Pam Bondi departed a Justice Department already under intense strain, following an unsuccessful push to take a far tougher line against President Donald Trump’s political adversaries.
Her successor, Todd Blanche, now inherits that same combustible challenge.
Trump returned to Washington carrying old grievances and a roster of perceived enemies. Much of his fury has been directed at former intelligence and law enforcement officials he believes undermined him during his first administration, including former FBI Director James Comey, ex-national security adviser John Bolton and former CIA Director John Brennan.
During the four years between his first and second stints in the White House, Trump repeatedly nursed those resentments in public, using social media to promise payback and single out the figures he blamed by name.
Brennan, in particular, became a frequent target. Trump branded the former CIA chief a “loser” and a “lowlife,” floated the idea that he could be guilty of “treason,” and on multiple occasions shared a manipulated image showing Brennan in an orange prison jumpsuit on his personal social media account.
But after winning office a second time, his desire for vengeance have not borne the fruit he might have imagined.
Criminal charges against Comey were dismissed by a federal judge, and Bolton, who did plead guilty to a classified documents charge, is expected to be able to avoid jail time altogether.
Sources familiar with the matter described those efforts as a mere ‘sideshow’ compared to efforts in the Southern District of Florida – where Blanche is driving a two-pronged investigation into Brennan.
Former attorney general Pam Bondi left a Justice Department in turmoil earlier this year
Blanche answers questions after announcing a second indictment against former FBI director James Comey in late April. The indictment was secured weeks after he took over as acting AG
President Donald Trump, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speak to reporters at the White House. Bondi’s firing in April allowed Blanche to quickly step into the role in an acting capacity – delivering aggressively on Trump priorities
One probe centers on whether Brennan lied to Congress about the infamous Steele dossier after he told lawmakers the CIA didn’t rely on the now-discredited document in drafting its 2017 Russia assessment.
The second is Brennan’s alleged role in a ‘grand conspiracy’ – a sprawling investigation into the intelligence community’s 2016 probe into whether Trump’s campaign had any ties to Russia.
Blanche installed Trump ally Joseph DiGenova in April to head up the two probes after his predecessor warned that it wouldn’t result in an indictment.
But months later there is less headway than people in Trump’s orbit had expected after Bondi’s removal.
Even DiGenova had set lofty goals for himself – he told former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani in April that, had she not allegedly nixed his appointment as special counsel in the probes, ‘we would have had indictments brought in the last two months.’
With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear those prognostications were overly optimistic.
The US attorney’s office in Florida did not respond to requests for comment on the status of the investigations, and the Justice Department declined to comment.
Still, the delay could prove uniquely vexing for Blanche, a former federal prosecutor himself, who has sought to define himself in Trump’s second term by his fierce loyalty to the commander-in-chief.
‘You can’t secure a grand jury indictment by sheer willpower alone,’ a person with knowledge of the process told the Daily Mail.
A giant portrait of President Donald Trump looks down from the Justice Department in Washington, DC
Tapping DiGenova to lead the effort is seen as a positive development by Trump allies in the Brennan case, and a welcome alternative following the departure of career prosecutor Maria Medetis Long.
Long, the Miami-based assistant US attorney who previously led the inquiry, stepped down after expressing doubts to her boss about the likelihood that the probe would result in criminal charges.
DiGenova, described in one conversation as ‘Blanche’s man in Miami,’ is seen as more aggressive than Long.
Still, it’s unclear how much he can deliver, and how quickly in probing the allegations against the former CIA director.
Brennan has vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing, and his lawyers blasted the probes as looking into ‘phantom criminal conduct’ at the behest of a mercurial commander-in-chief who has been condemning him for ‘years.’
He has also filed a countersuit against DOJ and other Trump officials in Washington, DC, seeking a court order to preserve records in the investigations against him.
Should the criminal case proceed, his lawyers said, they plan to present to the court ‘overwhelming’ evidence that he is being ‘vindictively’ singled out by the government – further buffeting the case against him.
Trump, who had long voiced his desire to go after his political foes before winning election a second time, could be running out of patience. And prosecutors, for their part, could be running out of time.
Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi is seen speaking, with US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, at a press conference in DC
Blanche speaks during a press conference at DOJ. Though seen as more willing to aggressive in pursuing criminal cases against Trump foes, his office is facing many of the same headwinds as his predecessor
Former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, left, and Joseph diGenova are seen speaking to reporters in 2020
Statute of limitations laws limit the window that prosecutors have to secure indictments for certain charges, especially those stemming from conduct that allegedly happened years prior.
Several individuals with knowledge of the process emphasized these issues as possible pain points in the government’s case against Brennan. Others expressed fresh uncertainty about next steps or timing – breaking with the earlier, more optimistic tone espoused by those with knowledge of the key players.
Another issue could be public statements made by DiGenova himself.
The longtime MAGA figure and Trump ally has accused Brennan of crimes on multiple occasions, saying in a 2018 interview that Brennan ‘colluded’ with other top government officials to ‘frame’ Trump.
Brennan, he told then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2018, should ‘get a lawyer.’
In April, after Blanche tapped to lead the so-called ‘grand conspiracy’ probe, DiGenova placed the blame squarely on Bondi for a lack of action, describing her as ‘singularly’ responsible for the delay in the investigations.
But prosecuting a federal criminal case, particularly cases involving public figures and classified materials, is laborious. It can take years, not months, to get to a place where the case can be presented to a federal grand jury.
The process often can involve multiple agencies, obtaining access to classified records, subpoenaing witnesses, and determining which materials can be presented in open court.
Federal prosecutors spent more than three years building up their case against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, stemming from his 2018 purchase of a firearm.
In fact, it was not until September 2023 that a grand jury returned an indictment charging him with three felony firearm offenses, which were tried in court the following year. Though convicted, the case was dismissed following a presidential pardon by his father.
The early headwinds Blanche is facing are therefore not unusual.
But they could be damaging for Blanche as he looks to distinguish himself from Bondi on the heels of his razor-thin Senate confirmation earlier this month.
Many of the alleged ‘crimes’ took place years ago, which can be an issue for prosecutors in certain cases, depending on the charges, which carry certain statute of limitations that limit the window by which prosecutors can secure an indictment.
Several individuals with knowledge of the process emphasized those things as as particular pain points in the government’s case against Brennan.
DiGenova, who himself publicly accused Brennan of wrongdoing, and claimed in 2018 that he ‘colluded’ with other top government officials to ‘frame’ Trump, has failed to make progress at the rate that some in Trump’s orbit were expecting.
Trump sits in a courtroom alongside his then-lawyer, Todd Blanche, in Manhattan criminal court
Bondi speaks with reporters during a news conference with Blanche. Bondi was seen by Trump and others in his orbit as insufficiently aggressive in prosecuting Trump’s political foes
There was no single reason for the firing of Blanche’s predecessor Bondi by Trump in April.
Multiple sources told the Daily Mail that her departure was a slow burn rather than a one-off, underpinned by simmering frustrations over the botched release of the Epstein files and her failure to more aggressively prosecute Trump’s political foes.
Those individuals described a respectful torch passing as Blanche took the reins of DOJ from Bondi, who was not surprised by the decision. Trump is said to remain on relatively good terms with Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and his longtime friend.
Bondi was credited by Trump allies for eliminating many of the redundancies at DOJ and clearing out the ‘underbrush’ at Main Justice, or the department’s headquarters in DC, where US prosecutors have long bemoaned the slow, methodological process by which certain aspects of their cases were reviewed and signed off on by DOJ’s many federal bureaucrats.
Bondi’s efforts allowed Blanche to move more quickly on executing certain priorities when he took over as acting attorney general, some observers noted.
These individuals did not mention the obvious corollary; that the primary method of clearing out underbrush is simply to set it on fire.
