Attorney General Pam Bondi supported the Justice Department’s choice to suspend a lawyer who did not wholeheartedly defend the Trump administration’s stance on a significant deportation case.

Erez Reuveni, the federal attorney, stated in court on Friday representing the Trump administration that he was unaware of the reasons why a Maryland man, who was believed to be a member of the MS-13 gang, was deported to El Salvador.

The 29-year-old Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who has an American wife and son and resided in Maryland, was sent back to El Salvador recently. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims that he is a gang member, as per Bondi’s statement, although attorneys for the immigrant have allegedly refuted this claim.

Reuveni, who was supposed to argue on behalf of the Justice Department for why Abrego Garcia was rightfully removed, stunningly tossed his case, admitting to Judge Paula Xinis that the migrant ‘should not have been removed.’

‘I’m also frustrated that I have no answers for you for a lot of these questions,’ Reuveni told the judge at one point. 

A 15-year veteran of the immigration division, federal attorney was then suspended by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for not effectively executing his position. 

Bondi, speaking on Fox News Sunday, told host Shannon Bream Reuveni should have never been put on the case to begin with. 

‘Our client in this matter is Homeland Security,’ Bondi said. ‘[Reuveni] did not argue for it, he should not have taken the case.’

She also confirmed that the Justice Department employee had been placed on administrative leave. 

‘On day one I issued a memo that you are to vigorously advocate on behalf of the United States,’ Bondi continued. ‘You have to vigorously argue on behalf of your clients.’

The attorney general likened Reuveni’s behavior to a criminal defense lawyer admitting their client is guilty. 

‘We’ll see what happens,’ Bondi said, indicating that a review is underway. 

When reached for comment a DOJ official sent DailyMail.com a copy of Bondi’s February 3, 2025, memo requesting all department employees emphatically take up the cause of their clients. 

‘Attorneys are expected to zealously advance, protect, and defend their client’s interests,’ the memo stated. 

‘Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences,’ Bondi said in a statement provided to DailyMail.com. 

Though Bondi is clearly sending a warning to Reuveni and other likeminded DOJ employees, the Trump administration has already admitted that it sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador on accident. 

‘Through administrative error, Abrego-Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador,’ Trump’s legal team said in paperwork filed in the migrant’s case. 

‘This was an oversight, and the removal was carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia’s purported membership in MS-13.’

Abrego Garcia arrived at the notorious supermax El Salvador prison CECOT on March 15. 

Judge Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. by Monday, however, the administration attempted to get another court to nullify that order by arguing they have no power to release the migrant from the Salvadorian prison.

On Friday, she noted how the DOJ had yet to make a compelling argument about why Abrego Garcia should stay in El Salvador. 

‘In a court of law, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, complaint, criminal proceeding — a robust process, so we can address the facts,’ Xinis said. 

‘I haven’t yet heard that from the government.’