Bondi Ousted After Failed Prosecutions of Trump Foes

Pam Bondi was removed as attorney general and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will lead the Justice Department, people familiar with the matter said; Lee Zeldin has been privately mentioned as a possible successor.

The department's efforts faltered in courts and grand juries, including a judge quashing subpoenas tied to testimony about a $2.5 billion renovation after saying the government had "produced essentially zero evidence," a prosecutor later conceded.

In a last-ditch bid to save her job, Bondi met with U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones, who cautioned that prosecutors considered the John Brennan matter not ready for a grand jury.

Bondi served 14 months as attorney general during which indictments in Virginia against James and Comey were dismissed after a judge found prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was illegally appointed, and grand juries later refused to return new mortgage fraud charges against James.

Todd Blanche, who served as one of Trump's personal lawyers, will serve as acting attorney general while Bondi will officially leave in about one month and remains subpoenaed to testify to Congress.