked the FBI for information on thousands of bureau workers who took part in the investigations and the FBI has handed over their employee numbers and other details.

Bove said the only workers who should be concerned “are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent.”