Sen. Adam Schiff Warns of Politicized Justice Department Under Trump’s AG Pick Pam Bondi: ‘A Tragic Misuse of Taxpayer Resources’

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), recently elected to the Senate, warned on MSNBC Tuesday that Donald Trump’s campaign of “retribution and revenge” will likely begin with the Justice Department under the leadership of his proposed attorney general, Pam Bondi. Schiff, a long-time critic and target of Trump, suggested Bondi’s tenure could focus on politically motivated investigations, wasting taxpayer money and undermining the justice system.

Speaking with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, Schiff reflected on the precedent set by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed by Trump to investigate Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. Durham’s investigation ended with no significant findings and failed prosecutions, a track record Wallace described as a humiliation, told The Bulwark.

Schiff speculated that Bondi’s approach could follow a similar path. “You can very well see a lot of prosecutors like Durham who spend millions of taxpayer dollars to come up with nothing,” he said. Schiff noted that Bondi has pledged to investigate baseless claims of voter fraud and to target prosecutors who have pursued legal actions against Trump. He raised critical questions about Bondi’s potential actions, asking, “Is she also going to go after the grand jurors who found there was probable cause to believe [Trump] was engaged in multiple crimes?”

Schiff referenced the federal grand juries that found sufficient evidence to indict Trump in both his cases. In March 2023, for example, a Manhattan grand jury returned a 34-count indictment in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, where Trump was ultimately convicted on all counts.

“Is she going to dispute the fact that he had boxes and boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago?” Schiff asked. “Many were highly classified. That he obstructed the investigation? Is she somehow going to contest there was a massive attack on the Capitol and all that he did to incite it? I’m not sure what they are going to do except waste a lot of time and money.”

Schiff warned that the true aim of Bondi’s Justice Department might be to harass political opponents rather than pursue legitimate justice. He also acknowledged the high personal cost of standing up to Trump’s tactics. Calling the anticipated actions a “tragic misuse of taxpayer resources,” Schiff argued that such pursuits would further undermine the public’s trust in the justice system while yielding little substantive benefit.