President Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi

[0:00] the confirmation process. And the name we hear the most is Lee Zeldin, who is a former [0:05] congressman from New York and currently is the administrator of the Environmental Protection [0:09] Agency, Tarika. All right, Nancy Cordes for us at the White House as the information still [0:15] coming in. I want to turn now to Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett. Major, I know [0:19] Bondi was expected to go before the House and testify once again just a couple weeks from now. [0:26] How much of that is playing into the president's decision to replace her? [0:31] It's an excellent question, Tarika. It's unclear, but there was a subpoena pending [0:35] from the House Oversight Committee about then Attorney General, no longer Attorney General [0:40] Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein files and all related matters. That subpoena hung very heavily [0:46] over what Congress may next want to learn and what the public may, through those inquiries, [0:52] learn about the Epstein files and the Justice Department handling of it. Quite clearly, [0:56] this Justice Department has not complied with the law that President Trump signed to release [1:00] all of the Epstein files. That is a constant point of contention with members of Congress, [1:05] mostly on the Democratic side, but not entirely. Plenty of Republicans want more information [1:10] about what's still in the Justice Department's possession of the Epstein files. And now that [1:15] Pam Bondi is out, she may seek to be removed from that subpoena authority of the House Oversight [1:22] Committee, meaning she wouldn't have to testify at all. And there are plenty of Americans, [1:26] Jerica, who watch the Epstein files and who look at this and say, wait a minute, is this [1:30] a maneuver to keep the administration from having to answer more questions about what [1:35] the Justice Department has in its possession? What it knows that the public still would [1:38] like to know more about, but hasn't yet released? Keep your eye on that part of it. [1:43] But to Nancy's point a moment ago, as Attorney General, Pam Bondi essentially told the President [1:49] and the country the Justice Department was his. She invited him over to the Justice Department, [1:54] and made a speech basically saying... [1:56] saying, these lawyers, not in so many words, but by implication, work for you, compromising [2:03] in the eyes of many the independence of the Justice Department. [2:07] And she did try to investigate and indict many of the president's perceived political [2:11] enemies. [2:12] In some cases, those cases went forward and fell apart under judicial scrutiny. [2:17] Some did not even get Tariqa past the basic hurdle of an indictment rendered by a grand [2:23] jury that reviewed the prosecutorial evidence. [2:26] That is extremely rare, and it speaks to the underlying weaknesses of those cases. [2:31] So Pam Bondi tried to do things for the president, according to his dictates. [2:37] That she was unsuccessful did not mean she didn't try. [2:40] But one thing we can say about this matter, Tariqa, there are, even though it's hard to [2:45] sometimes discern them, limits to the value of loyalty to President Trump, because Pam [2:50] Bondi was fiercely, aggressively, rhetorically, in every other way, loyal to this president [2:56] and it still didn't allow her to keep her job. [2:58] Major, it wasn't that long ago that the president publicly made a comment on social [3:04] media saying, we cannot delay any longer. [3:06] It is killing our reputation, our credibility. [3:09] He called out Comey, Adam Schiff, Letitia James, question marks as to why they hadn't [3:15] been more aggressively pursued. [3:18] What does that mean moving forward for Todd Blanch, for the president's adversaries? [3:22] Do you think we can expect to see more of an aggressive approach now? [3:26] It means the advocacy is there from the president of the United States. [3:30] But it doesn't mean, Tariqa, the underlying facts of those cases have changed. [3:34] The law is still the law. [3:36] And cases can only be brought successfully from a prosecutor's point of view if there [3:41] is enough evidence to overcome that hurdle, first of an indictment, then reasonable doubt. [3:46] And many prosecutors, even those loyal and advocates of the president's overall law and [3:51] order agenda, look at these cases. [3:53] It's not there. [3:54] There isn't enough to go forward with it. [3:56] That doesn't satisfy the president. [3:58] His advocacy will relentlessly continue. [4:00] We can be pretty well assured of that. [4:03] But that doesn't mean the cases can be prosecuted in any more successful way than they have [4:07] so far. [4:08] And even as we look at the screen right now, Major, we see that large banner, the U.S. [4:12] Department of Justice, Robert F. Kennedy building. [4:16] But it's Donald Trump's face. [4:18] When you talk about the independence that this Justice Department is expected to uphold, [4:24] what do you think? [4:25] What do you think? [4:26] What do you make of this? [4:27] I mean, we've had poll after poll showing a level of discontent right now with the war [4:32] in Iran. [4:33] But obviously, we have a lot of supporters of President Trump who believe that he is [4:38] doing the right thing. [4:39] But when you see a banner like this displayed, it sends a message. [4:43] It does send a message. [4:45] And let's not kid ourselves, Jerika. [4:47] The political alignment of previous presidents and their selected and confirmed attorney [4:51] general has pretty well been longstanding. [4:55] It's not as if there are no political connections. [4:56] There have been no political connections between a sitting attorney general and the sitting [4:59] president of the United States. [5:00] There long have been. [5:02] But the Trump administration has made that more blatant, more obvious, rhetorically and [5:07] otherwise than any previous occupant, either of the Justice Department as attorney general [5:11] or president of the United States. [5:13] So one thing that has happened under Pam Bondi's watch is dozens upon dozens, hundreds, approaching [5:20] more than 1,000 lawyers within the Justice Department have resigned, taken buyouts, or [5:25] just quit. [5:26] Now, put on thelee [5:33] because they do not believe in the fundamental independence of that agency any longer. [5:38] That's their decision. [5:40] It's indicative of what they believe has happened under this second Trump administration. [5:43] It's not a full hollowing out of the Justice Department, but it's weaker than it was before [5:48] this president came back to power. [5:50] Now, some of the president's inner circle might say good, good riddance. [5:53] They're bad lawyers. [5:54] They're not supportive enough of the president. [5:55] But the president's own track record in defending his policies in the Court of Law doesn't suggest [5:56] that the cases are adequate, installation, and check and click. [5:56] We need that. [5:56] cases they're arguing or the people being sent to argue them are being all that successful. [6:01] All right, Major Garrett, thank you so much. I want to turn back to Nancy Cordes at the White [6:05] House, our chief White House correspondent. I know you've been looking at emails, gathering [6:09] as much information as this news is breaking. Nancy, what more can you tell us in terms of [6:13] what you're hearing from Democrats, from Republicans about the firing of Attorney [6:18] General Pam Bondi, former Attorney General Pam Bondi? Right. Well, it certainly fits a pattern [6:25] in this second term, Jerika, in which the president doesn't outright fire people and say [6:31] that they were doing a bad job or that he thinks that they were doing a bad job, but rather says [6:37] that he is going to be assigning them to a job that he thinks is more important for them. It [6:43] appears he has internalized a criticism that he got quite frequently in his first term when he did [6:49] fire a number of cabinet members and openly said that they were not doing a great job, [6:55] and then was asked, well, you know, you said you're a businessman, you choose the best people. [7:00] Why did you choose all these people that you now think weren't up to the job you assigned them to [7:05] do? And so this time around, and Pam Bondi is the second or third, depending on how you count, [7:12] cabinet official to be eased out of her role in this second term, he has chosen to go a different [7:18] route. So, for example, Mike Waltz, who was briefly his national security advisor at the [7:23] beginning of his second term, is now in a position to go a different route. And so, [7:25] he is now the U.N. ambassador and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is essentially doing double duty [7:30] as the Secretary of State and national security advisor. And then just recently, the president [7:36] announced that Kristi Noem, the embattled Department of Homeland Security secretary, [7:41] would be moving on from her job and taking a role as a special envoy, instead working with [7:48] South American countries to deal with cartels and other dangers from the South. And now we're [7:55] just waiting to find out what position has been offered to Pam Bondi, whether she's going to take [8:02] it, and what that will mean for her role going forward. But I think it's highly unlikely that [8:08] we'll see a statement from President Trump slamming Pam Bondi, because she is someone, [8:13] as Major mentioned, who has been so loyal to him well before we got into this second term [8:19] of the president of the United States. Nancy, as you were speaking, the president [8:23] just released through Twitter. [8:25] Truth Social, a comment saying, Pam Bondi is a great American patriot, a loyal friend [8:29] who faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year. Pam did a tremendous job [8:35] overseeing a massive crackdown in crime across our country with murders plummeting [8:39] to their lowest level since the 1900s. We love Pam and will be transitioning to a much needed [8:45] and important new job in the private sector to be announced at a date in the near future. [8:50] And our deputy attorney general and a very talented and respected legal mind, [8:55] Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as acting attorney general. That, again, a statement [8:59] from President Donald Trump. So just that information coming in. Again, it's live TV, [9:06] Nancy, but thank you so much for your coverage. Major Garrett, again, the news today, the 87th [9:12] attorney general of the United States now out after just a year. Our coverage will continue [9:17] on CBS News 24-7, your local news, and tonight right here on the CBS Evening News with Tony [9:23] DeCoppo. This has been a CBS News special. [9:25] Report. I'm Jerika Duncan. You are watching CBS News 24-7 and CBS continuing breaking news [9:40] coverage of the firing of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The president has now named Deputy [9:45] Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the DOJ as acting attorney general. These words just now [9:52] from the president of the United States. Let's pull it up via a truth social report. That truth [9:58] social report right there saying Pam Bondi is a great American patriot. He calls her a loyal friend [10:04] served as attorney general over the past year, credits her for a massive crime crackdown and [10:08] says these words as she's being fired. We love Pam. He also announces to the American public that [10:15] Pam Bondi will transition to a new job in the private sector. Apparently that will be announced [10:21] at a later date. He then says he's handed the torch to somebody he considers very talented, [10:26] respectful, legal mind, Todd Blanche, stepping in as acting attorney general. We understand that [10:32] news came to Mr. Blanche. [10:34] By a three or four minute phone call that was congratulatory in nature. Let's go to CBS News [10:40] correspondent Chanel Call. She's following all of this breaking news. Chanel, a lot to take [10:45] apart here in Diagnose. Yeah, watching this unfold in just the last few moments here. Some big [10:51] national breaking news. Pam Bondi is out at this point. Unclear what she will be moved to, but I do [10:58] want to point to something I think is noteworthy from that truth social post. So if we can pull [11:05] back a little bit here, it's about the president calling her a great American patriot and a loyal [11:09] friend who he says faithfully served as attorney general over the past year. And we've been talking [11:14] about what she will be moved to next. There is a part where he says she will be transitioning to a [11:20] much needed and important new job in the private sector. So we'll have to wait and see for some [11:24] more details on that read. You for that Chanel call. Let's go back to the White House and CBS [11:31] News. Nancy Cordes, Nancy, that truth social post happened while you were part of the CBS. [11:36] News special report. But let's back this up now. As you said at the top of our broadcast on CBS [11:41] News 24-7, the leaks were just so prolific that they seem to signal like other times when the [11:47] president has let somebody go from their position, that there was some there there. And certainly [11:52] within minutes, you were right. Right. And two very notable things from the president's [11:58] announcement read. First of all, he was effusive with his praise of Pam Bondi. That's something [12:04] that we expected. He's been very reluctant in this second term to [12:08] criticize people who he has chosen to place in major roles, cabinet level positions, especially [12:16] someone like Bondi, who has been so dedicated to Donald Trump well before the beginning of this [12:22] second term. She was by his side, fighting fiercely for him after the 2020 election, making the [12:29] case, as the president did, that somehow this election had been stolen. And despite the fact that [12:35] they lost case after case and that those arguments were, you know, they're not going to be [12:38] substantiated, she continued to argue in the president's favor. So they are two individuals [12:44] who have a long history. And he didn't want to criticize her in that statement or indicate [12:50] publicly that he was unhappy with the role that she was doing. I also thought it was notable that [12:56] he said that she is going to be moving to a private sector position that is very important to be [13:02] announced later. That suggests a couple of things. Either he offered her a position, [13:08] within the administration, another job, as he has both with, for Kristi Noem, who was eased out of [13:15] her role as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Mike Walz, who was eased out of his [13:20] role as the national security advisor. Either that was a role that was not of interest to her, [13:26] whatever he was offering her, or she has simply decided that she is done with the administration [13:33] and the public sector and would rather go back into private life instead. [13:38] He said that that role is going to be announced very soon. So we'll be watching to find out [13:43] what it is. Of course, a lot of Americans, and I thought Major Garrett expertly laid this out with [13:49] you during that CBS News special report. A lot of Americans will wonder, okay, so what happens [13:53] with the Epstein case? Any thoughts about that? Right. Well, that will now be Todd Blanche's [14:02] problem. He's the deputy attorney general who President Trump says is going to be stepping up [14:07] as acting attorney general. He did not say that. He said that he's going to be stepping up as acting [14:09] attorney general. He did not say that he was going to be nominating Blanche for the position of [14:15] attorney general officially. But he is certainly someone who, like Pam Bondi, has been very [14:21] dedicated to this president for a long time. Blanche was actually his lead defense attorney in [14:26] the president's hush money case in New York. So they go back a ways as well. And so Blanche will [14:33] now be the one who's going to have to answer questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He has [14:39] been very involved in the Epstein files. He was the one, for example, who traveled down to Florida [14:45] to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in federal prison for her involvement in Epstein's crimes. [14:55] And so, you know, does this buy the administration more time? Can they successfully make the case [15:01] that Blanche won't be able to keep the commitments that Bondi had made to go before Congress because [15:09] he's running for office? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. [15:09] I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. [15:11] The question remains to be answered. But the push-pull here is that Congress feels that DOJ has [15:19] not been responsive enough when it comes to the Epstein files, hasn't released enough. And that's [15:26] the kind of pressure that Blanche will now be getting from Democratic lawmakers, for sure, [15:31] but some Republicans as well. What frustrated President Trump, according to our reporting, was, [15:39] that he got dragged into this whole mess, that when the Epstein files were released, [15:44] obviously, because he was a longtime friend of Jeffrey Epstein, at least until the early 2000s, [15:51] his name popped up a lot. No, you know, there was nothing to indicate that he had committed [15:58] some kind of crime that could be prosecuted. But still, it was a major distraction. It was [16:04] embarrassing. It led to a lot of reporters' questions. And that could be what frustrated [16:08] the president. So Todd Blanch, just like Pam Bondi before him, is going to be facing [16:13] real pressures from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue when it comes to the Epstein files read. [16:19] Real pressures and perhaps some real criticism. Do you get a sense, as Todd Blanch steps into [16:25] this role, and who knows how long he will be in this role, that there could be some scrutiny [16:29] leveled on that visit to Florida and the interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, and then what happened [16:33] with Maxwell after that interview? Absolutely. Those questions already [16:40] exist. He will now have to be on the congressional hot seat at some point to answer them because [16:46] shortly after their interview, Maxwell was moved to a less secure prison where she reportedly had [16:56] a lot more freedom. And so there were all kinds of questions asked about was there some kind of [17:02] a deal in exchange for her speaking to Todd Blanch? Did that make her less inclined to say, [17:10] anything negative about the president of the United States and what she knew? Because [17:15] there was a deal waiting for her on the other end. These are all questions that have been [17:20] floated. And Blanch will now be pressed whenever he does go before Congress to answer them. [17:28] All right. Nancy Cordes, thank you so much. We know you're going to have a very busy day ahead. [17:32] We'll let you get back to it. Let's go live now to CBS News reporter Jake Rosen. Jake, [17:37] what does this mean for the Department of [17:40] Justice going forward? Well, I think, Reid, the bigger issue here is how this Justice Department [17:47] continues dealing with the problems outside of its leadership that it has faced for over a year now. [17:52] This is a Department of Justice that is so understaffed in certain areas. Think about [17:56] Minneapolis during the federal surge there, that there were government attorneys brought in to [18:01] handle these cases who were asking judges to be held in contempt of court so at least that they [18:05] could spend a night in jail as opposed to continue to be overwhelmed by this legal system. We've seen [18:10] judges here in D.C. and elsewhere who have been held in contempt of court. And so I think that's [18:12] where not take the Justice Department at its word on things like major immigration cases and listening [18:17] to judicial orders, that there are contempt proceedings still underway, although at a slow pace, [18:23] to hold Justice Department officials, political allies of Deputy Attorney General, now Acting [18:29] Attorney General Todd Blanch, who are in these positions of leadership, who are now going to [18:34] continue being faced with these slates of questions. This is a Justice Department that has [18:39] taken a couple of big losses just in the last week. [18:42] The Justice Department has been able to defend President Trump's election executive order that was just [18:48] sued over last night that will certainly be struck down by federal courts. There are two lawsuits on [18:53] that front. This is a Justice Department that has continued to face problems in dealing with President [18:58] Trump's true social posts. The directive to stop using anthropic, that AI system in the Pentagon, the [19:04] Justice Department has not found a way to be successful on. These are things that outside of who's actually in charge of the Department, they're going to continue to face an uphill climb to defend. And the Justice Department is not going to be able to defend the [19:12] people who are publicly and regionally involved in this. And this is a department that has a pressure that has been both put now publicly and now been acted upon, that has been going back for [19:22] over six to eight months now, Reid, of actually doing the non-weaponization weaponization of this Justice Department, which [19:30] is going after people, directed by President Trump, who have been the loudest and most vocal critics of him. There are a number of people CBS New have reported are continually under investigation. Think about Senator Adam Schiff, the former Obama-era intelligence official who is a [19:42] who are facing potential criminal cases against them in the coming weeks and months. [19:47] There are investigations ongoing continually into the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, [19:52] even though the subpoenas at the heart of that were shot down by judges. [19:55] Reid, this is all a very hard and untenable position to uphold, regardless of who is the [20:00] leader of this department, although Pam Bondi, to her credit, was able to enact some certain [20:06] policies and take hard-line stances that President Trump wanted when she was forced to go out [20:10] there in public and defend a lot of these in either in front of the press or in front [20:14] of Congress. [20:15] She had not done, I think you could rule pretty objectively, the best job of doing so. [20:21] And I think that's kind of how we got here today. [20:24] And you know, correct me if I'm wrong, but did we not just see the president going into [20:28] the U.S. Supreme Court to hear those arguments about birthright citizenship with Pam Bondi [20:34] at his side? [20:37] We did. [20:38] And it was an unusual show for something that almost like this was either bubbling up in [20:42] an attempt. [20:42] We had a lot of arguments by Bondi to go with him to kind of question, calm that question [20:47] from her side. [20:48] You know, this decision was not left up to the Justice Department and Attorney General [20:52] Pam Bondi. [20:53] But at the same time, this is somebody who has been one of the longest allies of the [20:57] president in the administration. [20:58] She is somebody who endorsed President Trump back in 2015, 2016, when he first announced [21:03] his campaign for president. [21:04] This is somebody who defended him in 2019 and 2020 when he was facing impeachment crises [21:10] and defending him in personal capacities. [21:12] And she was in private practice in Florida as well. [21:15] She refused, as Florida attorney general, to sign on to a number of class action lawsuits [21:19] brought by attorney generals against Trump, President Trump, in his personal capacity. [21:24] Think about the Trump Organization lawsuit that was brought. [21:28] And when she was brought in, I think it showed President Trump's move to bring somebody extremely, [21:33] extremely loyal to him to do one of the most perilous jobs of this administration, which [21:38] was to force out thousands of career prosecutors. [21:42] Prosecutors, thousands of career Department of Justice officials, and oversee a remaking [21:47] of the justice apparatus in the United States. [21:50] This is somebody who, again, at the same time, Reid, was not also put in that kind of hot [21:54] seat when there were big issues that came up around the Epstein Files release. [21:58] I think about the press opportunity that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch had when he was [22:03] the one who announced that the Justice Department had completed its release of the Epstein Files. [22:07] Deputy Attorney General, now Acting Attorney General Blanch, was the one to go to Florida [22:10] to meet with Ghazane Maxwell. [22:12] As our colleague Nancy just pointed out, there were certain moments of high-profile opportunity [22:16] that were simply not given to the Attorney General. [22:19] And I think that also could show some of her potential weaknesses. [22:22] And I think I go back to some of her congressional testimony over the last couple of months, [22:26] where simply the news was not on what she said. [22:28] It was more on how she had acted. [22:30] And I think that also when you were... [22:34] All right. [22:35] Looks like we lost Jake there. [22:38] But we appreciate the conversation, Jake. [22:40] Some fascinating observations now. [22:42] Now let's go live to CBS News. [22:42] Homeland Security. [22:43] Correspondent Nicole Skangas. [22:44] So, Nicole, what can you tell us from your vantage point there? [22:47] Hi, Reid. [22:50] Good to be with you. [22:51] Well, I just learned from several senior administration officials that news broke of his new role [22:58] from the president himself, President Trump calling Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch. [23:05] As the news was breaking that Pam Bondi would be ousted, the Attorney General there, to [23:10] tell him basically he was up, that he would serve as Acting Attorney General until the [23:13] next election. [23:14] So, I'm told that while there had been ongoing conversations, this news was the first that [23:24] Todd Blanch was learning about this, straight from the source, straight from the President [23:28] of the United States, following what was a somewhat tumultuous 14-month tenure of Pam [23:35] Bondi. [23:36] And so, in terms of what our audience needs to know about who Todd Blanch is, of course, [23:41] the Deputy Attorney General, former federal prosecutor in the Southern California District. [23:42] So, I'm told that there had been ongoing conversations. [23:43] And so, we'll see how these conversations are going to go. [23:44] And of course, he was a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. [23:46] He later became a white-collar defense attorney. [23:48] And of course, he really rose to national prominence as President Trump's personal criminal [23:54] defense attorney. [23:55] Of course, the lead attorney in that New York hush money criminal trial. [23:59] A key lawyer in the classified documents and election-related cases that were brought against [24:05] the president when he was no longer in office. [24:08] But, we'll be interesting to see what direction he takes. [24:13] will be interesting to see who, if anyone, you know, President Trump decides will permanently [24:19] replace Pam Bondi. And one thing is for sure, Reid, whoever that pick is, is going to have [24:24] a bit of an uphill battle, I think, in the Senate to be confirmed compared to what we just saw with [24:29] the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem leaving and really only a short amount of time, [24:36] I think a week or so, that Mark Wayne Mullen, you know, testified on the Hill and then replaced [24:41] Secretary Noem. That is not believed to be the situation here. So it sounds very much like [24:47] Acting Attorney General Blanch is going to be at the helm of the Department of Justice [24:52] for a while before the president is able to choose someone who has any shot at being confirmed [24:59] by the Senate. And that is in part because Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, [25:06] they were all confirmed on reassurances that the Department of Justice would not be [25:10] weaponized for, you know, retaliation by the president against his political enemies, [25:17] that they were going to follow the law, that they were not going to transform the Department [25:21] of Justice into a non-independent entity that was working in conjunction with the president. [25:27] Those are arguments that are going to be, I think, a little more challenging for anyone [25:32] who goes up to testify before Congress to make in this environment, based on what we have seen [25:40] play out at the Department of Justice. [25:40] So are you saying, and I think it's a really important point, that in the confirmation [25:49] process, whether it's Todd Blanch or anybody else who has been named is perhaps waiting in the wings [25:53] here, that some critics of the president will say that the president blurred the lines and, [26:00] in fact, the job description that Pam Bondi once had as Attorney General of the United States, [26:05] and maybe in the confirmation process, there'll be a hard process to redefine that job, [26:10] or to define it as it once was? [26:15] Yeah, I think that's exactly right, Reid. [26:17] I think it was easier, perhaps, to take then-Pam Bondi, before she was sworn in, at her word [26:24] that the Department of Justice would act independently, would not take its cues from the White House [26:30] and the president itself, and I think as we have seen the indictments of several of the [26:35] president's, you know, political enemies, be it James Comey, Letitia James, it's been [26:41] harder to perhaps make that decision. [26:42] It's harder to make that argument as we've continued to see some of these indictments. [26:48] And so I think whoever is nominated by the president to serve as the attorney general next is [26:55] going to have a tall order when it comes to convincing members of the Senate that they are [27:00] either going to redefine that role or they are going to go in perhaps a different direction than [27:06] Attorney General Bondi did. [27:07] I think it is likely that we will see the deputy attorney general now acting attorney [27:12] General Todd Blanch lead the Department of Justice for the time being and to see, you know, [27:18] how he does. I mean, I think there's always a chance that the president decides that perhaps [27:23] he will be kept in that role in an acting capacity. We've certainly seen that in other [27:28] more controversial agencies throughout, you know, the federal government, including ICBP. [27:35] But this is a cabinet level official who we're talking about. So it will be interesting to see [27:39] just how long Blanch is sort of left to lead this department and what the department looks [27:44] like in the coming days and weeks. Well, and speaking of politics and the coming days and [27:49] weeks, of course, we know that a lot of Democrats say they hope and feel very confident that they [27:54] have a chance, a shot at retaking Congress in the midterms. Republicans I talk to say some [28:00] are concerned that if Democrats have more leverage in Congress, that there could be more scrutiny [28:06] on the presidency and all of the president's men, [28:09] and women, so to speak. Is there a thought there that the timing of this firing or the reassigning [28:15] of Pam Bondi could be teeing up somebody who could defend the administration if the balance [28:21] of power shifts in Congress where Democrats are now in power? Yeah, that's certainly possible. [28:27] And I think, you know, should the midterms turn to the Democrats' favor, that is a huge [28:32] consideration of how many independent investigations or congressional probes will [28:37] the Democrats launch if they retake the majority. [28:41] And so certainly I think that is part of this. We know that there were two big sort of sourings [28:47] that the president had against the attorney general, although he maintained a sort of [28:51] close relationship and close friendship with Pam Bondi. We saw it in his statement that he put out [28:57] on Truth Social just moments ago. We saw it as early or as recently, I should say, from the White [29:03] House in statements that they put out calling Pam Bondi a wonderful person. So there was always that. [29:09] But the two sort of sourings that we saw, [29:11] of course, was, you know, souring on Bondi over the handling of the Epstein files, considering it [29:18] became more of a political liability for the president among his political supporters. And [29:23] there was this feeling that the attorney general brought that upon herself, especially during an [29:29] event last year where she sort of staged all of the Epstein documents. And, you know, the president [29:35] was there and brought attention to this idea and then sort of botched the rollout of the documents [29:41] and created this really political wedge between the president and his supporters. [29:46] And then also, you know, we were learning that the president had complained about her shortcomings [29:51] as a communicator, that he felt that the attorney general was not an effective television surrogate [29:58] for him, which, as we know, is very important to this president as he looks, you know, to put [30:04] officials in charge of, you know, various departments who he feels like can best represent him [30:11] on cable news, can defend, whether it's the Department of Justice or the Department of [30:16] Homeland Security or what have you, defend his positions on live television. And there was a [30:21] feeling that, you know, Pam Bondi was not the person to do that. And certainly, Jake referenced [30:27] this earlier, we had also seen the deputy attorney general, you know, put in charge of more press [30:34] events, press conferences, breaking news on more things on behalf of the White House, which was [30:40] perhaps the first in the history of the White House. And so, you know, there was a lot of [30:41] speculation that there was some sort of indicator that there were some cracks in the trust [30:44] between the attorney general and the White House. And we're told that these conversations more [30:51] seriously began in January as to whether the attorney general would be ousted, that, you know, [30:58] things sort of waned in February. There were other things that were on top of the news cycle. [31:03] And then really it was in the past week that the president has, you know, pushed the issue again, [31:09] began calling some of his allies out. [31:11] And in the end, he did not realize to ask them for their opinions on who might replace Pam Bondi. [31:18] That's when EPA administrator Lee Zeldin's name came up. And there were conversations about possibly [31:22] him. We don't know for sure whether or not he is the primary contender. We just know that he's one of [31:26] the names that has been in the mix here. But the president started making those phone calls. [31:32] He spoke with the attorney general, as you've noted, yesterday during his appearance at the Supreme [31:38] Court. Let her know what, you know, he was thinking, despite, you know, a lot of the things that had been said. [31:40] despite all of the very sort of cozy photos and what seemed to be just a normal interaction [31:47] between a president and an attorney general, despite the very extraordinary circumstances [31:51] of them going to the Supreme Court. But that that was the conversation that was had there. [31:56] And things moved relatively quickly, obviously, Reid, from there. But as we know with the ouster, [32:03] with DHS Secretary Noem, oftentimes it is a very compressed timeline that the president [32:09] sort of latches onto an idea, floats it to his allies and then acts on it. [32:14] All right. We've seen that a decisive move. President Donald Trump, if you're just logging [32:18] on or joining us now, firing Attorney General Pam Bondi. Nicole Skangan, thank you so much. [32:23] We appreciate it. Let's go live now to Scott Fredrickson, a former federal prosecutor. Scott, [32:28] thank you so much for joining us here. A lot of turmoil at the DOJ in the second Trump [32:32] administration. What is your take? Well, I think it's no surprise when we saw the reassurances in [32:39] the last day or two from the president. [32:40] That's usually the kiss of death for Washington politics. I think the real takeaway here is I think [32:48] we're likely to see Todd Blanch lead this Department of Justice for the foreseeable future. [32:53] One, he is an experienced prosecutor and this Department of Justice has lost most of its [32:58] experienced career prosecutors. He has the trust of President Trump. He was his personal defense [33:03] attorney, quite call it defense attorney, when he was being prosecuted after he'd been indicted. [33:10] Second thing is it's going to be hard now going to Capitol Hill before the Senate to get the votes to [33:18] confirm a new candidate for Attorney General because the assurances that were given when Pam [33:24] Bondi was up on the Hill was that the Department of Justice would remain independent and it would [33:29] not be subject to the wishes of the president. And the opposite has happened. We have this is a [33:35] first time basically in the history of the Department of Justice that the president has [33:40] essentially taken over. [33:41] of the department and issued his demands for people to be prosecuted in investigations. [33:46] That doesn't happen in all of our history. [33:50] So I think it will be tough on the Hill for a new candidate to get approved, an appointee. [33:57] Todd Blanch, on the other hand, is, I think, a likely choice to lead this department. [34:02] But I guess the question I have, if the president personalized that role, as I think what you [34:08] were saying there, how is Todd Blanch any different? [34:13] That's an excellent question, and I don't think anybody has the answer. [34:17] I would point to the history that Todd Blanch has with the president. [34:20] He has the president's trust. [34:22] And really, I think Todd Blanch has maybe been the sure hand through some of these difficult [34:28] times. [34:29] You know, it was the Jeffrey Epstein kind of bungled situation by Pam Bondi that's led [34:35] to her demise. [34:37] Todd Blanch was really the more experienced president. [34:39] He was the prosecutor. [34:40] And I think the hand, the person, the attorney, the department, and the president's staff [34:46] went to when there were problems. [34:49] So Todd Blanch's experience, if he goes up in the Hill, he's not going to attack senators. [34:53] He's not going to attack the House Oversight Committee. [34:56] Don't forget, just a couple of weeks ago, five Republicans decided to join Democrats [35:02] and insist that Pam Bondi go under oath for a deposition. [35:07] Very, very highly unusual. [35:09] So she lost support on the Hill as well. [35:12] So if he goes on the Hill, and if indeed he is the one chosen to go through those confirmation [35:17] hearings, I think the big question is going to be, what happens with the Epstein case? [35:24] From your perspective, how does that need to be navigated, not only legally, but also [35:29] from our lawmakers in Congress, many of whom seem to agree. [35:33] Time to release all of the files. [35:36] It's signed into law by the president himself. [35:38] What's the future there? [35:40] Well, that really is the key, and I think you're focused on the right issue there. [35:44] Any nominee, whether it's Todd Blanch or otherwise, has got to come to Congress and say, we're [35:50] going to have full disclosure. [35:53] Everything is going out the door, and everything is going to go to the Hill and to the public [35:59] for review. [36:00] No more slowly rolling out things and, oh, yeah, these documents were mistakenly withheld [36:06] when they're highly relevant. [36:07] They should never have been withheld or been reviewed. [36:09] That's the key. [36:10] They should never have been redacted. [36:11] No more of that. [36:12] The only hope of any nominee here is to go before the Senate and say, this is a fresh [36:19] start. [36:20] Everything gets pushed out the door. [36:22] No, zero qualifications on that. [36:26] I think that's the only chance the person gets of getting approved. [36:30] Does it hurt Mr. Blanch that he was, as Nancy Cordes reported, the person who went down [36:35] to Florida, interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, and then what happened with Maxwell after, [36:39] relative to, I guess you could say, a reassignment of her living conditions? [36:43] Does that hurt him? [36:44] Oh, that's a huge question, because that is totally unusual behavior, conduct by Department [36:53] of Justice. [36:54] Keep in mind, she had her prison conditions upgraded to a white-collar level of minimal [37:03] security without any agreement of cooperation, without any indication she was cooperating, [37:06] and becoming a member of the White House. [37:07] That's a huge question, because that is totally unusual behavior conduct by a Department of [37:08] Justice. [37:10] That does not happen. [37:16] The question is, what was the deal there? [37:17] We still don't know, and it's highly suspicious. [37:21] On top of that, there's no way a deputy attorney general has been the one doing the questioning. [37:25] That's where you send in your professional experience line prosecutors, who then report [37:31] to the Department of Justice and the deputy attorney general. [37:34] Yeah. [37:35] That's a big area of questioning that top-line's will face. [37:38] Thank you. [37:39] Scott Fredrickson, expert legal analysis. Good to see you. I hope to have more conversations [37:44] with you here on CBS News 24-7. Thank you so much. Let's go live now to CBS News legal [37:50] reporter Katrina Kaufman. Okay, so President Trump has been accused of weaponizing the Justice [37:54] Department, even though at the beginning of this second term, they said they wanted to do [37:59] exactly the opposite. They blamed the Biden administration for weaponizing the DOJ. So [38:03] what happens now? Reid, I think you were having such a poignant conversation earlier about how [38:10] this Department of Justice has changed since Pam Bondi took over, and how the boundary between [38:16] the White House and DOJ has just been permeated. We see the president directing prosecutions. And [38:23] now with Todd Blanch being appointed acting attorney general, we have Trump's own personal [38:30] attorney, who I sat in many court cases with, leading that department. So I think that while [38:37] Blanch is very experienced, it's possible [38:40] that he's going to be able to do that. [38:40] We will continue to see this erosion. We know that Trump was dissatisfied with the way Pam [38:48] Bondi was handling the prosecutions that he was asking for, that he wasn't getting the outcomes [38:53] that he wanted. We saw her get indictments of James Comey and Letitia James, but then those [38:58] were dismissed. So it's very likely that we are going to see this effort continued, especially [39:04] under Todd Blanch, while he is acting attorney general. And we will see if he ends up being the [39:10] one who is going to be the one who is going to be the one who is going to be the one who is going to [39:10] put forward as the nominee for this position, or if it's Lee Zeldin, as we've also been hearing. [39:15] All right, let's keep this post on X from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch right now. This is [39:21] the first that we are starting to hear from him about that call he got from the president, [39:26] quickly announcing that he would be the interim or the, at least for temporary to be the AG. [39:32] Pam Bondi, he writes on X, led this department with strength and conviction. He says he's [39:37] grateful for her leadership and friendship and thanks the president for the trust and the [39:40] opportunity to serve as acting attorney general. Todd Blanch sort of signaling they'll continue [39:46] backing law enforcement, enforcing the law and doing everything in our power to keep America [39:52] safe. That's from a post on X, the first reaction from Todd Blanch now. Katrina, [39:58] what is the reputation of Mr. Blanch in the legal community and in Washington, D.C.? Certainly, [40:04] this brings a lot of focus back on those big issues. And also, I'm mindful of, [40:10] you know, President Donald Trump going on social media and wanting more prosecutions, [40:15] more investigations, more scrutiny on people like Letitia James and others. [40:21] Todd Blanch has a very strong reputation as a lawyer from his time in SDNY. And you also have [40:27] to acknowledge that he was very successful representing President Trump in his many cases. [40:33] He managed to get delays. There was, of course, the conviction in the New York criminal trial, [40:39] but all of those other cases ultimately got, [40:42] knocked out because of his very successful representation in those cases. And even before [40:48] that, he had a very strong reputation in the legal community. We also saw that when the Epstein [40:55] files, I'm sorry, when there was the interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, as you were talking about [41:00] down in Florida, Todd Blanch is the one who President Trump sent for that meeting. That [41:05] was very unusual, but he also did not send Pam Bondi. He sent his own former personal attorney, [41:12] Pam Bondi, who is the attorney for that interview with Ghislaine Maxwell. This is someone who [41:16] President Trump trusts inherently. [41:21] Katrina Kaufman, thank you so much. So if you're just joining us, President Trump made the [41:25] announcement on his Truth Social platform. Pam Bondi's out. In fact, here it is once again for [41:30] you. He's striking a congenial tone about Pam Bondi. Great American patriot, he calls her. A [41:36] loyal friend, he calls her. Faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year. He also [41:42] endorses her. [41:43] He's done a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown on crime in our country, with murders [41:47] plummeting to their lowest level since 1900. That from the President of the United States [41:53] about Pam Bondi. So I want to go back to CBS News justice reporter Jake Rosen. Jake, is there [42:00] anything in statute or anything that a critic of this choice, and even though he's interim, right, [42:07] is there anything that somebody in Congress or a critic of the president could cite in the law [42:12] that says, [42:13] it's not appropriate to have somebody who represented you in other legal matters in a personal sense now [42:18] representing the interests of the American public? [42:20] Not that I'm aware of, Reid, but again, we are in an era of unprecedented actions by this White House, I think obviously just on its face appointing a former personal defense attorney of yours, who successfully, I think, argued in the court of public opinion in that New York hush money trial every day standing next to President Trump talking to the media. [42:44] it's certainly something that's going to be focused on in the confirmation hearings when [42:49] now acting Attorney General Blanch goes to potentially, if he is dominated, the next level [42:55] above. At the same time, Reid, this is really a reminder of how far President Trump's loyalty is [42:59] willing to go up to a point. And as Democrats are potentially poised to take over at least one House [43:05] of Congress in the fall, it is going off of what we've been talking about for the last half an hour [43:10] here. It is true that Deputy Attorney General Blanch is one of the better communicators of [43:15] this administration. He's somebody who gets offered to Sunday shows. He's somebody who has [43:19] done more press availabilities as of late out of the Justice Department than Attorney General [43:24] Bondi. And at the same time, he's somebody who, again, as Katrina just pointed out, has President [43:29] Trump's ear. It's somebody who President Trump is going to have to rely upon to potentially, A, [43:34] either be talked down off the ledge of continuing these political prosecutions out of this Justice [43:39] Department. [43:40] And how to kind of straighten this ship going into the midterms. We've seen it done once with [43:44] Chrissy Noem and Mark Wayne Mullen, that transition to kind of roll back some of the policies and kind [43:49] of put the organization at DHS on a more straight line to its mission path, obviously under the [43:54] Trump policies that are being asked to enforce. It's certainly possible that whether it's Todd [43:59] Blanch or somebody else, Lee Zeldin, whose name has been thrown out there by our CBS News colleagues [44:03] who are hearing more from the White House about potential meetings that have happened, all of that, [44:08] it's going to come up to a decision. [44:10] So I think it's important for the White House to take this Department of Justice that has been so rocked from mass [44:16] departures and from the failed criminal indictments, from failed civil lawsuits in defending this White House's [44:23] policies to go forward and straighten the ship into the midterms. [44:27] All right. Jake Rosen, thank you so much for your thoughts and our thanks to all of our contributors and [44:32] commentators who have joined us. Once again, President Trump tells Attorney General Pam Bondi she's being reassigned. [44:39] Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch is leading the Department of Justice as acting Attorney General. 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[48:20] You are watching CBS News 24-7 [48:23] and CBS continuing breaking news coverage [48:25] of the firing of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. [48:28] The president has now named Deputy Attorney General [48:30] Todd Blanch to lead the DOJ as Acting Attorney General. [48:35] These words. [48:35] Just now from the President of the United States. [48:39] Let's pull it up via a truth social report. [48:42] That truth social report right there saying, [48:44] Pam Bondi is a great American patriot. [48:46] He calls her a loyal friend who faithfully served [48:48] as Attorney General over the past year, [48:50] credits her for a massive crime crackdown [48:52] and says these words as she's being fired. [48:55] We love Pam. [48:57] He also announces to the American public [48:59] that Pam Bondi will transition to a new job [49:02] in the private sector. [49:04] Apparently that will be announced [49:05] at a later date. [49:07] He then says he's handed the torch [49:09] to somebody he considers very talented, [49:10] respectful, legal mind, Todd Blanch, [49:13] stepping in as Acting Attorney General. [49:15] We understand that news came to Mr. Blanch [49:18] by a three or four minute phone call [49:20] that was congratulatory in nature. [49:23] Let's go to CBS News correspondent, Chanel Call. [49:26] She's following all of this breaking news. [49:28] Chanel, a lot to take apart here in Diagnose. [49:32] Yeah, watching this unfold in just the last few moments here, [49:35] some big national breaking news. [49:36] Pam Bondi is out at this point. [49:39] Unclear what she will be moved to, [49:42] but I do want to point to something I think is noteworthy [49:45] from that Truth Social post. [49:47] So if we can pull that up again, [49:48] you'll see here the president calling her [49:51] a great American patriot and a loyal friend [49:54] who he says faithfully served as Attorney General [49:57] over the past year. [49:58] And we've been talking about what she will be moved to next. [50:01] There is a part where he says she will be transitioning [50:04] to a much needed and important new job, [50:06] and a private sector. [50:07] So we'll have to wait and see for some more details on that read. [50:12] Thank you for that, Chanel Call. [50:13] Let's go back to the White House and CBS News, Nancy Cordes. [50:16] Nancy, that Truth Social post happened while you were part [50:20] of the CBS News special report. [50:22] But let's back this up now. [50:24] As you said at the top of our broadcast on CBS News 24-7, [50:27] the leaks were just so prolific that they seemed to signal [50:31] like other times when the president has let somebody go [50:33] from their position, that there was some there there. [50:36] And certainly within minutes, you were right. [50:39] Right. [50:40] And two very notable things from the president's announcement read. [50:43] First of all, he was effusive with his praise of Pam Bondi. [50:48] That's something that we expected. [50:50] He's been very reluctant in this second term to criticize people [50:54] who he has chosen to place in major roles, [50:57] cabinet level positions, especially someone like Bondi, [51:01] who has been so dedicated to Donald Trump well before [51:05] the beginning of this second term. [51:07] She was by his side fighting fiercely [51:09] for him after the 2020 election, making the case, [51:13] as the president did, that somehow this election had been stolen. [51:17] And despite the fact that they lost case after case [51:21] and that those arguments were never substantiated, [51:24] she continued to argue in the president's favor. [51:27] So they are two individuals who have a long history. [51:30] And he didn't want to criticize her in that statement [51:34] or indicate publicly that he was unhappy with the role [51:37] that she was doing. [51:38] I also thought it was [51:39] notable that he said that she is going to be moving [51:42] to a private sector position that is very important [51:46] to be announced later. [51:48] That suggests a couple of things. [51:50] Either he offered her a position within the administration, [51:54] another job, as he has both for Kristi Noem, [51:59] who was eased out of her role as secretary [52:01] of the Department of Homeland Security, [52:02] and Mike Walz, who was eased out of his role [52:05] as the national security advisor. [52:06] Either that was a role that was [52:09] not of interest to her, whatever he was offering her. [52:11] Or she has simply decided that she is done [52:16] with the administration and the public sector [52:18] and would rather go back into private life instead. [52:22] So we'll be watching. [52:24] He said that that role's going to be announced very soon. [52:26] So we'll be watching to find out what it is. [52:28] Of course, a lot of Americans, [52:30] and I thought Major Garrett expertly laid this out with you [52:33] during that CBS News special report, [52:35] a lot of Americans will wonder, okay, so what happens with the Epstein? [52:35] We'll get to that very, very shortly. [52:35] We'll get to that very, very shortly. [52:35] We'll get to that very, very shortly. [52:35] And she's returning to the field. [52:35] And she has a set of questions you want to ask her. [52:35] She said this is an opportunity and I think it is a good time [52:36] to go, taking a few days, [52:39] case. Any thoughts about that? Right. Well, that will now be Todd Blanch's problem. He's [52:47] the deputy attorney general who President Trump says is going to be stepping up as acting attorney [52:53] general. He did not say that he was going to be nominating Blanch for the position of attorney [52:59] general officially. But he is certainly someone who, like Pam Bondi, has been very dedicated to [53:06] this president for a long time. Blanch was actually his lead defense attorney in the [53:10] president's hush money case in New York. So they they go back a ways as well. And so Blanch will [53:17] now be the one who's going to have to answer questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He [53:23] has been very involved in in the Epstein files. He was the one, for example, who traveled down [53:29] to Florida to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in federal prison for her involvement. [53:36] In in Epstein's crimes. And so, you know, does this by the administration more time? Can they [53:44] successfully make the case that that that Blanch won't be able to keep the commitments that Bondi [53:50] had made to to go before Congress because he's new in the role? That question remains to be [53:57] answered. But the push pull here is that Congress feels that DOJ has not been responsive enough [54:06] when it comes to the Epstein files, hasn't released enough. And that's the kind of pressure that that [54:11] Blanch will now be getting from Democratic lawmakers, for sure, but some Republicans as well. [54:17] What frustrated President Trump, according to our reporting, was, you know, that that he got [54:24] dragged into this whole mess, that when the Epstein files were released, obviously, because he [54:30] was a longtime friend of Jeffrey Epstein, at least until the early 2000s, his name, [54:36] popped up a lot. No, you know, there was nothing to indicate that that he had committed some kind [54:43] of crime that could be prosecuted. But still, it was a major distraction. It was embarrassing. It [54:49] led to a lot of reporters questions. And that could be what frustrated the president. So Todd [54:54] Blanch, just like Pam Bondi before him, is going to be facing real pressures from both ends of [55:00] Pennsylvania Avenue when it comes to the Epstein files read. Real pressures and perhaps some [55:06] real criticism. Do you get a sense as Todd Blanch steps into this role and who knows how long he will [55:11] be in this role, that there could be some scrutiny leveled on that visit to Florida and the interview [55:16] with Ghislaine Maxwell? And then what happened with Maxwell after that interview? [55:22] Absolutely. Those questions already exist. He will now have to be on the congressional hot seat at [55:28] some point to answer them, because shortly after their interview, Maxwell was moved to a less [55:36] secure place. [55:37] Thank you. [55:37] He was moved to a more secure prison where she reportedly had a lot more freedom. And so there [55:43] were all kinds of questions asked about was there some kind of a deal in exchange for her speaking [55:49] to Todd Blanch? Did that make her less inclined to say anything negative about the president of [55:57] the United States and what she knew? Because there was a deal waiting for her on the other end. [56:02] These are all questions that have been floated. And, [56:07] and Blanch will now be pressed, whenever he does go before Congress, to answer them. [56:12] All right. Nancy Cordes, thank you so much. We know you're going to have a very busy day ahead. [56:17] We'll let you get back to it. Let's go live now to CBS News reporter Jake Rosen. Jake, [56:22] so what does this mean for the Department of Justice going forward? [56:25] Well, I think, Reid, the bigger issue here is how this Justice Department continues dealing with the [56:32] problems outside of its leadership that it has faced for over a year now. This is a Department [56:37] of Justice that is so understaffed, that it's now a major problem with it. In addition, the Justice [56:39] staffed in certain areas think about Minneapolis during the federal surge [56:42] there that there were government attorneys brought in to handle these [56:45] cases who were asking judges to be held in contempt of court so at least that [56:49] they could spend a night in jail as opposed to continue to be overwhelmed by [56:53] this legal system we've seen judges here in DC and elsewhere not take the Justice [56:58] Department at its word on things like major immigration cases and listening to [57:02] judicial orders that there are contempt proceedings still underway although at a [57:07] slow pace to hold Justice Department officials political allies of Deputy [57:12] Attorney General now Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch who are in these [57:15] positions of leadership who are now continue are going to continue being [57:19] faced with these slates of questions this is a Justice Department that has [57:23] taken a couple of big losses just in the last week think about defending [57:27] President Trump's election executive order that was just sued over last night [57:31] that will certainly be struck down by federal courts there are two lawsuits on [57:35] that front this is a [57:36] a [57:37] a [57:37] the Justice Department that has continued to face problems in dealing [57:40] with President Trump's true social posts the directive to stop using anthropic [57:45] that AI system in the Pentagon the Justice Department has not found a way [57:48] to be successful on these are things that outside of who's actually in charge [57:52] of the department they're going to continue to face an uphill climb to [57:55] defend and this is a department that it has a pressure that has been both put [58:01] now publicly and now been acted upon that has been going back for over six to [58:06] eight months now read [58:07] that in the against the senator to act is it's a complete [58:10] and nothing else is going to stop their human rights when they do it so I would [58:13] quote for this congressman is not surprised this fight because we did not [58:16] actually do the quote non weaponization weaponization of the Justice Department [58:21] which is going after people directed by President Trump who have been the loudest [58:25] and most vocal critics of him there are a number of people CBS News has reported [58:29] are continually under investigation think about Senator Adam Schiff the [58:34] former Obama era intelligence officials who are facing potential criminal cases [58:37] the subpoenas at the heart of that were shot down by judges read this is all a [58:41] very hard and untenable position to uphold of regardless of who is the [58:45] leader of this department although Pam Bondi to her credit was able to enact [58:49] some certain policies and take hardline stances that President Trump wanted when [58:54] she was forced to go out there in public and defend a lot of these in either in [58:58] front of the press or in front of Congress she had not done I think you [59:01] could rule pretty objectively the best job of doing so and I think that's kind [59:06] of how we got here today and you know correct me if I'm wrong but did we not [59:10] just see the president going in to the US Supreme Court to hear those arguments [59:15] about birthright citizenship with Pam Bondi at his side we did and it was an [59:22] unusual show for something that almost like this was either bubbling up in an [59:26] attempt by Bondi to go with him to kind of question calm that question from her [59:32] side you know this decision was not left up to the Justice Department and Attorney [59:36] General Pam Bondi but at the same time this [59:38] is a very hard decision to make and I think it's a very hard decision to make [59:38] this is somebody who has been one of the longest allies of the president in the [59:41] administration she's somebody who endorsed President Trump back in 2015 [59:45] 2016 when he first announced his campaign for president this is somebody [59:49] who defended him in 2019 and 2020 when he was facing impeachment crises and [59:54] defending him in personal capacities when she was in private practice in [59:58] Florida as well she refused as Florida Attorney General to sign on to a number [1:00:02] of class-action lawsuits brought by Attorney Generals against Trump President [1:00:06] Trump in his personal [1:00:08] capacity think about the Trump Organization Lawsuit that was brought and [1:00:12] when she was brought in I think it showed President Trump's move to bring [1:00:16] somebody extremely extremely loyal to him to do one of the most Parallelist [1:00:21] jobs of this administration which was to force out thousands of career [1:00:26] prosecutors thousands of career Department of Justice officials and [1:00:29] oversee a remaking of the justice apparatus in the United States this is [1:00:34] somebody who again at the same time Reed was not also put in the [1:00:38] kind of hot seat when there were big issues that came up around the Epstein [1:00:41] files release. I think about the press opportunity that Deputy Attorney General [1:00:45] Todd Blanch had when he was the one who announced that the Justice Department [1:00:49] had completed its release of the Epstein files. Deputy Attorney General, now [1:00:52] Acting Attorney General Blanch, was the one to go to Florida to meet with [1:00:55] Glisane Maxwell. As our colleague Nancy just pointed out, there were certain [1:00:58] moments of high-profile opportunity that were simply not given to the Attorney [1:01:02] General and I think that also could show some of her potential weaknesses and I [1:01:06] think I go back to some of her Congressional testimony over the last [1:01:09] couple of months where simply the news was not on what she said, it was more on [1:01:13] how she had acted and I think that also when you were. All right, looks like we [1:01:20] lost Jake there, but we appreciate the conversation. Jake, some fascinating [1:01:25] observations now. You're watching CBS News 24-7. The news continues. We're back [1:01:30] after the break. [1:01:55] So cool. But wait, there's more. Experience thought-provoking. Something that's [1:02:00] undeniable. With mindfulness. Innovative. Magical. It's like being a child. And truly [1:02:06] original reporting. God, you do your research. I tell a good story. Because there's [1:02:10] always something new under the sun on CBS Sunday Morning. The 18-year-old [1:02:19] soccer sensation igniting worldwide buzz. How good is this kid? The defenders are [1:02:24] just bewitched. Laminia Ma. You ever talk to the soccer ball? [1:02:31] I'm Major Garrett in Washington, inviting you to The Takeout. Politics, [1:02:38] policy, people, and pop culture served up weeknights. What's on the menu? Plenty. [1:02:43] The day's happenings with curiosity, informality, and humor. It's serious [1:02:48] discussion, but we do not take ourselves too seriously. Who is a better speaker, [1:02:52] Mike Johnson or you? Oh, come on. Join me on The Takeout. Streaming right here on [1:02:59] CBS News 24-7. You both had talked about going on Survivor together. A [1:03:06] Survivor contestant believes his sister was murdered. I'm sorry that I couldn't [1:03:13] protect you. And is determined to be her voice. This is her speaking to everyone [1:03:17] saying don't let this happen to you. 48 hours now streaming on CBS and Paramount [1:03:21] CHILLING WITH THE QUEEN, HER NAME IS GAYLE KING. [1:03:25] CBS. CBS MORNINGS. [1:03:28] CBS MORNINGS. CBS MORNINGS. [1:03:31] CBS MORNINGS. CBS MORNINGS. [1:03:34] CBS MORNINGS. CBS MORNINGS. [1:03:37] CBS MORNINGS ON CBS AND WHERE ELSE? [1:03:40] PARAMOUNT. CBS. [1:03:43] CBS MORNINGS. [1:03:47] I WANT A MUG. GOOD MUG. [1:03:50] A STALKER SENDS MENACING MESSAGES TO A YOUNG MOTHER [1:03:54] BEFORE SHE'S MURDERED. THEY ALL JUST KIND OF SAID, I CAN'T [1:03:57] BELIEVE THIS HAPPENED. HE DID IT. THE STALKER DID IT. [1:04:00] THERE'S A KILLER OUT THERE AND WE'RE GOING TO GO AFTER HIM. [1:04:03] BUT THE INVESTIGATION REVEALS A SINISTER SETUP. I THINK HIS [1:04:06] HEAD IS SPINNING THINKING ABOUT WHAT ELSE ARE THEY GOING TO [1:04:09] FIND. 48 HOURS, NOW STREAMING ON CBS AND PARAMOUNT+. [1:04:13] MONEY WATCH IS YOUR NO-NONSENSE GUIDE TO TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR [1:04:16] FINANCES, WHERE I OFFER PRACTICAL, REAL-WORLD ADVICE [1:04:19] WITH NO JARGON AND NO MONEY. [1:04:22] NO JUDGERING. I'M JILL SLESSINGER. [1:04:24] LISTEN TO MONEY WATCH WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS. [1:04:27] IT COULD BE THE GREATEST TURNAROUND IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL [1:04:29] HISTORY. WHAT IS THE MAGIC HERE? [1:04:31] THE UNDEFEATED BIG TEN CHAMPS, INDIANA HOOSIERS. [1:04:34] CBS. CBS MORNINGS ON CBS AND WHERE ELSE? [1:04:42] PARAMOUNT. SEE YOU AT 7. [1:04:44] CBS MORNINGS. [1:04:47] YOU ARE WATCHING CBS NEWS 24-7 AND CBS CONTINUING BREAKING [1:04:51] NEWS COVERAGE OF THE FIRING OF U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM [1:04:54] BONDI. THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN [1:04:56] RELEASED FROM THE U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ATTORNEY GENERAL [1:04:59] TODAY AND HAS NOW NAMED DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCH TO [1:05:02] LEAD THE DOJ AS ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL. [1:05:05] THESE WORDS JUST NOW FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. [1:05:09] LET'S PULL IT UP VIA A TRUTH SOCIAL REPORT. [1:05:12] THAT TRUTH SOCIAL REPORT RIGHT THERE SAYING PAM BONDI IS A [1:05:15] GREAT AMERICAN PATRIOT. HE CALLS HER A LOYAL FRIEND WHO [1:05:18] FAITHFULLY SERVED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OVER THE PAST YEAR, [1:05:21] CREDITS HER FOR A MASSIVE CRIME CRACKDOWN AND SAYS THESE WORDS [1:05:24] JUST NOW FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. [1:05:27] HE ALSO ANNOUNCES TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC THAT PAM BONDI [1:05:30] WILL TRANSITION TO A NEW JOB IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. [1:05:33] APPARENTLY THAT WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT A LATER DATE. [1:05:36] HE THEN SAYS HE'S HANDED THE TORCH TO SOMEBODY HE CONSIDERS [1:05:39] VERY TALENTED, RESPECTFUL, LEGAL MIND TODD BLANCH, [1:05:42] STEPPING IN AS ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL. [1:05:45] WE UNDERSTAND THAT NEWS CAME TO MR. BLANCH BY A THREE OR FOUR [1:05:48] MINUTE PHONE CALL THAT WAS CONGRATULATORY IN NATURE. [1:05:52] LET'S GO TO CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT CHANELLE CALL. [1:05:54] CHANELLE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. [1:05:57] WE'VE GOT A LOT TO TAKE APART HERE IN DIAGNOSE. [1:06:01] YEAH, WATCHING THIS UNFOLD IN JUST THE LAST FEW MOMENTS [1:06:04] HERE, SOME BIG NATIONAL BREAKING NEWS. [1:06:07] PAM BONDI IS OUT. AT THIS POINT, UNCLEAR WHAT SHE [1:06:10] WILL BE MOVED TO. BUT I DO WANT TO POINT TO [1:06:13] SOMETHING I THINK IS NOTEWORTHY FROM THAT TRUTH SOCIAL POST. [1:06:16] SO IF WE CAN PULL THAT UP AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE HERE THE [1:06:19] PRESIDENT CALLING HER A GREAT AMERICAN PATRIOT AND A LOYAL [1:06:22] FRIEND WHO HE SAYS FAITHFULLY SERVED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OVER [1:06:25] THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT [1:06:28] WHAT SHE WILL BE MOVED TO NEXT. THERE IS A PART WHERE HE SAYS [1:06:31] SHE WILL BE TRANSITIONING TO A MUCH-NEEDED AND IMPORTANT NEW [1:06:34] JOB IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. SO WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE FOR [1:06:37] SOME MORE DETAILS ON THAT, REID. THANK YOU FOR THAT, CHANELLE [1:06:42] CALL. NOW LET'S GO LIVE TO CBS NEWS [1:06:44] HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT NICOLE SCANGIS. [1:06:46] NICOLE, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US FROM YOUR VANTAGE POINT THERE? [1:06:50] HI, REID. GOOD TO BE WITH YOU. [1:06:52] WELL, I JUST LEARNED FROM SEVERAL SENIOR ADMINISTRATION [1:06:55] REPORTS OF HIS NEW ROLE FROM THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF, PRESIDENT [1:06:59] TRUMP CALLING DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCH AS THE NEWS [1:07:04] WAS BREAKING THAT PAM BONDI WOULD BE OUSTED, THE ATTORNEY [1:07:08] GENERAL THERE, TO TELL HIM BASICALLY HE WAS UP, THAT HE [1:07:11] WOULD SERVE AS ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL UNTIL A PERMANENT [1:07:15] REPLACEMENT COULD BE FOUND. I'M TOLD THAT WHILE THERE HAD [1:07:19] BEEN ONGOING CONVERSATIONS, THIS NEWS WAS THE FIRST THAT TODD [1:07:24] BLANCH WAS LEARNING ABOUT THIS. [1:07:25] YES. [1:07:26] IT WAS THE FIRST STRAIGHT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED [1:07:27] STATES, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING WHAT WAS A SOMEWHAT TUMULTUOUS [1:07:31] 14-MONTH TENURE OF PAM BONDI. AND SO IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR [1:07:36] AUDIENCE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT WHO TODD BLANCH IS, OF COURSE, THE [1:07:39] DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR IN THE [1:07:42] SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. HE LATER BECAME A WHITE-COLLAR [1:07:45] DEFENSE ATTORNEY. AND, OF COURSE, HE REALLY ROSE [1:07:48] TO NATIONAL PROMINENCE AS PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL [1:07:52] CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, OF COURSE, THE LEAD ATTORNEY IN [1:07:54] THAT NEW YORK HUSH MONEY CRIMINAL TRIAL, A KEY LAWYER IN [1:07:58] THE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS AND ELECTION-RELATED CASES THAT [1:08:01] WERE BROUGHT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT WHEN HE WAS NO LONGER [1:08:05] IN OFFICE. BUT IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO [1:08:08] SEE WHAT DIRECTION HE TAKES, THE DEPARTMENT. [1:08:11] IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHO, IF ANYONE, YOU KNOW, [1:08:14] PRESIDENT TRUMP DECIDES WILL PERMANENTLY REPLACE PAM BONDI. [1:08:18] AND ONE THING IS FOR SURE, REID, WHOEVER THAT PICK IS, IS GOING [1:08:21] TO HAVE A BIT OF AN UPHILL BATTLE WITH PAM BONDI. [1:08:24] I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A BIT OF AN UPHILL BATTLE, I THINK, [1:08:26] IN THE SENATE TO BE CONFIRMED COMPARED TO WHAT WE JUST SAW [1:08:29] WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOEM LEAVING [1:08:33] AND REALLY ONLY A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, I THINK A WEEK OR SO, [1:08:37] THAT MARK WAYNE MULLEN, YOU KNOW, TESTIFIED ON THE HILL AND [1:08:40] THEN REPLACED SECRETARY NOEM. THAT IS NOT BELIEVED TO BE THE [1:08:43] SITUATION HERE. SO IT SOUNDS VERY MUCH LIKE [1:08:47] ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL BLANCH IS GOING TO BE AT THE HELM OF [1:08:51] THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR A WHILE BEFORE THE PRESIDENT IS [1:08:54] GOING TO CHOOSE SOMEONE WHO HAS ANY SHOT AT BEING CONFIRMED BY [1:08:57] THE SENATE. AND THAT IS IN PART BECAUSE [1:09:00] ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI, FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL, THEY WERE [1:09:04] ALL CONFIRMED ON REASSURANCES THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE [1:09:08] WOULD NOT BE WEAPONIZED FOR, YOU KNOW, RETALIATION BY THE [1:09:12] PRESIDENT AGAINST HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES, THAT THEY WERE GOING TO [1:09:16] FOLLOW THE LAW, THAT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO TRANSFORM THE [1:09:19] DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INTO A NON-INDEPENDENT ENTITY THAT WAS [1:09:23] WORKING IN CONTROL. [1:09:24] THEY WERE WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PRESIDENT. [1:09:26] THOSE ARE ARGUMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE, I THINK, A LITTLE [1:09:29] MORE CHALLENGING FOR ANYONE WHO GOES UP TO TESTIFY BEFORE [1:09:34] CONGRESS TO MAKE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT BASED ON WHAT WE [1:09:38] HAVE SEEN PLAY OUT AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OVER THE [1:09:41] PAST YEAR PLUS. [1:09:42] SO ARE YOU SAYING, AND I THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT [1:09:45] POINT, THAT IN THE CONFIRMATION PROCESS, WHETHER IT'S TODD [1:09:49] BLANCH OR ANYBODY ELSE WHO HAS BEEN NAMED IS PERHAPS WAITING [1:09:52] IN THE WINGS HERE. [1:09:53] SOME CRITICS OF THE PRESIDENT WILL SAY THAT THE PRESIDENT [1:09:56] BLURRED THE LINES, AND IN FACT THE JOB DESCRIPTION THAT PAM [1:09:59] BONDI ONCE HAD AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, [1:10:02] AND MAYBE IN THE CONFIRMATION PROCESS THERE WILL BE A HARD [1:10:06] PROCESS TO REDEFINE THAT JOB OR TO DEFINE IT AS IT ONCE WAS? [1:10:11] YEAH, I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT, REID. [1:10:15] I THINK IT WAS EASIER PERHAPS TO TAKE THEN PAM BONDI BEFORE [1:10:21] SHE WAS SWORN IN AT HER WORD THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE [1:10:24] WOULD ACT INDEPENDENTLY, WOULD NOT TAKE ITS CUES FROM THE WHITE [1:10:28] HOUSE AND THE PRESIDENT ITSELF, AND I THINK AS WE HAVE SEEN THE [1:10:31] INDICTMENTS OF SEVERAL OF THE PRESIDENT'S POLITICAL ENEMIES, [1:10:36] BE IT JAMES COMEY, LATISHA JAMES, IT'S BEEN HARDER TO [1:10:39] PERHAPS MAKE THAT ARGUMENT AS WE'VE CONTINUED TO SEE SOME OF [1:10:44] THESE INDICTMENTS. [1:10:47] AND SO I THINK WHOEVER IS NOMINATED BY THE PRESIDENT TO [1:10:51] SERVE AS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL NEXT IS GOING TO HAVE A TALL [1:10:54] ORDER WHEN IT COMES TO CONVINCING MEMBERS OF THE SENATE [1:10:57] THAT THEY ARE EITHER GOING TO REDEFINE THAT ROLE OR THEY ARE [1:11:00] GOING TO GO INTO PERHAPS A DIFFERENT DIRECTION THAN [1:11:03] ATTORNEY GENERAL BONDI DID. I THINK IT IS LIKELY THAT WE WILL [1:11:07] SEE THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL NOW ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD [1:11:11] BLANCH LEAD THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR THE TIME BEING AND [1:11:15] TO SEE HOW HE DOES. I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE [1:11:19] THAT THE PRESIDENT DECIDES THAT PERHAPS HE WILL BE KEPT IN THAT [1:11:22] ROLE IN AN ACTING CAPACITY. [1:11:24] WE'VE CERTAINLY SEEN THAT IN OTHER MORE CONTROVERSIAL [1:11:27] AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING ICBP. [1:11:33] BUT THIS IS A CABINET LEVEL OFFICIAL WHO WE'RE TALKING [1:11:35] ABOUT. SO IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE [1:11:37] JUST HOW LONG BLANCH IS SORT OF LEFT TO LEAD THIS DEPARTMENT AND [1:11:41] WHAT THE DEPARTMENT LOOKS LIKE IN THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS. [1:11:44] WELL, AND SPEAKING OF POLITICS AND THE COMING DAYS AND [1:11:47] WEEKS, OF COURSE, WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF DEMOCRATS SAY THEY HOPE [1:11:50] AND FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT THEY HAVE A CHANCE, A SHOT AT [1:11:53] RETURNING TO THE DEPARTMENT. [1:11:54] AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT DEMOCRATS HAVE [1:11:57] BEEN TAKING CONGRESS IN THE MIDTERMS. [1:12:00] REPUBLICANS I TALK TO SAY SOME ARE CONCERNED THAT IF DEMOCRATS [1:12:04] HAVE MORE LEVERAGE IN CONGRESS, THAT THERE COULD BE MORE [1:12:07] SCRUTINY ON THE PRESIDENCY AND ALL OF THE PRESIDENT'S MEN AND [1:12:10] WOMEN, SO TO SPEAK. IS THERE A THOUGHT THERE THAT [1:12:13] THE TIMING OF THIS FIRING OR THE REASSIGNING OF PAM BONDI [1:12:17] COULD BE TEEING UP SOMEBODY WHO COULD DEFEND THE ADMINISTRATION [1:12:20] IF THE BALANCE OF POWER SHIFTS IN CONGRESS WHERE DEMOCRATS ARE [1:12:25] NOW IN POWER? [1:12:26] I THINK, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THE MIDTERMS TURN TO THE [1:12:29] DEMOCRATS' FAVOR, THAT IS A HUGE CONSIDERATION OF HOW MANY [1:12:33] INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATIONS OR CONGRESSIONAL PROBES WILL THE [1:12:37] DEMOCRATS LAUNCH IF THEY RETAKE THE MAJORITY. [1:12:40] AND SO CERTAINLY I THINK THAT IS PART OF THIS. [1:12:43] WE KNOW THAT THERE WERE TWO BIG SORT OF SOURINGS THAT THE [1:12:47] PRESIDENT HAD AGAINST THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, ALTHOUGH HE [1:12:50] MAINTAINED A SORT OF CLOSE RELATIONSHIP AND CLOSE [1:12:53] FRIENDSHIP WITH PAM BONDI. WE SAW IT IN HIS STATEMENT THAT [1:12:55] HE PUT OUT ON TRUTHS SOCIAL. [1:12:56] JUST MOMENTS AGO WE SAW IT AS EARLY OR AS RECENTLY, I SHOULD [1:13:00] SAY, FROM THE WHITE HOUSE IN STATEMENTS THAT THEY PUT OUT [1:13:03] CALLING PAM BONDI A WONDERFUL PERSON. [1:13:06] SO THERE WAS ALWAYS THAT. BUT THE TWO SORT OF SOURINGS [1:13:09] THAT WE SAW, OF COURSE, WAS, YOU KNOW, SOURING ON BONDI OVER [1:13:13] THE HANDLING OF THE EPSTEIN FILES, CONSIDERING IT BECAME [1:13:16] MORE OF A POLITICAL LIABILITY FOR THE PRESIDENT AMONG HIS [1:13:20] POLITICAL SUPPORTERS, AND THERE WAS THIS FEELING THAT THE [1:13:23] ATTORNEY GENERAL BROUGHT THAT UPON HERSELF. [1:13:25] ESPECIALLY DURING AN EVENT LAST YEAR WHERE SHE SORT OF STAGED [1:13:29] ALL OF THE EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS AND, YOU KNOW, THE PRESIDENT WAS [1:13:33] THERE AND BROUGHT ATTENTION TO THIS IDEA AND THEN SORT OF [1:13:36] BOTCHED THE ROLLOUT OF THE DOCUMENTS AND CREATED THIS [1:13:40] REALLY POLITICAL WEDGE BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND HIS [1:13:43] SUPPORTERS. AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE [1:13:46] LEARNING THAT THE PRESIDENT HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT HER [1:13:49] SHORTCOMINGS AS A COMMUNICATOR, THAT HE FELT THAT THE ATTORNEY [1:13:52] GENERAL WAS NOT AN EFFECTIVE PERSON. [1:13:54] THAT HE WAS NOT AN EFFECTIVE TELEVISION SURROGATE FOR HIM, [1:13:57] WHICH, AS WE KNOW, IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THIS PRESIDENT AS [1:14:01] HE LOOKS, YOU KNOW, TO PUT OFFICIALS IN CHARGE OF, YOU [1:14:06] KNOW, VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS WHO HE FEELS LIKE CAN BEST REPRESENT [1:14:09] HIM ON CABLE NEWS, CAN DEFEND, WHETHER IT'S THE DEPARTMENT OF [1:14:13] JUSTICE OR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OR WHAT HAVE [1:14:16] YOU, DEFEND HIS POSITIONS ON LIVE TELEVISION. [1:14:19] AND THERE WAS A FEELING THAT, YOU KNOW, PAM BONDI WAS NOT THE [1:14:23] PERSON TO DO THAT. [1:14:24] AND CERTAINLY JAKE REFERENCED THIS EARLIER. [1:14:26] WE HAD ALSO SEEN THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, YOU KNOW, PUT [1:14:30] IN CHARGE OF MORE PRESS EVENTS, PRESS CONFERENCES, BREAKING NEWS [1:14:34] ON MORE THINGS ON BEHALF OF THE WHITE HOUSE, WHICH WAS PERHAPS [1:14:38] THE FIRST INDICATOR THAT THERE WERE SOME CRACKS IN THE TRUST [1:14:42] BETWEEN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE WHITE HOUSE. [1:14:45] AND WE'RE TOLD THAT THESE CONVERSATIONS MORE SERIOUSLY [1:14:50] BEGAN IN JANUARY AS TO WHETHER THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WOULD BE [1:14:53] ABLE TO DO THAT. [1:14:54] THERE WERE THINGS THAT WOULD BE OUSTED, THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS [1:14:57] SORT OF WANED IN FEBRUARY. [1:14:59] THERE WERE OTHER THINGS THAT WERE ON TOP OF THE NEWS CYCLE. [1:15:02] AND THEN REALLY IT WAS IN THE PAST WEEK THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS, [1:15:06] YOU KNOW, PUSHED THE ISSUE AGAIN, BEGAN CALLING SOME OF HIS [1:15:09] ALLIES TO ASK THEM FOR THEIR OPINIONS ON WHO MIGHT REPLACE [1:15:13] PAM BONDI. [1:15:14] THAT'S WHEN EPA ADMINISTRATOR LEE ZELDIN'S NAME CAME UP AND [1:15:18] THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT POSSIBLY HIM. [1:15:21] WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE WHETHER OR NOT HE IS THE PRIMARY [1:15:23] CONTENDER. [1:15:24] WE JUST KNOW THAT HE IS ONE OF THE NAMES THAT HAS BEEN IN THE [1:15:26] MIX HERE. [1:15:27] BUT THE PRESIDENT STARTED MAKING THOSE PHONE CALLS. [1:15:29] HE SPOKE WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, AS YOU'VE NOTED [1:15:32] YESTERDAY DURING HIS APPEARANCE AT THE SUPREME COURT, LET HER [1:15:36] KNOW WHAT, YOU KNOW, HE WAS THINKING DESPITE ALL OF THE [1:15:40] VERY SORT OF COZY PHOTOS AND WHAT SEEMED TO BE JUST A NORMAL [1:15:45] INTERACTION BETWEEN A PRESIDENT AND AN ATTORNEY GENERAL DESPITE [1:15:48] THE VERY EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEM GOING TO [1:15:50] THE SUPREME COURT. [1:15:52] RIGHT. [1:15:53] AND I THINK THAT THAT WAS THE CONVERSATION THAT WAS HAD [1:15:55] THERE. [1:15:56] AND THINGS MOVED RELATIVELY QUICKLY, OBVIOUSLY, REID, FROM [1:15:59] THERE. [1:16:00] BUT AS WE KNOW WITH THE OUSTER, WITH DHS SECRETARY NOME, [1:16:04] OFTENTIMES IT IS A VERY COMPRESSED TIMELINE THAT THE [1:16:07] PRESIDENT SORT OF LATCHES ONTO AN IDEA, FLOATS IT TO HIS ALLIES [1:16:11] AND THEN ACTS ON IT. [1:16:12] ALL RIGHT. [1:16:13] WE'VE SEEN THAT DECISIVE MOVE. [1:16:15] PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, IF YOU'RE JUST LOGGING ON OR [1:16:17] JOINING US NOW, FIRING ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI. [1:16:20] NICOLE SKANGEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. [1:16:22] WE APPRECIATE IT. [1:16:23] THANK YOU UNTIL Tomorrow. [1:16:25] THANK YOU. [1:16:27] WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARD TO WATCHING CBS [1:16:49] NEWS 24 TO IT THE 7 NEWS CONTINUES. [1:16:51] THE QUEEN, NAMED GAYLE KEY. [1:16:55] CBS MORNING [1:16:56] CBS MORNING [1:17:04] CBS SPORTS [1:17:06] CBS MORNING [1:17:07] CBS MORNING [1:17:08] CBS MORNING [1:17:10] CBS MORNING [1:17:11] It was almost like being face-to-face with the devil. [1:17:16] 48 Hours reports. [1:17:18] I fought and fought. [1:17:19] 911, what is your emergency? [1:17:21] She disappeared off the face of the earth. [1:17:25] Stream 48 Hours, 24-7. [1:17:29] I'm Major Garrett in Washington, inviting you to The Takeout. [1:17:34] Politics, policy, people, and pop culture served up weeknights. [1:17:38] What's on the menu? Plenty. [1:17:40] The day's happening with curiosity, informality, and humor. [1:17:43] It's serious discussion, but we do not take ourselves too seriously. [1:17:47] Who is a better speaker, Mike Johnson or you? [1:17:50] Oh, come on. [1:17:51] Join me on The Takeout, streaming right here on CBS News 24-7. [1:17:59] Money Watch is your no-nonsense guide to taking control of your finances, [1:18:04] where I offer practical, real-world advice with no jargon and no judgment. [1:18:09] I'm Jill Schlesinger. [1:18:10] Listen to Money Watch wherever you get your podcasts. [1:18:13] Go to the ends of the earth. [1:18:15] We'll hit the heights. [1:18:17] A great adventure together. [1:18:19] And reach for the stars. [1:18:20] Star power. [1:18:21] I like it. [1:18:21] So cool. [1:18:22] But wait, there's more. [1:18:24] Experience thought-provoking. [1:18:26] Something that's undeniable. [1:18:28] With mindfulness. [1:18:29] Innovative. [1:18:30] Magical. [1:18:30] It's like being a child. [1:18:32] And truly original reporting. [1:18:34] God, you do your research. [1:18:35] I tell a good story. [1:18:36] Because there's always something new under the sun on CBS Sunday Morning. [1:18:42] Why America's last best place is at risk. [1:18:47] If the public land that you use were sold off, could you run your business? [1:18:54] A stalker sends menacing messages. [1:18:55] To a young mother before she's murdered. [1:18:58] They all just kind of said, I can't believe this happened. [1:19:00] He did it. [1:19:00] The stalker did it. [1:19:01] There's a killer out there. [1:19:02] And we're going to go after him. [1:19:04] But the investigation reveals a sinister setup. [1:19:07] I think his head is spinning, thinking about what else are they going to find. [1:19:10] 48 hours, now streaming on CBS and Paramount+. [1:19:13] Politics isn't a game. [1:19:15] When do consumers actually get to touch and feel a difference in their lives? [1:19:19] Politics is about policy. [1:19:20] So you would encourage Democrats to work with Donald Trump on an issue like health care? [1:19:25] I'm a voracious consumer of information, and I'm impatient. [1:19:29] I don't like to be spun. [1:19:30] Do you know if there are active terror cells in the United States right now? [1:19:34] To be moderator of Face the Nation means bringing the most powerful stakeholders to the table to become better informed. [1:19:41] Hi, I'm Lindsay Reiser. [1:19:52] After a successful launch, Artemis 2 is in orbit with four astronauts on board. [1:19:57] The crew is awake after taking what we believe is their second four-hour nap of the mission so far [1:20:03] and preparing for the biggest task. [1:20:05] So right now, mission managers at NASA are deciding whether to proceed with the trans-lunar injection burn. [1:20:11] This is a critical step that would send Orion on a free return path around the moon and back to Earth. [1:20:18] It is described as the point of no return. [1:20:21] So what has been going on since they launched? [1:20:23] Well, there was an early issue with the toilet. [1:20:25] Not a small issue, believe it or not, when they tried to activate it, but it has been fixed. [1:20:30] And the crew woke up from their first four-hour nap to the song Sleepyhead by Young and Sick. [1:20:34] This shows us the [1:21:02] that was just, I mean this is the first time. [1:21:04] Wow. [1:21:04] That was quite some work. [1:21:04] So that's great. [1:21:04] So thank you for that. [1:21:04] You're welcome.