President Donald Trump publicly vented at Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday, saying the lack of criminal charges against top adversaries was “killing our reputation and credibility.”
“We can’t delay any longer,” Trump posted on Truth Social in a message directed to “Pam.” “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” He specifically lamented the lack of criminal charges against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, three of his most prominent political antagonists.
Trump spent much of the post venting about Erik Siebert, the former U.S. attorney from the Eastern District of Virginia, who he forced out Friday amid reports that Siebert did not believe there was enough evidence to charge James with mortgage fraud.
Trump appeared to confirm those reports, accusing Siebert of saying “that we had no case.”
“There is a GREAT CASE,” Trump said.
Trump also appeared to float his onetime personal attorney Lindsey Halligan — now a White House aide who has been reviewing materials in the Smithsonian museums to ensure they align with Trump’s agenda — to take on a role in the probes of his adversaries.
“Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot,” Trump wrote. He later posted that he intended to nominate Halligan to the post, though it’s still unclear if he wants Bondi to immediately install her in the job on an interim basis.
It was a remarkable public message to the nation’s top law enforcement officer, linking his personal grievances over his own criminal prosecutions and congressional impeachments to a potential decision by federal prosecutors to level criminal charges against his adversaries. Trump’s frustration stemmed in part, he said, from “30 statements and posts” from allies that complained “nothing is being done” to punish his longtime rivals.
Trump amplified his post in a brief gaggle with reporters on Saturday night, saying the post was not meant as a criticism of Bondi but that “we have to act fast.”
“One way or the other. They’re guilty, they’re not guilty. We have to act fast,” Trump said. “If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty, or if they should be judged, they should be judged. And we have to do it now.”
Trump has long accused Comey, Schiff and James, without evidence, of criminal conduct. Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017 amid frustrations over the investigation of his campaign’s contacts with Russia. Schiff led Trump’s first impeachment trial over his decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine over a demand that the Ukrainian government investigate his political rivals. And Trump has railed against James for her sprawling lawsuit against his business empire that led to a massive civil judgment against him.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The message came after POLITICO reported that Bondi had elevated little-known prosecutor Mary “Maggie” Cleary to succeed Siebert, taking on the job as acting U.S. attorney amid questions about the investigation into James.
Trump capped his message to Bondi by accusing Democrats of impeaching him twice and indicting him five times “over nothing.” In 2023, Trump was charged in criminal cases that accused him of seeking to subvert the 2020 presidential election, corrupt Georgia’s election process, hoard classified information at Mar-a-Lago after his first term and cover up a hush money payment scheme.
Only the hush money case, brought by Manhattan prosecutors, reached a jury, which found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts. Two of the cases, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election. And the Georgia case remains mired in pretrial dysfunction, with lead prosecutor Fani Willis recently disqualified over a conflict of interest.
