Trump fires Pam Bondi as US attorney general, amid Epstein files furore

US President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from ⁠her post on Thursday, a White House ⁠official said, following mounting frustration with her performance, including her ⁠handling of investigative files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump had also reportedly grown frustrated that Bondi was not moving quickly enough to prosecute critics and adversaries who he wanted to face criminal charges.

In a social media post, Trump praised Bondi as a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend” and said she would move to a job in the private sector. Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, will lead the Justice Department in the interim.

During her tenure as the top US law enforcement official, Bondi was a combative champion of Trump’s agenda and dismantled the Justice Department’s ‌long-standing tradition of independence from the White House in its investigations.

But it was repeated criticism over the Epstein files, including from Trump allies and some Republican lawmakers, that came to dominate her tenure.

Bondi was accused of covering up or mismanaging the release of records on the DOJ’s sex trafficking investigations into Epstein, a financier who cultivated ties with an array of wealthy and powerful figures.