Pam Bondi’s new cover-up attempt called out by judge: ‘That’s not how any of this works’

A recent report says that Attorney General Pam Bondi was sharply criticized in court for trying to cover up a mistake in legal paperwork by pretending she had reviewed materials that didn’t even exist yet. According to former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance, Bondi attempted to retroactively “fix” a problem in the prosecution of former FBI Director Jim Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James — and a federal judge wasn’t having it.

The hearing took place in Alexandria, Virginia, where Judge Cameron Currie listened to arguments about whether Lindsey Halligan, a former insurance lawyer turned U.S. Attorney under Trump, was legally appointed to lead these prosecutions. Both Comey and James argued that Halligan’s appointment was improper and that their cases should not be allowed to move forward because of it.

The Justice Department’s attorney, Henry Whitaker, tried to downplay the issue by saying any problems with Halligan’s appointment were just minor paperwork mistakes. But Joyce Vance explained that Bondi seemed to realize the appointment might not hold up, so she attempted to claim—after the fact—that she had personally reviewed the grand jury proceedings connected to the indictments.

The problem, as the judge immediately pointed out, is that Bondi couldn’t have reviewed those proceedings because they weren’t fully transcribed yet. In other words, she claimed to have checked something that did not actually exist at the time. The judge made it clear that this is not allowed in any legitimate legal process.

Vance noted that every attorney general probably wishes they could magically correct errors after the fact, but the justice system doesn’t work that way. Prosecutors must follow strict rules to protect the rights of people who are accused and to make sure cases are handled fairly. When prosecutors make serious procedural mistakes, cases often get thrown out — partly to protect the defendants, and partly to discourage prosecutors from bending or breaking rules in the future.

According to Vance, if there has ever been an attorney general who needed a reminder that they can’t just rewrite history to fix their mistakes, it is Pam Bondi. This situation is a clear example of why the justice system insists on transparency, accuracy, and honesty, even from the highest-ranking officials.