Overview

• The June 5 filing with the Florida Bar was submitted by a bipartisan group of roughly 70 law professors, attorneys and ex-Florida Supreme Court justices, including Barbara Pariente, James Perry and Peggy Quince.
• The complaint asserts Bondi directed DOJ lawyers to breach their ethical obligations under the rubric of “zealous advocacy” and threatened discipline or termination for refusing to advance President Trump’s policy objectives.
• It highlights a series of staff exits, citing the resignation of criminal investigator Denise Cheung, the dismissal of attorney Erez Reuveni and mass resignations in the Southern District of New York over orders deemed unethical.
• The coalition challenges Bondi’s public legal commentary and her aggressive reinterpretations of Supreme Court directives and the Foreign Emoluments Clause, such as endorsing a Qatari “747 jumbo jet” gift.
• DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle branded the complaint a “vexatious attempt” and accused its signatories of lacking independent thought.