Pam Bondi spent years as one of Donald Trump’s most loyal defenders, operating at the center of some of the administration’s most controversial legal battles. Now the former attorney general is facing a threat that could strike at the foundation of her own career.
More than 120 attorneys, law professors and former judges are asking Florida regulators to examine whether her conduct while leading the Justice Department should jeopardize her standing as a lawyer altogether.
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The renewed complaint, filed Wednesday with The Florida Bar, argues that Bondi’s tenure running President Donald Trump’s Justice Department was marked by repeated ethical violations serious enough to warrant disciplinary action.
The coalition, led by former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince, accuses Bondi of fostering a culture in which government lawyers were pressured to ignore professional obligations, prosecutors pursued cases without probable cause, court orders were violated, and sensitive information connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims was improperly released.
The filing asks the bar to investigate Bondi now that she is no longer serving as attorney general.
The complaint represents an expanded version of a challenge first brought against Bondi in June 2025.
At the time, the Florida Bar declined to pursue the matter, citing a policy that it “does not investigate or prosecute sitting officers appointed under the U.S. Constitution while they are in office.”
That obstacle no longer exists, according to the coalition.
“Now that Ms. Bondi is no longer Attorney General, it is imperative that The Florida Bar open an investigation of her apparent misconduct in that office,” the complaint states. “Ms. Bondi’s misdeeds were not minor — they resulted in prejudice to the legal rights of those contending with the Department of Justice and injury to the public’s perception of the fairness of the legal system.”
The group behind the filing includes Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers Defending American Democracy and Lawyers for Rule of Law. Signatories include legal scholars, retired judges and former government attorneys from across the country.
In a statement provided to the Miami Herald, Quince said the matter goes beyond politics and centers on professional standards that apply to every attorney.
“As the former chief justice of this state’s highest court, there are key principles that we must protect,” Quince said. “First, whatever legal position you have achieved, you are still bound to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct. All lawyers are alike in that regard, and no one lawyer is above the law.”
A central focus of the complaint is Bondi’s handling of Justice Department files related to Epstein.
The filing alleges Bondi violated obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act and failed to properly supervise the review and release of documents. According to the complaint, that failure resulted in sensitive personal information belonging to nearly 100 survivors becoming public.
The complaint cites the release of records that allegedly included unredacted names, dates of birth and other identifying information. It also points to a later release that allegedly contained information concerning the survivors and dozens of nude photographs.
As survivor attorneys argued in court filings referenced by the complaint, the disclosures may have amounted to “the single most egregious violation of victim privacy in one day in United States history.”
The Epstein controversy has generated scrutiny from Congress as well. Bondi is scheduled to testify Friday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding the department’s review of Epstein-related records.
Questions have persisted about whether federal investigators were instructed to flag references to Trump while reviewing documents and whether information was withheld from public releases.
The ethics complaint also accuses Bondi of reshaping the Justice Department into what critics describe as a politically driven operation.
According to the filing, a memo issued by Bondi on her first day in office promoted a “fall-in-line-or-be-gone” approach that discouraged independent legal judgment, the Herald reported.
The coalition argues that the atmosphere contributed to the departure of thousands of experienced Justice Department attorneys and encouraged conduct that violated professional rules.
Among the allegations are claims that department lawyers were pressured to pursue cases lacking probable cause and that prosecutors repeatedly sought charges against Trump critics and political adversaries despite weak evidence.
The complaint specifically references failed efforts to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Congressional Democrats previously alleged that the Justice Department repeatedly pursued charges against James despite judicial setbacks and grand juries declining to indict her.
The coalition also highlights Bondi’s role in personnel decisions involving prosecutors connected to investigations of Trump.
During her tenure, the Justice Department dismissed or removed attorneys and staff linked to former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
The Justice Department forcefully rejected the latest complaint.
“This complaint is nothing more than a baseless and pathetic media stunt conjured up by inept attorneys desperate for relevance,” a department spokesperson said, according to the Herald.
The Florida Bar has not publicly indicated whether it will open an investigation.
Meanwhile, reactions online were like daggers, with some observers drawing comparisons to other Trump-aligned attorneys who later faced professional sanctions.
“PRO TIP FOR LAWYERS: A pardon doesn’t get you law license back,” one wrote.
Others argued that the allegations involving the Epstein files should carry even greater consequences.
“She should be in prison. Openly defying the law passed by Congress and signed by Trump to release the Epstein files.”
Some predicted Bondi could face the same professional fallout experienced by several high-profile lawyers tied to Trump’s legal orbit.
“Thats the end of her law license. All of them are getting this once they’re out. Remember Guliani lost his and so did John Eastman. Work for Trump and you lose your livelihood.”
Whether Florida regulators ultimately agree remains uncertain.
