What we see in President Donald Trump’s selection of Pam Bondi as attorney general is corruption of the Department of Justice at its epitome. He picked her to serve as his judicial “attack dog” — and she is attending to the job with fervor.
I maintain that situation is an excellent example of why we should be electing our national attorney general, and that it should be scheduled during the mid-term elections — midway through the presidential term.
I originally proposed electing the AG six years ago in a commentary published by The Union at Grass Valley, California, on May 11, 2019, after Attorney General William Barr acted to shield President Trump. Back then there was little response, and it was mostly negative. Perhaps this time it will draw a better reception from readers as a result of the Trump-Bondi corruption.
Under current procedure, it’s a political appointment — plain and simple. And the attorney general owes some allegiance to the president — serving at the president’s whim and pleasure because the president has the authority to remove the AG and pick a replacement.
But after pondering the rest of this commentary, I hope to receive readers’ emails expressing their thoughts on electing the attorney general.
In a May 2 article published by The Guardian, Peter Stone wrote that Trump’s Department of Justice under Bondi’s leadership “has taken radical steps to target his political foes, back a harsh agenda against undocumented immigrants, and help business allies.”
Stone cites ex-prosecutors who note “how Bondi and the department’s top lawyers have halted some major prosecutions, fired or forced out lawyers who didn’t meet MAGA litmus tests, and were instructed by Trump to investigate a key Democratic fundraising vehicle as examples of how Trump and Bondi have politicized the Justice Department.”
Stone quotes Paul Rosenzweig, former federal prosecutor, as saying, “Trump’s transmuting DOJ into his personal law firm is a rejection of the founding principle of the rule of law.”
Stone also quotes Mike Romano, who resigned from the Department of Justice in late March as a result of Bondi’s actions. Romano said, “Bondi has made clear — before becoming attorney general, and since — that she wants the Department of Justice to support President Trump unconditionally.”
Romano said the very night that Bondi was confirmed by the Senate, “she issued a memorandum to all Justice Department employees in which she threatened to fire employees who refuse to defend the Trump administration’s actions. … She and her subordinates have made good on those threats by firing people and forcing them to resign.”
Barbara McQuade, a former prosecutor for Michigan’s Eastern District,who now teaches law at the University of Michigan, remarked that Bondi’s memo “weaponizes law enforcement and undermines public confidence in government.”
In my 2019 commentary, I reported that Kris Olsen, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon, remarked that political actions by attorneys general are violations of the Hatch Act of 1939, enacted “to prohibit federal officials from using their positions for partisan purposes.”
The Office of Special Council, an independent agency within the executive branch, is responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act. Olsen added that occasional violations in the past often were ignored, or resulted in just a warning, “or a slap on the hand.”
I suppose we won’t be surprised, however, if Trump decides to close that agency, rather than simply ignoring it.
Trump and Bondi are providing strong reasons why the attorney general should be elected — to divorce that office, and concurrently the Department of Justice, from doing the president’s bidding.
An elected AG would be directly responsible to the voters — potentially providing for transparency and accountability with the focus on the public’s interests rather than partisan agendas. The office would be perceived as less susceptible to political manipulation and thereby more independent and impartial.
That also indicates the AG might be more willing to investigate and prosecute cases even though they involved politically sensitive issues.
And moving the attorney general’s election to the mid-terms would eliminate all the overriding attention given to the presidential election and its related political issues — allowing voters to focus more on AG candidates’ qualifications and experience.
Yes, the AG probably would be elected by a lower voter turnout compared to what the presidential elections draw. But then those voters likely will be more concerned and aware of attorney general and Department of Justice issues. An AG mid-term election might even draw a few more voters to the normally lower turnout.
For a bit of comparison, 43 states use the election process — but none during the governor’s mid-term. Only five allow the governor to appoint the AG. They are Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Wyoming. In Maine, the state legislature picks the AG. And in Tennessee the position is filled by the state’s supreme court.
Also, 17 states elect their lieutenant governor — the second in command if the governor is incapacitated — meaning the governor and lieutenant governor could represent different parties.
Overall, I see considerably more benefits than detriments by electing the AG — and especially at the mid-terms when selecting a president is not drawing most of the attention.
In addition, the change does not require an amendment to the Constitution — only new legislation by Congress.
Olson recommended such legislation include a job description specifying that candidates should display “integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis and public administration.”
But again, I wish to receive readers’ views on the election proposal.
Darrell Berkheimer is a retired journalist whose career spans 60 years. He was city editor and news editor at The Daily Herald, Provo, during the 1970s and ’80s. He also filled newspaper editor positions in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas and New Mexico, and is the author of several essays books. Contact him at [email protected].