Democrats’ letter follows Senator Schiff’s questions of Trump’s DOJ Nominee for Deputy Attorney General on recusal responsibility.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in an oversight letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, criticizing Department of Justice (DOJ) officials’ reported decision to replace a high-ranking career official handling sensitive ethics matters with two inexperienced political appointees.
The decision is a dramatic departure from practice under previous Democratic and Republican administrations. The letter highlight’s Senator Schiff’s exchange with Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Deputy Attorney General, at his February 12 nomination hearing regarding whether he would recuse himself from the DOJ’s review of Special Counsel Smith’s investigation of President Trump. Blanche, who served as the president’s criminal defense attorney in Special Counsel Smith’s criminal trial of President Trump, told Senator Schiff that he “will follow the rules, as told to [him] by the experts, career prosecutors in the department.”
Even as Blanche claimed he would rely on “career” officials, President Trump’s DOJ removed the Department’s senior career ethics official and granted two inexperienced political appointees the power to approve exemptions to allow employees – including Blanche and Attorney General Bondi – to participate in matters for which they would otherwise need to be recused.
In the letter, the Senators begin by voicing their strong objection, writing: “We write to strongly object to your alarming decision to grant decision-making authority regarding sensitive ethics and personnel issues—responsibilities long assigned to a senior career Department of Justice (DOJ) official—to two inexperienced political appointees. This decision is a dramatic departure from practice under previous Democratic and Republican administrations, where a senior DOJ career official had decision-making responsibilities on matters related to ethics, employee discipline, whistleblower complaints, and information provided to inspectors general and Congress. Previous administrations did not consider granting these responsibilities to political appointees for good reason; politicizing this role is profoundly dangerous to the integrity of the department and threatens the employees who work there.”
The Senators continue by underscoring the direct conflicts between this removal and Bondi’s testimony to Congress, writing: “This new directive is in direct conflict with promises you made, under oath, to Congress and the American people in your confirmation hearing. When Ranking Member Durbin asked you about your many potential conflicts of interest as a former lobbyist—including your representation of foreign regimes like Qatar, corporate giants like Amazon and Uber, and the private prison company, the GEO Group—you responded that, to avoid conflicts, you ‘would consult with thecareer ethics officials within the Department and make the appropriate decision’ (emphasis added). In your written responses to senators’ questions after your confirmation hearing, you again pledged that you would consult with career ethics officials to avoid conflicts of interest. By transferring responsibilities for ethics decisions from a senior career ethics official to political appointees, you have coincidentally removed the appropriate career ethics official with whom you promised to consult.”
The Senators further highlight Bondi’s misleading testimony to Congress and the American people in light of this removal, writing: “Business leaders from wealthy corporations were reportedly optimistic upon President Trump’s announcement that he intended to nominate you as Attorney General, and, without a serious check on your decision-making regarding corporate interests, we are concerned that you will fail to hold companies accountable. Already, on February 5, you signed a memo disbanding Task Force KleptoCapture, which coordinated the investigation of certain companies for illegal exports and money laundering, and announced steps to scale back efforts to enforce laws related to foreign lobbying transparency and bribes of foreign officials. And now, important decisions on ethical questions related to companies that you have lobbied on behalf of—businesses with an extraordinary reach that impact millions of American consumers—will be made by political aides who report to you.”
The Senators conclude with a series of oversight requests—including a copy of the delegation order and related records—for information to be produced to the Committee.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Attorney General Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Bove:
We write to strongly object to your alarming decision to grant decision-making authority regarding sensitive ethics and personnel issues—responsibilities long assigned to a senior career Department of Justice (DOJ) official—to two inexperienced political appointees. This decision is a dramatic departure from practice under previous Democratic and Republican administrations, where a senior DOJ career official had decision-making responsibilities on matters related to ethics, employee discipline, whistleblower complaints, and information provided to inspectors general and Congress. Previous administrations did not consider granting these responsibilities to political appointees for good reason; politicizing this role is profoundly dangerous to the integrity of the Department and threatens the employees who work there.
These changes—reportedly outlined in a January 27 memo from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove—sideline a well-qualified and experienced career official, thereby removing a roadblock to potentially unethical actions by you and your political subordinates. The January 27 memo reassigned these responsibilities to Mr. Bove’s chief of staff, who graduated from law school in 2021, and a former criminal defense attorney who served on President Donald Trump’s defense team. According to the memo, these two individuals, both of whom have never worked at the Department before, will have final decision-making authority with respect to “adverse personnel actions and bar referral matters.” The memo also reportedly provides these political appointees with the authority to decide “ethics recusals and waivers [and] nominee financial disclosures,” as well as “referrals from the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates federal employee whistleblower complaints; inspector general requests for access to grand jury material; and disclosures to Congress.” Additionally, the memo gives these political appointees the authority to approve waivers that allow Department officials—such as yourselves—to participate in matters in which the officials have a personal financial interest and otherwise would be recused.
Attorney General Bondi, this new directive is in direct conflict with promises made by you, under oath, to Congress and the American people during your confirmation hearing. When Ranking Member Durbin asked you about your many potential conflicts of interest as a former lobbyist—including your representation of foreign regimes like Qatar, corporate giants like Amazon and Uber, and the private prison company, the GEO Group—you responded that, to avoid conflicts, you “would consult with the career ethics officials within the Department and make the appropriate decision” (emphasis added). In your written responses to senators’ questions after your confirmation hearing, you again pledged that you would consult with career ethics officials to avoid conflicts of interest. When asked at his February 12, 2025, Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing to be Deputy Attorney General whether he would recuse himself from DOJ’s review of Special Counsel Smith’s investigation of President Trump, Todd Blanche, who served as the President’s criminal defense attorney, testified to the Committee that he “will follow the rules, as told to [him] by the experts, career prosecutors in the department.” By transferring responsibilities for ethics decisions from a senior career ethics official to political appointees, you have coincidentally removed the appropriate career ethics official with whom you and your colleagues promised to consult.
Attorney General Bondi, your sworn testimony misled Congress and the American people and Mr. Bove’s directive eliminated a critical safeguard against corruption within the Department. Business leaders from wealthy corporations were reportedly optimistic upon President Trump’s announcement that he intended to nominate you as Attorney General, and, without a serious check on DOJ leadership’s decision-making regarding corporate interests, we are concerned that you will fail to hold companies accountable. Already, on February 5, you signed a memo disbanding Task Force KleptoCapture, which coordinated the investigation of certain companies for illegal exports and money laundering, and announced steps to scale back efforts to enforce laws related to foreign lobbying transparency and bribes of foreign officials. You largely decapitated the division that goes after major corporate polluters. And now, important decisions on ethical questions related to companies that you have lobbied on behalf of —businesses with an extraordinary reach that impact millions of American consumers—will be made by political aides who report to you.
This Committee has a constitutional obligation to perform oversight over the Department and its components. To that end, we also ask that you provide the following information:
- The January 27, 2025 memo or “delegation order” from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove detailing the responsibilities of Jordan Fox and Kendra Wharton;
- Records reflecting or relating to the scope of the January 27, 2025 memo or “delegation order” prior to its issuance;
- Records reflecting or relating to implementation of the January 27, 2025 memo or “delegation order” prior to its issuance;
- Records reflecting or relating to the removal of Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer from his position with authority over ethics and employee discipline; and
- 5. Copies of “delegation orders” issued during the previous Trump Administration and the Biden Administration assigning authorities currently delegated to Jordan Fox and Kendra Wharton.
We call on you to produce these materials at your earliest possible convenience, and no later than March 6, 2025.
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