New leaders of Justice Dept. Moving to assert control over the agency

The new leadership of the Ministry of Justice quickly moved on several fronts on Wednesday to assert control over the FBI and Marskalkers the power of federal law enforcement to investigate those who had investigated President Trump.

Pam Bondi, who was sworn in as a lawyer in an oval office ceremony, signed a note that created a working group to review “weapons” in the criminal system of officials who had brought criminal charges or civilian lawsuits against Mr. Trump. It was one of 14 directives that shot down the department’s task forces, restored the federal death penalty and, above all other mandate obedience to Mr. Trump’s agenda.

Ms. Bondi, the former lawyer in Florida, arrived at the headquarters, known as Main Justice, in a moment of in -depth and disturbing conflict between the department and its historically independent and powerful investigative arm, FBI

Hours earlier, the department’s No. 2 Officer, Emil Bove, escalated his conflict with the acting director of the FBI, Brian Driscoll, and his deputy, Robert C. Kissane. He accused them of “insubordination” after they opposed his efforts to identify agents who had examined on January 6, 2021, Riot at Capitol.

Ms. Bondi’s first day on the job seemed to be modeled on Mr. Trumps, an intense blizzard of political statements intended to turn bite-era policies into a single swoop, combined with accusations of weapons weapons under democratic control.

Buried in the pile of memos were three significant national security measures, which could weaken efforts to combat foreign influence in US elections, economy and infrastructure: Resolution of a foreign influence of influence, new restrictions on prosecution in accordance with the law on the registration law and the registration law and closure of a foreign business enforcement unit.

The Attorney General, who had promised during her confirmation hearing last month, that “politics will not play a role” in her investigative decisions, said she was planning to investigate Manhattan -District Attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, who had brought the first criminal case against a President over a Hush money payment to a porn star; Former specialist adviser Jack Smith, who had examined Mr. Trump’s handling of classified items and his efforts to overthrow the 2020 election; and the New York Court Attorney, Latitia James, whose civilian fraud case against Mr. Trump had accused him of packing the value of his properties.

A little information was given about the new working group’s mandate, members or powers – or how it squared with another memo she signed Wednesday that ended political “weapons” in the department. It will be monitored by Ms. Bondi, her top assistants and the political leadership of the US law firm in Washington and the department’s recycled civil rights department.

“No one who has acted with a fair spirit and just intentions has any cause for concern,” said the working group’s memo.

Mr. Boves Standoff with the acting FBI management began on Friday when he instructed the agency to notify more than half a dozen senior career officials as they were facing termination and asked for a list of all agents and FBI staff who were assigned work with work with to work at work studies regarding the assault on January 6. Mr. Bove added that the information would start a review process to determine if additional action was needed.

Former officials of the Ministry of Justice said Mr. Bove’s request was unusual. In almost all cases, allegations of the FBI Mis relationship are referred to the Ministry of Justice’s Inspector General, an independent watchdog.

A day later, Bureau employees received a remarkable questionnaire and asked them to detail any role they had in the investigation and prosecution of January 6.

Over the weekend, Mr. Kissane, who seeks to alleviate employees’ concerns that any identifying information would put them in the Ministry of Justice’s cross -hair, that although the agency did not know what the department intended to do with the data, the request was legal.

Wednesday, in a note to the entire agency a wider list of those who had examined the Capitol attack.

Wide side came at a time of elaboration of crisis in the FBI, even before Mr. Trump’s nominees to lead the agency, Kash Patel, have been confirmed, the president’s team has been pushing to identify and possibly clean -party -party career workers – from supervisors to line agents to analysts – involved in January 6th.

Mr. Bov’s accusation of insubordination is likely to aggravate the mistrust between the FBI and the Justice Department, which broke out in the open last week with Mr. BOVES’s demand for the names of employees who had been involved in the January 6th case, the largest study in the Ministry of Justice’s history.

Bureau employees are gathered around the acting managers, both of whom have told employees that they intend to go down to fight even at the expense of their jobs. Mr. Driscoll, 45, is not eligible for retirement.

In his memo Wednesday, seen by the New York Times, Mr. Bove that he had originally sought a narrower group of names. “The purpose of the requests was to allow the Ministry of Justice to conduct a review of the behavior of these special agents” to determine whether they had committed ethical or procedural violations, he wrote.

“The FBI acting leadership refused to comply,” he added.

“Insubordination,” he said, forced the department to issue a far -reaching memo to all employees in the agency who requested that they provide details of their commitment to the cases, which could include 5,000 of the department’s 38,000 employees.

Mr. Bove assured employees that no one would lose their jobs to follow orders. “Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and performed their duties in an ethical way with regard to January 6, is at risk of termination or other sanctions,” he said.

Mr. Bove said the agency, whose workforce leans politically conservative, had let politics interfere with his work as he attacked the integrity of the acting leaders in the agency. He made the accusations without quoting evidence.

“There is no honor in the ongoing efforts to distort the simple truth or protect criminal actors from the control of these issues who have politicized the bureau, harmed its credibility and distracted the public from the excellent work that was done every day,” he wrote .

The letter raises questions about why Mr. Bove did not fired the acting leaders in the agency and why his original request was not in writing.

So far, the department’s Inspector General, Michael E. Horowitz, has remained silent as tensions escalate between its political leadership and non -party career officials at the agency. President Trump fired as many as 17 inspectors in general last week, but spared Mr. Horowitz because of his previous work investigating the FBI

Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the FBI immediately responded to a request for comment.

The political memos that Bondi signed were intended to map the course laid by Mr. Trump and his advisers. They included a return of environmental regulations, a threat to financing the departments of shrine cities that prevent immigration enforcement, a plan to enforce Mr. Trump’s invalidity of diversity, justice and inclusion programs and a task force to study President Bid’s commutation of inmates about death row.

Ms. Bondi also promised to intervene against officials who “replace their personal political views or judgments for those who prevailed in the election,” a admonition that mirrored Mr. Boves message to FBI

The day began with fanfare. Mr. Trump swore in Ms. Bondi, a political ally who had worked for his nonprofit -lawy group, during a ceremony in the oval office that emphasized her gratitude and fealty to the president.

“I have known you for many years,” she said, “and I will not fail you.”

Mr. Trump predicted to his side Mrs. Bondi would do his job in a non -partic way – mostly.

“I know I should say,” she wants to be completely impartial with regard to Democrats, “and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be,” he said.