Padilla Joins Senate Judiciary Democrats in Demanding Answers on Politicization of DOJ as Trump Pursues Criminal Charges Against His Enemies

"Our justice system operates on the principle that the President cannot demand the prosecution of an individual to settle personal scores, let alone when there is no credible evidence that a person engaged in any wrongdoing," the lawmakers wrote following the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Judiciary Democrats in demanding answers from Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi about the continued weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in light of the forced resignation of Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Seibert and the indictment of former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey. In the letter, the lawmakers demand information on investigations against the President's perceived enemies and press AG Bondi to make several U.S. Attorneys and DOJ officials available for interviews by the Senate Judiciary Committee to understand the full scope of the President's campaign to weaponize DOJ.

Mr. Seibert's forced resignation, prompted by his refusal to pursue criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, and the indictment of Director Comey are just the latest examples of President Trump abusing the powers of DOJ to attack his political enemies.

"We write to express our alarm at the recent resignation of Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert after he refused to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey. Mr. Siebert's decision to resign after reportedly facing immense pressure from the White House and Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership-followed by the indictment of Director Comey by unqualified loyalist Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan-are the latest steps in President Trump's efforts to reshape the nation's leading law enforcement agency into a weapon focused on punishing his enemies," the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats wrote.

The Senators delivered a scathing condemnation of the President's waste of DOJ's time and resources to fabricate criminal wrongdoing by perceived political enemies while covering up repeated corruption by the President's own supports and Administration officials.

"While DOJ wastes resources chasing President Trump's petty grievances, it is gaining the dubious reputation of pursuing cases with insufficient evidence and covering up reported corruption and criminal wrongdoing by the President's supporters, donors, and Administration officials. The redirection of valuable personnel and funds towards resolving the President's personal grievances and rewarding his political allies ignores real issues impacting American families and leaves our country less safe. The Department's capitulation to any demand to baselessly prosecute the President's enemies would represent a grave miscarriage of justice and a violation of your oath of office to support and defend the Constitution," the lawmakers wrote.

Joining Senators Padilla and Durbin in sending the letter were U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumethal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

Senator Padilla has consistently pushed for accountability and transparency from the DOJ. Earlier this year, Padilla blasted Attorney General Pam Bondi on her decision to change Justice Department policies to make it easier for the Department to subpoena journalists to obtain confidential information about their sources and potentially harass journalists who write stories critical of the Trump Administration. Padilla also joined Senate Judiciary Democrats in filing professional misconduct complaints against senior Department of Justice attorneys.

Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

September 26, 2025

Dear Attorney General Bondi:

We write to express our alarm at the recent resignation of Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert after he refused to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey. Mr. Siebert's decision to resign after reportedly facing immense pressure from the White House and Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership, followed by the indictment of Director Comey by unqualified loyalist Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, are the latest steps in President Trump's efforts to reshape the nation's leading law enforcement agency into a weapon focused on punishing his enemies.

On September 19, 2025, Mr. Siebert was forced to resign from his position as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.^[1] This decision came after months of pressure from President Trump and senior Administration officials-including Ed Martin, the head of the DOJ Weaponization Working Group-to more aggressively investigate and pursue criminal charges against Attorney General James, Director Comey, and other perceived adversaries of the President.^[2] Mr. Siebert left after he was notified of the President's intention to fire him the previous day, reportedly because federal prosecutors recently declined to indict Attorney General James on charges related to allegations of mortgage fraud and recommended not charging Director Comey.^[3] Mr. Siebert is not the only U.S. Attorney navigating demands to prosecute the President's enemies, with Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes reportedly facing similar pressure to file charges against other targets of President Trump and other U.S. Attorney offices having similarly faced pressure to fire staff.^[4]

Prior to taking office, every federal prosecutor takes an oath to faithfully execute their duties.^[5] They are required to follow the facts and the law prior to pursuing a criminal indictment against any individual, regardless of their political party or standing. After nearly five months and over a dozen interviews, the Department has reportedly been unable to find sufficient evidence that Attorney General James committed a federal crime to bring an indictment.^[6] Without such evidence, federal prosecutors cannot simply manufacture charges against an American citizen. President Trump's belief in an individual's guilt and his desire for personal retribution are not sufficient.

Following Mr. Siebert's resignation, the President went so far as to preemptively declare Attorney General James "guilty as hell," and then pressured you to charge his enemies, with a dramatic plea that, "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED NOW!!!"^[7]

Our justice system operates on the principle that the President cannot demand the prosecution of an individual to settle personal scores, let alone when there is no credible evidence that a person engaged in any wrongdoing.

While DOJ wastes resources chasing President Trump's petty grievances, it is gaining the dubious reputation of pursuing cases with insufficient evidence^[8] and covering up reported corruption and criminal wrongdoing by the President's supporters, donors, and Administration officials.^[9] The redirection of valuable personnel and funds towards resolving the President's personal grievances and rewarding his political allies ignores real issues impacting American families and leaves our country less safe. The Department's capitulation to any demand to baselessly prosecute the President's enemies would represent a grave miscarriage of justice and a violation of your oath of office to support and defend the Constitution.^[10]

To ensure that the Department remains faithful to the Constitution and protects American citizens from criminal prosecution by social media fiat, we ask that you provide the following information and materials no later than October 10, 2025:

1. Documents and communications reflecting or relating to communication between and among members of the Department's Weaponization Working Group, the Office of Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Attorney General, the Office of the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and any White House official concerning the investigations of Attorney General Letitia James, Tom Homan, James Comey, current Members of Congress, or former Administration officials.
2. Documents and communications reflecting or relating to communication between and among members of the Department's Weaponization Working Group, the Office of Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Attorney General, and any White House official concerning personnel decisions in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the District of Maryland, the Western District of Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the Central District of California.
3. Documents and communications reflecting or relating to communication between and among members of the Department's Weaponization Working Group, the Office of Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Attorney General, the Office of the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia concerning the investigation into Attorney General James, James Comey, or former Administration officials.
4. Documents and communications reflecting or relating to communication between and among members of the Department's Weaponization Working Group, the Office of Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Attorney General, the Office of the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland concerning the investigation into Senator Adam B. Schiff.
5. Documents and communications reflecting or relating to communication between and among members of the Department's Weaponization Working Group, the Office of Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas concerning the investigation into Tom Homan.
6. Documents and communications reflecting or relating to communication between and among members of the Department's Weaponization Working Group, the Office of Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia concerning investigations into the handling or storage of classified documents.
7. Documents and communications reflecting or relating to communication between and among members of the Department's Weaponization Working Group, the Office of Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California concerning the investigation into Andrew Wiederhorn and Fat Brands, Inc.

We also ask that you make available Kelly O. Hayes, Justin R. Simmons, Bilal Essayli, Lindsey Halligan, Robert Tracci, Jeanine Pirro, Ed Martin, and Jared Wise available for interviews by the Committee, so we may fully understand the scope of the President's abuse of power and your commitment to the rule of law.

We look forward to your full and prompt responses to these questions.

Sincerely,

###