Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and Representative Dave Min (D-Calif.-47), Member of the House Oversight Committee and Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s Fighting Corruption Taskforce, led 10 of their Democratic colleagues in demanding answers from the DOJ on a “troubling pattern” of repeated intervention or dismissals of cases involving Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother, Brad Bondi, as first reported by Punchbowl News. The letter outlines what appears to be a concerted effort by the Justice Department to favor clients of Brad Bondi and circumvent the rule of law.
“We write to express serious concerns about a troubling pattern at the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”): repeated interventions or dismissals in cases involving Mr. Bradley (“Brad”) Bondi—Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother—that consistently favor his clients,” wrote the lawmakers. “These concerns are further heightened by the administration’s removal in March 2025 of DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Director Jeffrey Ragsdale, who served as the Department’s senior official responsible for reviewing allegations of professional misconduct. Such a leadership change, particularly during a period in which the Department has taken several unusual actions that appear to benefit Mr. Bondi, underscores the importance of ensuring that DOJ’s internal accountability mechanisms remain fully independent and active.”
They concluded, “Viewed collectively, these actions raise significant broader ethical concerns. The repetition and timing of these interventions suggest coordinated decision-making rather than routine prosecutorial discretion. Such departures from standard DOJ practice—including those required by the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) and incorporated by reference in DOJ Justice Manual—raise serious questions about whether impartiality has been compromised and whether internal safeguards are being bypassed.”
Senators Van Hollen (D-Md.) Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Representatives Hank Johnson (D-Ga.-04), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.-03), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.-10), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.-10) joined Schiff and Min in signing the letter.
The Members pressed the DOJ for answers by January 2, 2026.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
###