Scholars’ Circle – US Attorney General Pam Bondi Legacy; Prosecuting Presidents for Crimes – April 19, 2026

About this episode

The episode discusses the legacy of Pam Bondi as Attorney General and the implications for the Justice Department amid political prosecutions.

The Department of Justice has historically been largely independent from the White House, despite the fact that the Attorney General is appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. However, Donald Trump’s DOJ has been different. Recently fired AG Pam Bondi sought to prosecute the President’s political opponents and the Department has gone to great lengths to protect the President amid the revelations of the Epstein Files. On today’s show, we will discuss the legacy of Pam Bondi as Attorney General and what this means for the future of the Justice Department. [ dur: 28mins. ] Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. He is the editor of Is Democracy Doomed? and Lethal Injection and the False Promise of Humane Execution and Pam Bondi’s extreme political loyalty to Trump wasn’t enough to save her job , in The Conversation. The criminal indictments of President Trump have created an unprecedented political crisis. Historically, U.S. presidents have not faced criminal charges—even in cases where guilt appeared likely—due in part to longstanding institutional norms surrounding the presidency. Gerald Ford’s…

People in this episode

Host: Austin Sarat

Topics covered

• Attorney General legacy
• Department of Justice
• political prosecutions
• Trump administration
• historical norms
• political crisis

Keywords

• Pam Bondi
• Donald Trump
• Department of Justice
• political prosecutions
• Attorney General
• historical norms
• criminal charges
• political crisis

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Is Democracy Doomed?, Lethal Injection and the False Promise of Humane Execution, Pam Bondi’s extreme political loyalty to Trump wasn’t enough to save her job

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