A sophomore in Congress watched with growing concern as the Justice Departmentfired a top ethics official,ousted investigators of the Jan. 6, 2021 attackon the U.S. Capitol, and openedinvestigations into the president's political opponents.
As the transformations at the DOJ mounted, she concluded the nation's top law enforcement official wasn't fit to serve.
"This is an administration that is out of control and that is completely lawless," Rep. Summer Lee, D–Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY March 18, as she explained her decision to introduce articles of impeachment the day before againstAttorney General Pam Bondi.
Lee's impeachment measure, drafted with the help of anti-corruption nonprofit groupFree Speech for People, points to investigations and prosecutions that she says demonstrate the Justice Department is being politicized. Those include charges broughtat the president's urgingagainst some of his longtime critics,former FBI Director James ComeyandNew York Attorney General Letitia James.
A judgedismissed the chargesin November.
"When we think about the authoritarianism that the Trump administration is actively pursuing, this is what we will look at in the end. These are the actions that we will, in history, look back on and say that that was a glaring red flag," she said.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) (R) talks with Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) as they arrive for a hearing with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, DC." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Pam Bondi faces Congress amid concerns over DOJ Epstein files release
Lee introducedthe articles, which were co-sponsored by several other Democrats, includingMichigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
She faces an uphill battle. A majority of the House of Representatives – currently controlled by Republicans – would need to vote for impeachment. An actual conviction in the Senate to oust Bondi from office would require a two-thirds majority in the upper chamber.
This might make observers wonder why Lee even bothered to introduce the measure. But she says there is a growing appetite for accountability, and building more pressure matters.
The articles essentially accuse Bondi of allowing her department to become a personal law firm to servePresident Donald Trump's political interests and carry out his vendettas.
"The real overarching message is that the train is flying off the rails right now," she said.
The articles also accuse Bondi of breaking the law by failing to turn overfiles related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Lee sees those parts of the articles as a potential avenue for helping bring in Republican support.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committeevoted March 4 to subpoena Bondifor testimony on the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files.
"There is a growing appetite here for some sort of accountability, particularly where it comes to the part of this that is the handling of the Epstein files and the Epstein investigation," Lee said. "We're going to have to build on that momentum."
Trump indicated earlier this month that he plans to stick by his attorney general.
Bondi is a "terrific person," Trumpsaid at a March 5 White House eventcelebrating the 2025 Major League Soccer Champions. "And she's proving how tough she is and I think the next three years she's going to really prove it."
The Justice Department didn't respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
"Attorney GeneralPam Bondihas worked tirelessly to successfully implement the President's law and order agenda. Attorney General Bondi is doing a great job." White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told USA TODAY in a statement.
Earlier in March, Rep. Shri Thanedar, D–Michigan,introduced his own impeachment articlesagainst Bondi, without any co-sponsors. Those articles separately accuse Bondi of weaponizing the Justice Department against political opponents and obstructing Congress' investigation into Epstein's circle.
Politicizing the DOJ?
The impeachment articles lay out a host of ways that Lee says Bondi has abused her powers by targeting Trump's critics for investigations and prosecutions.
That includes through complying withTrump's request to appoint Lindsey Halligan, a lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, to a top prosecuting role in Virginia. Halligan then heededTrump's callto seek charges from grand juries against Comey and James. A judgelater dismissed the charges.
The impeachment articles note other investigations of people disfavored by Trump, such asSen. Adam Schiff, D–California, Federal Reserve ChairJerome Powell, Federal Reserve Board MemberLisa Cook, andsix members of Congresswho urged military service members not to obey illegal orders.
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"This is something that we cannot accept in our political system," Lee said. "It sets a precedent that our systems, our agencies, our departments are all political footballs."
In aMarch 11 court opinion, afederal judge blocked subpoenasthat are part of a DOJ investigation into Powell's handling of building renovations, writing that the government "produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual."
The articles also hold Bondi responsible for her department's moves to close investigations and dismiss prosecutions and lawsuits into Trump allies or potential allies, includingborder czar Tom Homan, formerNew York City Mayor Eric Adams, and major Trumpcampaign donor Elon Musk.
"It is not the job of the DOJ to protect or to in any other way run cover for the president of the United States, or run cover for any of (the Trump administration's) friends," Lee said.
The White House has sometimes suggested the Justice Department was weaponized for political purposes underPresident Joe Biden, and that the current administrationis reversing that course.
However, those prosecutions against Trump were brought by a special counsel,Jack Smith, in a role designed to establish greater-than-normal independence from DOJ leadership, and special counsels were also appointed to handle sensitive investigations into then-Democratic President Joe Bidenas well ashis son, Hunter.
The cases against Comey and James were brought by Halligan after the previous official responsible for deciding whether to prosecutereportedly expressed skepticismabout both cases.
Bondi accused of shielding Epstein associates
The impeachment articles also target Bondi's handling of the Epstein files, whichhave earned her criticsonboth sides of the aisle in Congress.
In March 2025, Bondistoked expectations that her Justice Department would be releasing incriminating informationagainst associates of Epstein, who died in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
But just four months later, Bondi's DOJ releaseda memosaying a systematic internal review of the files failed to turn up any incriminating list of clients of Epstein and "(n)o further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."
Since then, both Republican and Democratic members of Congress have accused the DOJ of illegally withholding documents in the face of, first, a congressional subpoena, and later, a bipartisan transparency law.
Bondi has defended the department's actions, saying it missed a legal deadline for releasing documents because reviewing and redacting the files was a monumental task.
"We had 30 days to redact and release, under the law that was passed, three million documents," Bonditold reporters March 18. "If you stack those up, that's the height of the Eiffel Tower."
Bondi's deputy, Todd Blanche, has said many documents have been withheld in order to protect victim privacy, which is permitted under the transparency law. However, hehas also saidthe DOJ withheld documents for some reasons the law didn't permit, such asto shield internal DOJ deliberationsrelated to Epstein.
Lee criticized the failure of Bondi's DOJ to take new action against Epstein associates, even as theUnited Kingdom has made arrestsbased oninformation in the latest releases of files. She said it shows elites in the U.S. enjoy protections that working class Americans don't get.
"People in America are tired of seeing that two-tiered system of justice," Lee said.
"If we had information ... about men who abused women, we would prosecute them," Blanchesaid Jan. 30.
'The attacks are coming from every angle'
Bondi isn't the only Trump official accused of defying the law and weakening ethical norms within government. Democrats in Congress have alsosought to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing her of directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to violate the public's constitutional rights in its enforcement actions.
Judges have sometimes backed claims that administration officials are defying the law, and even defying direct court orders.
Minnesota federal Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in aFeb. 26 court order, for instance, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had violated 210 orders in 143 separate cases, describing the "continued violation" of orders as "beyond the pale."
Lee believes the administration is demonstrating a pattern of dismissing the checks and balances that are imposed by Congress and the court system under the Constitution.
"The attacks are coming from every angle," Lee said. "And that is a fundamental and inherent existential threat to our democracy and to our democratic institutions."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Completely lawless': Why this lawmaker wants AG Pam Bondi impeached