Complaint to Florida Bar Accuses AG Bondi of Serious Misconduct

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An ethics complaint signed by 70 people and filed with the Florida Bar accuses Attorney General Pam Bondi “serious professional misconduct.”

The complaint was filed by Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD), Lawyers for the Rule of Law, and other prominent legal scholars. They include liberal and moderate law professors, attorneys, and retired chief justices of the Florida Supreme Court. Their complaint says Bondi’s  misconduct “threatens the rule of law and the administration of justice.”

The complaint asserts Bondi “has sought to compel Department of Justice lawyers to violate their ethical obligations under the guise of ‘zealous advocacy.'”

Bondi issued a memo on 5 February 2025 directing DOJ lawyers to “zealously pursue the President’s political objectives.” If they don’t, she threatened disciplinary action which could include termination. As examples of Bondi carrying out these threats, the complaint cites “three glaring examples of Department lawyers being terminated or forced to resign as a result of demands that they act unethically issued by Ms. Bondi or a member of her senior management.”

The complaint says this violates the rules of the Florida Bar. Bondi is a member of the Bar and a former Florida attorney general.

The complaint includes:

We count on lawyers to conduct themselves ethically at all times. Justice Department lawyers have a higher obligation.

Ms. Bondi has launched a concerted effort to override ethical obligations whenever they stand in the way of achieving her and her superior’s political goals.

This conduct is deeply prejudicial to the rule of law and the administration of justice, as well as a violation of her own ethical obligations. We urge The Florida Bar to investigate the allegations made here and to take appropriate action.

Project 2025, the road map Donald Trump is carrying out after disavowing it during his campaign, calls for using the DOJ to achieve political aims in place of its previous role of upholding the law. Examples cited in the complaint are only a portion of instance in which Bondi and Trump have done so.

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