U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Bar has rebuffed attorney complaints that allege the current U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, a bar member, has engaged in serious professional misconduct that undermines the rule of law.
Among the complaints sent to the Florida Bar was one filed by Boca Raton attorney Ron May that was signed by nearly 70 law professors, judges, attorneys and organizations, including a former Florida Supreme Court chief justice, Peggy A. Quince.
Filed on June 5, the ethics complaint alleges that Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, used “zealous advocacy” as a cover for ordering U.S. Department of Justice attorneys to violate their ethical obligations. Bondi fired attorney Erez Reuveni for speaking the truth about Kilmar Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador as a result of an “administrative error,” according to the complaint.
Another attorney was forced out because she refused to open a criminal investigation, citing insufficient evidence, the complaint says. Bondi is also accused of dismissing a criminal indictment against New York Manor Eric Adams in exchange for Adams’ cooperation on federal immigration enforcement.
A Florida Bar spokeswoman, however, said the complaint was closed on June 6.
“The Florida Bar does not investigate or prosecute sitting officers appointed under the U.S. Constitution while they are in office,” Francisco Digon-Greer, a Florida Bar counsel, said in a letter responding to May’s complaint. “Such proceedings by the Florida Bar, as an arm of the Florida Supreme Court, could encroach on the authority of the federal government concerning these officials and the exercise of their duties.”
The letter suggests that May’s complaint could be refiled once Bondi leaves her federal job.
May’s complaint acknowledged that other ethics complaints filed against Bondi have been closed for the same reason. The response represents an abdication of the Florida Bar’s responsibility to regulate bar members’ professional conduct, according to May.
“Indeed, this policy means that the bar will exercise no authority over the behavior of lawyers licensed in Florida who happen to be appointed as an officer of the United States,” May said in his complaint. “In other words, any such lawyers, including the attorney general, are professionally unaccountable.”
Bondi has disregarded the Florida Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct, departed from the norms of the Justice Department and pursued President Trump’s political objectives by trampling on fundamental ethical principles, according to the complaint.
Others have pursued similar filings with the Florida Bar in recent months. In May, California Congress members Dave Min and Mike Levin, who are both attorneys, filed a complaint against Bondi that said some of her statements undermined state and federal judges and put them in potential danger.
““We strongly believe the Florida Bar should be aware of General Bondi’s potential misconduct in case this misconduct warrants an investigation and appropriate sanctions, including up to disbarment,” the representatives wrote.
In another attack on Bondi, the advocacy group FactPAC.org pointed to how she declined to join a lawsuit against Trump University in 2013 after her political action committee received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. This raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest and a failure to live up to ethical standards, according to the group.
“(The bar) should take immediate action in regard to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s potential violations …” the group said.
