RalphHightower · RalphHightower · Sep 29, 2025 · Sep 29, 2025
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ Subscribe to the [Deadline: Legal Newsletter](https://link.msnbc.com/join/5ck/ms
         - [President Donald Trump (47)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/donald-j-trump/)
         - [President Trump (47) Administration](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/)
         - [President Trump (47) Cabinet](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/the-cabinet/)
-            - [Pam Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-us-attorney/)
+            - [Pam Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-attorney-general)
 - federal judges
 - US Courts
 - Justice Department

@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ By Thomas Berry, director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitution Studies
 
 On Monday, [Attorney General Pamela Bondi](https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/ag-bondi-faces-backlash-from-conservatives-after-threatening-to-go-after-hate-speech-247669317811) warned that this administration “will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”
 
-But [that is simply not allowed under the First Amendment](https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/pam-bondi-hate-speech-first-amendment-rcna231590), at least as the [Supreme Court](https://www.supremecourt.gov/) has applied it for more than half a century. The nation’s chief law enforcement officer [should know better](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/bondi-opens-provocative-door-vows-target-believes-pushed-hate-speech-rcna231682). There is no “hate speech” exception to the [First Amendment](https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/). Not surprisingly, after a fierce backlash from many of the [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) administration’s allies, [Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-us-attorney/) has since attempted to walk back her statement, [claiming that she was](https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1967913066554630181) speaking only of “hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence.”
+But [that is simply not allowed under the First Amendment](https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/pam-bondi-hate-speech-first-amendment-rcna231590), at least as the [Supreme Court](https://www.supremecourt.gov/) has applied it for more than half a century. The nation’s chief law enforcement officer [should know better](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/bondi-opens-provocative-door-vows-target-believes-pushed-hate-speech-rcna231682). There is no “hate speech” exception to the [First Amendment](https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/). Not surprisingly, after a fierce backlash from many of the [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) administration’s allies, [Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-attorney-general) has since attempted to walk back her statement, [claiming that she was](https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1967913066554630181) speaking only of “hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence.”
 
-[Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-us-attorney/)’s comments came [in the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk,](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/charlie-kirk-shooting-trump-free-speech-maga-rcna231489), to which some have reacted by saying Kirk was not worthy of being mourned. As distasteful as [Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-us-attorney/) and many others may find these comments, they are constitutionally protected. Even celebrations of [Kirk](https://www.charliekirk.com/)’s murder could not be punished by the government. The [Supreme Court](https://www.supremecourt.gov/) made that clear in a case that similarly dealt with disrespect of the dead.
+[Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-attorney-general)’s comments came [in the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk,](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/charlie-kirk-shooting-trump-free-speech-maga-rcna231489), to which some have reacted by saying Kirk was not worthy of being mourned. As distasteful as [Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-attorney-general) and many others may find these comments, they are constitutionally protected. Even celebrations of [Kirk](https://www.charliekirk.com/)’s murder could not be punished by the government. The [Supreme Court](https://www.supremecourt.gov/) made that clear in a case that similarly dealt with disrespect of the dead.
 
 > *It would be dangerous to allow the government to become the arbiter for what speech is tasteful and inbounds.*
 

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 ---
 layout: post
 tags: [media, MSNBC News - Breaking News and News Today / Latest News, Ken Dilanian, Carol Leonnig, political parties, Democrat Party, Trumpian Party, organizations, universities, companies, foreign governments, state local governments, federal government, Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution - Article I / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article II / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article III / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article IV / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article V / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article VI / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article VII / Library of Congress, Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), US Courts, Department of Justice (DOJ), Eastern District of Virginia / Eastern District of Virginia, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Board - Federal Reserve Act, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Election Commission (FEC), 2020 Presidential Election Results – Federal Election Commission (FEC), Congress, Senate, House of Representatives, President of the United States (POTUS), White House (WH), Trump autocracy, Donald J Trump, President Donald Trump (45), President Donald Trump (47), President Trump (47) Administration, President Trump (47) Cabinet, press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, Pam Bondi, Office of the Deputy Attorney General / Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche / LinkedIn, Lindsey Halligan, Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino — FBI, grifter, self-dealing, corruption, con artist, crime, cryptocurrency, criminal associates, criminal businesses, criminal media, criminal organizations, criminal partners]
-categories: [Donald Trump, Department of Justice (DOJ), Pam Bondi, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, weaponization]
-date: 2025-09-26 18:23
+categories: [Donald Trump, Department of Justice (DOJ), Pam Bondi, Lindsey Halligan, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, weaponization]
+ate: 2025-09-26 18:23
 excerpt: ''
 #image: 'BASEURL/assets/blog/img/.png'
 #description:

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 layout: post
 tags: [media, MSNBC News - Breaking News and News Today / Latest News, Steve Benen, The Rachel Maddow Show, MaddowBlog, “Ministry of Truth –  Democracy Reality and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”, The New York Times (NYT) - Breaking News US News World News and Videos, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) - Breaking News Business Financial & Economic News World News and Video, organizations, political parties, Democrat Party, Trumpian Party, universities, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Home / University of Minnesota Law School, Rozenshtein Alan / University of Minnesota Law School, companies, foreign governments, state local governments, federal government, Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution - Article I / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article II / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article III / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article IV / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article V / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article VI / Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution - Article VII / Library of Congress, Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), US Courts, Department of Justice (DOJ), Eastern District of Virginia / Eastern District of Virginia, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Board - Federal Reserve Act, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Congress, Senate, House of Representatives, President of the United States (POTUS), White House (WH), Trump autocracy, Donald J Trump, President Donald Trump (45), President Donald Trump (47), President Trump (47) Administration, President Trump (47) Cabinet, press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, Pam Bondi, Office of the Deputy Attorney General / Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche / LinkedIn, Lindsey Halligan, Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino — FBI, grifter, self-dealing, corruption, con artist, crime, cryptocurrency, criminal associates, criminal businesses, criminal media, criminal organizations, criminal partners]
-categories: [Donald Trump, Department of Justice (DOJ), Pam Bondi, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, weaponization]
+categories: [Donald Trump, Department of Justice (DOJ), Pam Bondi, Lindsey Halligan, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, weaponization]
 date: 2025-09-27 16:12
 excerpt: ''
 #image: 'BASEURL/assets/blog/img/.png'
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ It took seven years, but the [president](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) finally ma
 
 > *A federal grand jury in[Virginia](https://www.virginia.gov/) on Thursday formally charged former [FBI](https://www.fbi.gov/) [Director James Comey](https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/james-b-comey) with lying to [Congress](https://www.congress.gov/) and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, days after [President](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) [Donald Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) forced out the U.S. attorney who had opposed bringing the case and publicly urged his attorney general to prosecute it.*
 
-Erik Siebert, the [.Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)-nominated U.S. attorney for the [Eastern District of Virginia](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva), [refused to pursue this case](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/forcing-disobedient-prosecutor-trumps-new-nominee-makes-matters-worse-rcna232922), insisting that it lacked merit. Career prosecutors explained [in detail and in writing](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/former-fbi-director-james-comey-facing-imminent-indictment-threat-rcna233539) that the evidence didn’t support charging [Comey](https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/james-b-comey). By some accounts, [Attorney General](https://www.justice.gov/) [Pam Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-us-attorney/) herself was [not](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/justice-department-officials-race-to-charge-james-comey-as-deadline-looms-4da7c71f?mod=hp_lead_pos2) on [board](https://politicalwire.com/2025/09/25/pam-bondi-has-concerns-over-indicting-james-comey/) with this indictment and voiced concerns behind the scenes.
+Erik Siebert, the [.Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)-nominated U.S. attorney for the [Eastern District of Virginia](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva), [refused to pursue this case](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/forcing-disobedient-prosecutor-trumps-new-nominee-makes-matters-worse-rcna232922), insisting that it lacked merit. Career prosecutors explained [in detail and in writing](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/former-fbi-director-james-comey-facing-imminent-indictment-threat-rcna233539) that the evidence didn’t support charging [Comey](https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/james-b-comey). By some accounts, [Attorney General](https://www.justice.gov/) [Pam Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-attorney-general) herself was [not](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/justice-department-officials-race-to-charge-james-comey-as-deadline-looms-4da7c71f?mod=hp_lead_pos2) on [board](https://politicalwire.com/2025/09/25/pam-bondi-has-concerns-over-indicting-james-comey/) with this indictment and voiced concerns behind the scenes.
 
 Even John Durham, a [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)-appointed special counsel, reviewed the allegations and [opted not to follow through](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/james-comey-indictment-congress-fbi-director-rcna233691) on them.