Bondi said the Justice Department would end a moratorium on federal executions that was put in place during the Biden administration. She pledged that department lawyers will “evaluate all potential avenues to strengthen the federal death penalty as a valid means of punishment for the heinous crimes it is intended to punish.”
New Attorney General Bondi issues multiple memorandum, including new charging/plea/sentencing and death penalty memos
As reported in this Politico piece, “Pam Bondi is officially in control of the Justice Department — and she’s gone right to work. President Donald Trump’s attorney general issued a flurry of orders Wednesday just after she was sworn in, releasing 14 ‘first-day’ directives.” Federal criminal justice fans will want to read the whole Politico piece and may want to review all 14 new memos, but the two memos linked in these excerpts seem likely of greatest interest for sentencing fans:
Bondi called for the Justice Department to put its full weight behind Trump’s effort to crack down on illegal immigration, using “all available criminal statutes.” She also called for the department to support the Department of Homeland Security, which has primary responsibility over immigration matters. Bondi’s memo follows an earlier directive from DOJ’s acting No. 2 official, Emil Bove, instructing FBI-led terrorism task forces across the country to re-focus on immigration.
Bondi’s memo on law-enforcement priorities also said the FBI will shutter the Foreign Influence Task Force it set up during the first Trump administration. Additionally, the Justice Department will bring charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act only in “instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors,” the memo said. The move seems to be an effort to shift the Justice Department away from prosecutions related to covert propaganda and behind-the-scenes “malign influence” campaigns. DOJ brought several such cases against Trump allies with mixed results….