U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday was called out by a judge for attempting to fix a legal paperwork error by lying on documents, according to a former federal prosecutor.
Ex-prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote a Substack piece called "Prosecuting Comey," in which she notes that on Thursday in Alexandria, Virginia, "a senior federal judge from South Carolina, Cameron Currie, heard oral argument on consolidated motions filed by former FBI Director Jim Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James in their separate criminal prosecutions."
"Both of them filed motions challenging the legitimacy of Trump’s insurance-lawyer-turned-U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s role in their prosecution," she explained. "Appearing for the Justice Department, attorney Henry Whitaker told the court that any questions about the appointment of Halligan involved, at worst, mere paperwork errors. Whitaker was the Florida Solicitor General until earlier this year. He clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas after law school and worked in the Office of Legal Counsel during the first Trump administration."
Then, Vance touched on Bondi's problem:
"Perhaps anticipating problems with the validity of Halligan’s appointment, Attorney General Pam Bondi tried to back-bless the indictments, filing that she had reviewed the grand jury proceedings. But the Judge pointed out this morning that wasn’t possible because they hadn’t been fully transcribed."
Vance further added, "And, while every attorney general would likely have loved to possess a magic wand that would permit them to fix errors after the fact, that’s not how any of this works."
"Prosecutors must follow the rules, which are in place to ensure that defendants’ rights are protected and justice is done," she said. "Cases are dismissed when they make procedural errors, in part to protect them and in part to deter prosecutors from making future errors. If ever an attorney general needed that sort of a reminder from the courts, it’s this one."
