DOJ Has Lost Its Way
Ten Epstein survivors stood brave and unwavering in the back of the room. Pam Bondi refused to even look at them.
I’ve walked the halls of Congress, worked in the White House, and have held the powerful to account as a journalist. I have never seen a more brazen or more disgusting display of political grandstanding than what we saw from Pam Bondi this week.
Appearing before the House Judiciary Committee, she refused to take any responsibility for the way she has bungled every aspect of this Epstein investigation (if that’s what it can be called), evaded questions with a prepared burn book of petty insults, called the Jewish granddaughter of a Holocaust victim antisemitic, and revealed she monitored Representatives’ search history as they viewed the Epstein files - a stunning abuse of power.
This hearing only served to underscore one thing that’s been clear for a long time. Under Pam Bondi, the Justice Department has lost its way. We can - and we must - pull it back from the brink.
From the BBC
Back to its roots
The Justice Department is supposed to work to protect us - you and me - not the President. It should be loyal to the Constitution, and it should be focused on rooting out corruption, defending civil rights, prosecuting financial crimes, and holding powerful people accountable. Like many things that have lost their way, it’s never a bad strategy to go back to the beginning to find answers.
The Department of Justice rose out of the wreckage of the Civil War with a clear mandate: protect newly freed African Americans from Ku Klux Klan terror and enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments during Reconstruction. It was built to confront corruption, violence, and lawlessness head-on. In this moment - when our nation feels more fractured than at any time since the Confederacy’s rebellion - we need a Justice Department anchored to that founding purpose and unafraid to act on it.
Not long ago, this was basic civics. Republicans helped oust President Nixon from the White House in part for his interference in the DOJ's independence. He was a Republican, but they had a redline they knew would eviscerate our democracy. Now, Pam Bondi has shredded this independence, fired and sidelined some of the best lawyers in the country, and betrayed those justice was meant to serve.
Emerging from the maelstrom Trump has unleashed on us all requires institutions. It requires someone to stand up and defend them. As a lawyer and civil rights scholar, I have no qualms about being first in line to do so.
The justice we deserve
All is not lost, but time is running out to restore a Justice Department actually committed to justice. Too long mired in its endless Bondi-induced scandals may permanently break the trust of the American people.
First, we need transparency. If Democrats retake the House this November, the Judiciary Committee must use its subpoena power to force Pam Bondi and her lackeys to answer the questions she loves to sidestep with insipid insults. We will force their corruption into the light, and be transparent with the American people about what went wrong and how. No stone can be left unturned. Whether it's the Epstein Files, political prosecutions at the whim of the President, corrupt pardons, illegal intimidation tactics against judges, or just plain old dereliction of duty, we must expose it all.
Once elected, I will seek a seat on the Judiciary Committee to use my background in civil rights law to help lead this charge with fellow Democrats and any Republicans who have a shred of decency to assist in restoring our institutions.
That’s the start. But it cannot be the end.
First, we need laws for accountability and restraint. Congress should codify the independence of the Justice Department, with strict penalties for anyone who dares to undermine it. That must include protecting inspectors general to do their job without interference, and setting up independent committees outside of executive branch control to defend and oversee their work.
Second, we can only rebuild its trust with the American people by restricting federal overreach. The Justice Department wields tremendous power. Congress must do its part by exposing the overreach, and also ensuring laws are on the books to punish anyone who engages in it.
Third and finally, we need to restore the offices that Bondi has gutted to empower a Justice Department dedicated to its original purpose. From civil rights enforcement to anti-corruption teams, we need an army of good-faith public servants ready to stand and fight anyone, from the President on down, who stands in the way of justice.
I will introduce a bill immediately upon arriving in Washington to put these common sense reforms into law, and I will not support any appropriation legislation that does not mandate full staffing for DOJ’s most critical departments and bureaus.
As a young lawyer, I came to Washington on the shoulders of giants, fighting for those who had been shut out of power but never gave up on the promise of it. I learned firsthand about the power of DOJ to do harm and good. Now, my mission is to preserve a DOJ in the spirit of its original mission. When the people of NY12 send me to Congress, the real work will begin to save the Department of Justice from those it was meant to oppose, and with it, save our Republic.
