Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother is under the spotlight after the Department of Justice (DOJ) decided to drop charges against two of his clients.
Critics on social media raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest after federal charges were dismissed for clients represented by attorney Brad Bondi, who works at the firm Paul Hastings. The cases were dropped within a month.
The DOJ told ABC News that Pam Bondi had no involvement in either decision.
Why This Matters
Even though the DOJ said Pam Bondi was not part of the decisions, ending both cases has raised questions about whether the Trump administration is giving special treatment to people connected to it.
Brad Bondi has also represented figures linked to President Donald Trump, including the Trump Media & Technology Group and Elon Musk.
What Happened
On Wednesday, Thomas Albus, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, filed court papers dismissing an indictment against property developer Sid Chakraverty over wire fraud charges. Prosecutors under the Biden administration had accused Chakraverty in 2024 of lying about hiring minority staff to get tax deals.
Albus said the “defendants have agreed to make restitution of the taxes,” so it was “prudent for the government to end this criminal prosecution.”
Earlier this month, prosecutors in Florida dropped charges against another client of Brad Bondi, former Republican lawmaker Carolina Amnesty. She had faced two counts of theft of government property related to COVID relief fraud and could have received up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Brad Bondi also represented Trevor Milton, who, although sentenced to four years in prison for lying about his electric vehicle technology, received a pardon from Trump in March.
Matthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, told Newsweek, “The mere appearance of a conflict of interest is so important for trust in the criminal justice system. While the ‘mere appearance’ alone is not enough to disqualify a prosecutor, dropping charges for a client of the AG’s brother clearly raises conflict-of-interest concerns. No, she may not have directly handled this case, but some Assistant U.S. Attorney might act cautiously, knowing retribution is a feature of the current DOJ.”
Reactions
A DOJ spokesperson told ABC News about both decisions: “This decision was made through proper channels and the Attorney General had no role in it.”
Attorney Mark S. Zaid, on X, wrote: “Yea, nothing suspicious here.”
Political historian Brian Rosenwald, on X, said: “I mean this is just a jaw-dropping conflict of interest. Both Bondis should be disbarred.”
Chris D. Jackson, a political strategist who worked on the Biden campaign, on X: “The media literally stalked the GOP’s clown show ‘investigation’ into Hunter Biden. They came up empty, but ran with it nonstop. Now there’s actual corruption sitting in plain sight—and silence. What the hell are we even doing?”
James McCarthy, a spokesperson for Chakraverty and his co-defendant Victor Alston, told ABC News: “[Chakraverty and Alston] credit the wisdom and integrity of their counsel, especially Brad Bondi, Renato Mariotti, and Jeff Jensen, who righteously and compellingly made clear that this case should never have been brought and that it could not withstand the scrutiny of either a jury of St. Louisans or the jurists of the federal court.”
