U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s unsuccessful attempt to indict six senators and representatives — for their appearance in a video instructing servicemen and servicewomen that they are under no obligation to follow illegal orders from their commanders — was alarming.
Not only were these elected officials — all veterans or former intelligence officers-stating the law as explicitly laid out in the Uniform Code of Military Justice — they were also exercising their First Amendment rights and their rights under the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution. Nevertheless, A.G. Bondi sought an indictment solely because President Trump was upset at the video and stated that he wanted these lawmakers executed!
It is extremely rare for prosecutors to fail to convince a grand jury to hand down an indictment. In this case it was reported that no grand juror voted to indict. Bondi’s seeking an indictment against these elected officials shows that her blind subservience to President Trump has no limits.
Another consequence is that as a result of federal prosecutors being ordered to perform unwarranted or unethical tasks on multiple occasions, scores, if not hundreds of highly experienced prosecutors across the country, refused to do so and have resigned or been fired.
This leaves the Department of Justice hollowed out and devoid of some of its best talent. For decades, obtaining a position as a federal prosecutor was apolitical, reserved for only the best and brightest lawyers with unassailable ethics. Now, the department is reportedly requesting applications from those who will expressly pledge to execute President Trump’s agenda.
This abandonment of independence by the Department of Justice should alarm all Americans, regardless of political affiliation.
Ira Rubinfeld, Springdale
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