'NOW!!' Trump pressures DOJ's Pam Bondi to move on investigations into political foes
President Donald Trump appeared to publicly pressure his attorney general to take legal action against several of his political foes in a series of social media posts on Sept. 20.
"We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi . “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
The president named former FBI Director James Comey , Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James in the post. He said he reviewed dozens of statements about the current and former officials, and "nothing is being done" about them.
Comey, Schiff and James have all been the subject of intense ire from the president for years, dating back to his first term in office.
Comey led the investigation into alleged ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia – which found no collusion. The president fired Comey in May 2017. Schiff, one of Trump's most vocal critics, led the first impeachment effort against the president over his communication with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy .
James is suing the Trump administration over cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services and executive actions on elections that she says are unconstitutional. She secured a half-billion dollar civil fraud judgment against Trump last year, though the penalty was later thrown out by an appeals court .
James and Schiff are subjects of DOJ mortgage fraud investigations . Both have denied wrongdoing and called the inquiries personally or politically motivated.
President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi
after several investigations of his perceived enemies were thwarted and her handling of files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein came under criticism.
Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives before President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Trump on Sept. 20 also announced that he is nominating senior White House aide Lindsey Halligan to take over as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Virginia.
She will replace Erik Siebert, the attorney who was overseeing the criminal mortgage fraud investigation into James before he left his post on Sept. 19 . His decision came after Trump called for him to be removed from the job, according to the New York Times , Washington Post and other outlets.
More: Trump says U.S. attorney investigating Letitia James didn't quit — 'I fired him!'
"He didn’t quit, I fired him!" Trump said of Siebert on Truth Social , adding that he pulled his name over his "UNUSUALLY STRONG support" from the state's Democratic senators.
Siebert had reportedly informed the Department of Justice that he had insufficient evidence to pursue charges against James, and he also raised concerns about a separate case against Comey.
Siebert's office was also involved in a criminal investigation of the former FBI director related to the agency's Russian election interference probes.
Trump later on Sept. 21 again addressed his attorney general and repeated his praise of Halligan, saying she will provide "desperately needed" justice for all.
"Pam Bondi is doing a GREAT job as Attorney General of the United States," Trump said . "She is very careful, very smart, loves our Country, but needs a tough prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, like my recommendation, Lindsey Halligan, to get things moving."
Contributing: Francesca Chambers
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @ KathrynPlmr .
( This story has been updated to correct a typo. )
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump pressures Bondi on investigations into Schiff, Comey, James
