Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior leadership within the Justice Department were taken by surprise on Thursday when news broke that the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, appointed by former President Trump, had presented a case to a grand jury seeking an indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James. Multiple sources informed ABC News that while Bondi, alongside Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials, had anticipated that Lindsey Halligan would pursue an indictment against James, they were not aware of the action until after Halligan had already presented her case.
Sources revealed that the move to indict James was made against the recommendations of the prosecutors from the office who had been investigating the claims of mortgage fraud for several months. In response to the situation, a spokesperson for the Justice Department stated, “The Justice Department is united as one team in our mission to make America safe again, and as stated previously, Lindsey Halligan is fully supported by the AG, DAG, and the entire team at Main Justice.”
However, the news of Halligan’s presentment was not surprising to Ed Martin, a figure appointed to several senior leadership roles within the DOJ by President Trump. This appointment occurred after Martin’s nomination to serve as the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., failed to gain support from Republican senators earlier this year. Martin, who refers to himself as “Eagle Ed,” posted an image on his ‘X’ account depicting an eagle flying over the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday morning. Later that evening, he shared the same image again, coinciding with the news of James’ indictment.
As previously reported by ABC News, Martin and Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, had been at odds with senior DOJ leadership in recent weeks. They have been advocating for stronger actions to prosecute what they term as President Trump's political adversaries. Notably, in a post on Truth Social last month, President Trump publicly urged Bondi to take immediate action to prosecute his opponents, expressing his support for Halligan’s leadership in spearheading the initiative.
A former senior official from the DOJ remarked that it would be highly unusual for the department's leadership not to be informed about a pending indictment involving a significant political figure like Letitia James. Typically, such actions would be managed by the department's Public Integrity Section. However, sources indicated that staffing in this office has dwindled significantly, from approximately 30 officials down to just two since Trump’s inauguration.
Despite her initial surprise regarding Halligan’s actions, Attorney General Pam Bondi took to ‘X’ following the indictment of James, asserting, “One tier of justice for all Americans.” This statement underscores the ongoing complexities and political climate surrounding the Justice Department and its handling of high-profile investigations.
