Two Democratic members of Congress have asked the watchdog of the U.S. Department of Justice to examine whether Attorney General Pam Bondi properly stepped aside from cases connected to her brother, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest within the department.
Senator Adam Schiff and Representative Dave Min sent a letter Wednesday to Deputy Inspector General William Blier requesting a review of whether adequate safeguards were implemented when cases involved clients of Brad Bondi, a partner at the law firm Paul Hastings.
The lawmakers said they previously wrote to the attorney general and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in December seeking clarification on how the Justice Department handled situations where Brad Bondi’s work could create a conflict of interest. According to the letter, they did not receive a response.
Brad Bondi co-leads the investigations and white-collar defense practice at Paul Hastings. The firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the inquiry.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department said decisions involving Brad Bondi’s clients were handled through proper internal procedures and that the attorney general had no role in those matters.
The lawmakers pointed to several legal victories highlighted by Brad Bondi in a LinkedIn post earlier this year. Among the cases mentioned was the defense of Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola, who had been convicted of fraud in 2022 before receiving a pardon from Donald Trump last year.
Schiff and Min argued that several defendants represented by Brad Bondi saw criminal proceedings delayed or dismissed, prompting concerns about whether Justice Department leadership maintained sufficient independence in cases linked to the attorney general’s family.
The office of the DOJ inspector general declined to comment on the request.
In their letter, the lawmakers said the pattern of case outcomes involving Brad Bondi’s clients warranted closer scrutiny to ensure the integrity of internal accountability mechanisms within the Justice Department.