Pam Bondi’s Former Chief of Staff Reveals Why Trump Enemy Prosecutions Failed

Photo by Annabelle Gordon/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images

Chad Mizelle, the ex-chief of staff to former attorney general Pam Bondi, identified a key reason why the Trump Department of Justice has struggled to prosecute the president’s political enemies in an interview with CNN’s Paula Reid and Casey Gannon — a dearth of prosecutors who are both “MAGA” and “competent.”

“Trump has commended [Acting Attorney General Todd] Blanche’s work as acting attorney general so far, and, according to current and former administration officials who spoke to CNN, the job appears to be his to lose. But officials say Blanche must still contend with many of the hurdles that plagued the tenure of former Attorney General Pam Bondi before her recent firing,” reported Reid and Gannon. “The high profile prosecutions of Trump’s political foes must survive judges and grand juries who have so far rebuffed many of the attempts. And buy-in from career prosecutors tasked with the investigations isn’t guaranteed.”

Mizelle expanded on this obstacle by referencing Bondi’s “Weaponization Working Group,” which has thus far failed to do the legwork necessary to carry out successful prosecutions of its targets, such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former special counsel Jack Smith.

“Part of the reason the weaponization work has been difficult is that you need people who are MAGA and who are really competent,” Mizelle told CNN. “Many career prosecutors are not interested in this kind of work. It’s a very small group of people.”

“Mizelle worked alongside Blanche and notes that even if the Justice Department can bring a case against one of Trump’s political adversaries, they will be up against top defense attorneys,” noted Reid and Gannon. “In the end, though, Mizelle said he is ‘confident’ Blanche will be successful in these prosecutions.

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig concurred by submitting that:

DOJ prosecutors generally do not shy away from challenging, boldface cases; if anything, they’re more likely to be drawn towards high-stakes matters. So when you see career, nonpolitical prosecutors expressing doubts about certain cases with political overtones, that’s typically because they simply don’t see the proof to support a criminal charge. DOJ prosecutors are aggressive but they’re not reckless, and they won’t bring a charge that they don’t believe will stick.

The DOJ’s cases against James and former FBI Director James Comey have been thrown out, while the case against former national security advisor John Bolton is ongoing. The department is also continuing to investigate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over cost overruns for the Fed’s facility renovations.

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