Bondi
Critics of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi are urging the Florida Supreme Court to order the Florida Bar to launch an investigation of Bondi for alleged unethical actions – something the bar says cannot be done until after she leaves office.
Florida attorney Jon May authored the Sept. 18 petition to the high court on behalf of Washington-based Lawyers Defending American Democracy and other groups. May and scores of other attorneys previously pressed the Florida Bar to open a probe into Bondi’s alleged efforts to terminate or force the resignation of Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys unless they agreed to take legal actions they disagreed with based on ethical grounds.
Among the examples cited by May in his petition is the suspension of Erez Reuveni, an acting DOJ deputy director, for acknowledging that Salvadoran Kilmar Garcia was deported to an El Salvador prison due to an administrative error.
In a decision later supported by amicus briefs from the DOJ and the state of Florida, the bar concluded that it was simply following its rules when it rejected May’s initial complaint about Bondi. Complaints submitted to the bar about the conduct of constitutional officers “must be commenced within six years after the constitutional officer vacates office,” the Florida Bar argued.
The bar also argued that rejecting May’s claim would preclude a separation-of-powers issue because Bondi could be impeded from fulfilling her duties, which include providing legal advice, if a Florida Bar investigation encroaches upon her ability to carry out official actions.
Bondi’s supporters also allege that the attorneys pressing the bar to investigate the attorney general are attempting to “weaponize” the ethics process.
But James W. Conrad Jr., the principal author of the initial Bondi complaint, said a state Supreme Court decision in favor of the Florida Bar would send a “shocking message.”
“The positions of the bar, the state and the United States, if upheld, would be a statement to the legal profession that the attorney general of the United States is above the law and need not comply with the same code of ethics that all other lawyers must follow,” Conrad said in a prepared statement.
Robert M. Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, indicated the state’s high court has the authority to suspend the license of any bar member and that no immunity exists for Florida attorneys who serve in federal offices.
“Of course, it would not matter in Bondi’s situation because she does not have to be licensed to be U.S. attorney general,” Jarvis told the Florida Record in an email.
Pragmatically, however, the license revocation or suspension of an attorney does not happen until the official leaves office because the official must be able to conduct official duties without distractions, such as defending against a bar complaint, he said. In another high-profile case, the Arkansas Bar Association waited until Bill Clinton had left the presidency before moving to suspend him, according to Jarvis.
“Moreover, the reason why the court suspends or revokes a lawyer’s license is because they are a threat to their clients,” he said. “Of course, Bondi as USAG has no clients (except, in the broadest sense, the American people).”
May’s petition to the Florida Supreme Court, however, urged the bar to move forward with an investigation in order to protect the public’s trust in the legal profession.
“Surely the public will have greater confidence in, and respect for, a legal system where no person – especially the attorney general of the United States – is above the law,” the petition states.
