Trump’s new attorney general plans to make fighting racism a crime
dailykos.com (nprofile…k7aw)
Hours after being sworn in as the U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi sent a memo within the Department of Justice instructing lawyers within the agency’s Civil Rights Division to begin probing ways to prosecute companies for instituting diversity initiatives. Since Trump was sworn in last month, he has attacked and blamed DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs, falsely alleging that they are the source of many of America’s problems—even plane crashes. Slate reports that in a memo titled “ENDING ILLEGAL DEI AND DEIA DISCRIMINATION AND PREFERENCES,” DOJ lawyers have been told to create a plan that will include “specific steps or measures to deter the use of DEI and DEIA programs or principles” and to include “proposals for criminal investigations” against those organizations. The memo marks a complete change of direction for the Civil Rights Division, which was created via the landmark 1957 Civil Rights Act. The division has traditionally enforced federal laws protecting equal rights and defending the right to vote. Now, under Trump and Bondi, it is being directed to undermine civil rights. Trump has spent his first few weeks in office working to roll back the gains of the long civil rights struggle. He has issued executive orders and directives within the federal government undoing long-standing policies against racism and discrimination, in one instance repealing an executive order meant to desegregate federal contracting. Trump’s policies have even led to the military ceasing efforts to recruit and train a diverse slate of fighters despite military experts who have said diversity increases fighting capability. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida Bondi is pushing for these radical actions despite being Trump’s second choice for the job. She was nominated to be attorney general after Trump’s first pick, disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, withdrew his nomination after allegations of him having sex with minors. Bondi also faced nearly unanimous Democratic opposition in the Senate, with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman being the sole Democrat to support her nomination while the rest of the caucus opposed her. At her swearing-in on Wednesday, Trump made it clear he would like Bondi to use her department to pursue action against Democrats and others who have opposed him. “I know I'm supposed to say 'she's going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats,' and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be,” he said, adding, “I'm not sure if there's a possibility of totally.” That is a legitimate concern since Bondi also issued an early directive instructing the DOJ to create a task force to look into past actions to investigate and prosecute Trump for crimes. Bondi is also making a push to deemphasize prosecutions of white-collar crimes, purge diversity programs within the DOJ, reintroduce the federal death penalty, and to root out lawyers who aren’t willing to march in lockstep with Trump ideologically. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/6/2301851/-Trump-s-new-attorney-general-plans-to-make-fighting-racism-a-crime?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
Hours after being sworn in as the U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi sent a memo within the Department of Justice instructing lawyers within the agency’s Civil Rights Division to begin probing ways to prosecute companies for instituting diversity initiatives. Since Trump was sworn in last month, he has attacked and blamed DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs, falsely alleging that they are the source of many of America’s problems—even plane crashes. Slate reports that in a memo titled “ENDING ILLEGAL DEI AND DEIA DISCRIMINATION AND PREFERENCES,” DOJ lawyers have been told to create a plan that will include “specific steps or measures to deter the use of DEI and DEIA programs or principles” and to include “proposals for criminal investigations” against those organizations. The memo marks a complete change of direction for the Civil Rights Division, which was created via the landmark 1957 Civil Rights Act. The division has traditionally enforced federal laws protecting equal rights and defending the right to vote. Now, under Trump and Bondi, it is being directed to undermine civil rights. Trump has spent his first few weeks in office working to roll back the gains of the long civil rights struggle. He has issued executive orders and directives within the federal government undoing long-standing policies against racism and discrimination, in one instance repealing an executive order meant to desegregate federal contracting. Trump’s policies have even led to the military ceasing efforts to recruit and train a diverse slate of fighters despite military experts who have said diversity increases fighting capability. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida Bondi is pushing for these radical actions despite being Trump’s second choice for the job. She was nominated to be attorney general after Trump’s first pick, disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, withdrew his nomination after allegations of him having sex with minors. Bondi also faced nearly unanimous Democratic opposition in the Senate, with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman being the sole Democrat to support her nomination while the rest of the caucus opposed her. At her swearing-in on Wednesday, Trump made it clear he would like Bondi to use her department to pursue action against Democrats and others who have opposed him. “I know I'm supposed to say 'she's going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats,' and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be,” he said, adding, “I'm not sure if there's a possibility of totally.” That is a legitimate concern since Bondi also issued an early directive instructing the DOJ to create a task force to look into past actions to investigate and prosecute Trump for crimes. Bondi is also making a push to deemphasize prosecutions of white-collar crimes, purge diversity programs within the DOJ, reintroduce the federal death penalty, and to root out lawyers who aren’t willing to march in lockstep with Trump ideologically. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/6/2301851/-Trump-s-new-attorney-general-plans-to-make-fighting-racism-a-crime?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main