Bondi's DOJ Day 1 directives: Fight weaponization of justice, eliminate cartels, lift death penalty ban

EXCLUSIVE: Attorney General Pam Bondi volition contented respective large directives connected her archetypal time starring the Justice Department, including orders to combat the weaponization of the ineligible system; marque prosecutors question the decease punishment erstwhile appropriate; and enactment with the Department of Homeland Security to "completely eliminate" cartels and transnational transgression organizations, Fox News Digital has learned.

Bondi was confirmed by the Senate Monday nighttime arsenic lawyer wide of the United States and was sworn successful connected Tuesday. 

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Fox News Digital exclusively obtained memos outlining Bondi’s first-day directives, which volition laic the groundwork for the Justice Department nether her leadership. 

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's prime to pb the Justice Department arsenic lawyer general, is sworn successful earlier the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, astatine the Capitol successful Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Ben Curtis/The Associated Press)

Bondi issued a directive regarding "zealous advocacy." Bondi said DOJ attorneys’ responsibilities see "aggressively enforcing transgression laws passed by Congress, but besides vigorously defending statesmanlike policies and actions connected behalf of the United States against ineligible challenges." 

"The discretion afforded Justice Department attorneys with respect to those responsibilities does not see latitude to substitute their idiosyncratic governmental views oregon judgments for those that prevailed successful the election," the memo states. 

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"When Justice Department attorneys garbage to faithfully transportation retired their relation by, for example, refusing to beforehand good-faith arguments oregon declining to motion briefs, it undermines the law bid and deprives the President of the payment of his lawyers," the memo continues. 

Bondi, successful the memo, states that "any Justice Department lawyer who declines to motion a brief, refuses to beforehand good-faith arguments connected behalf of the Trump administration, oregon different delays oregon impedes the Justice Department’s ngo volition beryllium taxable to subject and perchance termination." 

Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks connected a precocious unsealed indictment including 4 felony counts against erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump astatine the Justice Department connected August 1, 2023 successful Washington, DC. Trump was indicted connected 4 felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.   (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Bondi is acceptable to found the "Weaponization Working Group," which volition reappraisal the activities of each instrumentality enforcement agencies implicit the past 4 years to place instances of "politicized justice." 

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The moving group’s archetypal reviews volition see prosecutions against Trump led by erstwhile Special Counsel Jack Smith; Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg; and the civilian fraud lawsuit brought against Trump and his household by New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stands with members of his unit astatine a quality league pursuing the condemnation of erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump successful his hush wealth proceedings connected May 30, 2024 successful New York City (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks extracurricular New York Supreme Court up of erstwhile President Donald Trump's civilian concern fraud proceedings connected Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 successful New York. (Brittainy Newman/The Associated Press )

The moving radical volition besides reappraisal immoderate imaginable prosecutorial maltreatment regarding Jan. 6, 2021; the FBI’s targeting of Catholic Americans; the Justice Department’s targeting of parents astatine school committee meetings; and FACE Act abuses.  

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Meanwhile, Bondi besides volition extremity the moratorium connected national executions and bid that national prosecutors astatine the Department of Justice, including U.S. attorney’s offices, question the decease punishment erstwhile due —specifically with a absorption connected convulsive cause trafficking crimes. 

Bondi besides ordered that the Justice Department "re-evaluate instances of the anterior medication electing not to question the decease penalty." 

Bondi besides is expected to rescind immoderate DOJ policies that are "not sufficiently successful enactment with President Trump’s decease punishment enforcement order." 

The determination represents a large reversal from the Justice Department’s presumption of the decease punishment nether the Biden administration. In 2021, Biden allowed the DOJ to contented a moratorium connected national executions. 

In December 2024, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 criminals connected national decease row, which President Donald Trump, successful his enforcement bid connected the decease penalty, described arsenic the "most vile and sadistic rapists, kid molesters, and murderers connected Federal death." 

Bondi said she is present besides directing the Justice Department to execute justness for the families of the victims of the 37 murderers that had their decease sentences commuted. 

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As for cartels, Bondi is directing the Justice Department to enactment intimately with the Department of Homeland Security and different national partners to "completely eliminate" the threats of cartels and transnational transgression organizations. 

Bondi plans to re-imagine charging priorities relating to those cases successful bid to guarantee that instrumentality enforcement resources are focused connected dismantling the foundational operational capableness of cartels, arsenic opposed to conscionable picking disconnected low-level offenders. 

Here, the Justice Department is expected to temporarily suspend immoderate "bureaucratic approvals and reviews" successful bid to prioritize speedy prosecutions and captures of those accused of terrible offenses similar superior crimes, terrorism, oregon aiding the operations of cartels. 

Members of the Sinaloa Cartel raided a BSNF bid connected January 17, according to  Homeland Security Investigations. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images )

Bondi said Joint Task Force Vulcan, which was created to destruct MS-13, and Joint Task Force Alpha, which was created to combat quality trafficking, would beryllium "further empowered and elevated" to the Office of the Attorney General. Their missions are expected to expand—specifically Vulcan’s—with a caller absorption connected destroying Tren de Aragua. 

Also connected the cartel front, Bondi is directing the DOJ Office of Legal Policy to find legislative reforms to people instrumentality designed to marque fentanyl pills and adhd Xylazine, a caller deadly drug, to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. 

Map of Tren de Aragua beingness successful the United States arsenic of December 2024. (Fox News Digital)

And arsenic for amerciable migrants, Bondi has directed the DOJ to intermission each national backing for sanctuary cities. 

Bondi has besides directed the DOJ to place and measure each backing agreements with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that supply enactment to amerciable aliens. 

She is besides directing litigating components of the Justice Department to analyse instances of jurisdictions that are impeding instrumentality enforcement, and directing they beryllium prosecuted, erstwhile necessary. 

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Meanwhile, Bondi volition besides make a caller Joint Task Force connected October 7 focused connected holding Hamas accountable for its crimes against Jews during its panic onslaught successful Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023. The task unit volition besides "achieve justness for victims and combat terrorist-led anti-Semitism." 

The task unit connected Oct. 7 volition prosecute transgression charges wherever applicable against Hamas; question the apprehension and extradition of Hamas leadership; and analyse anti-Semitism successful the United States. 

Bondi is besides directing the FBI to unit the associated task unit with unit "significantly experienced successful investigating terrorism." 

Beyond those directives, Bondi is directing the DOJ to corroborate the termination of each Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs astatine the section by March 15. She besides is demanding the removal of each references to DEI successful grooming programs—specifically ending the accent connected contention and sex-based criteria and refocusing hiring and promotion guidelines "solely connected merit." 

Bondi volition besides enactment with the Department of Education to guarantee that acquisition institutions receiving national grants are adhering to "fair admittance practices." 

Bondi, a longtime authoritative and erstwhile Florida lawyer general, has vowed not to usage her presumption to beforehand immoderate governmental agenda, testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee that "politics has to beryllium taken retired of this system." 

Bondi told lawmakers successful January that the "partisanship, the weaponization" astatine the Justice Department "will beryllium gone." 

"America volition person 1 tier of justness for all," she said. 

Before Bondi was confirmed, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that the Trump Justice Department fired much than a twelve cardinal officials who worked connected erstwhile Special Counsel Jack Smith’s squad prosecuting Trump, aft Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not beryllium trusted successful "faithfully implementing the president’s agenda." 

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And Friday, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove issued a memo to the acting FBI manager directing him to terminate eight FBI employees and place each existent and erstwhile bureau unit assigned to Jan. 6 and Hamas cases for an interior review. 

After the directive, connected Tuesday, a radical of 9 FBI agents filed a suit seeking to artifact the nationalist recognition of immoderate FBI employees who worked connected the Jan. 6 investigations into the U.S. Capitol riots successful an effort to caput disconnected what they described arsenic perchance retaliatory efforts against unit progressive successful the probe.