President Donald Trump reportedly tore into a group of U.S. attorneys at a White House event last week, complaining they weren't moving fast enough to indict people he said had weaponized the legal system.
According to The Wall Street Journal, dozens of U.S. attorneys traveled to the White House on Thursday for what had been expected to be a ceremonial photo opportunity.
But after Attorney General Pam Bondi introduced the prosecutors, Trump launched a blunt critique, calling them "weak" and ineffective and suggesting they were making it harder for Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to carry out the administration's priorities.
The exchange, sources told the Journal, reflected the president's broader frustration that the Justice Department has not moved faster against targets he believes benefited from lawfare during the Obama-Biden years.
One of Trump's grievances, according to people familiar with the meeting, was that federal prosecutors have not yet brought a case against Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a longtime Trump antagonist.
Schiff has denied wrongdoing and has described a separate Justice Department investigation into alleged mortgage fraud as political retaliation.
The Journal reported the tense White House scene came just a day before federal prosecutors sent grand jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve related to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony last summer about the central bank's headquarters renovation project.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, later defended the subpoenas on social media, saying they followed unanswered requests for information and insisting her office acts "based on the merits."
The Fed, meanwhile, pushed back, with Powell saying in a video statement that the probe was politically motivated.
Trump has publicly escalated his criticism of Powell in recent days, telling reporters the Fed chief was "billions of dollars over budget" and suggesting Powell was either "incompetent" or "crooked."
The pressure campaign has rattled parts of the Justice Department, the Journal reported, describing internal turbulence, lawyer departures, and recent cases that collapsed in court — including charges brought against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey that were dismissed after a judge found the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed.
At the same time, Bondi has signaled she is pursuing a far-reaching review of what Trump allies argue was a coordinated effort to target conservatives while shielding powerful Democrats.
In written answers to Just the News, Bondi said she directed prosecutors and agents to investigate "instances of government weaponization nationwide," describing it as a "ten-year stain" and framing it as an "ongoing" conspiracy — a strategy that could reach conduct outside typical statute-of-limitations windows.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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