Some administration officials reportedly believed that a public message posted by President Donald Trump on social media — demanding the prosecution of his political opponents — was actually intended to be a private text message to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
On Saturday night, Trump posted on Truth Social, addressing “Pam” — presumably the attorney general — with a complaint that former FBI Director James Comey, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, and New York Attorney General Letitia James hadn’t been prosecuted yet.
The message Trump posted began:”Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’
In the now-deleted message, Trump also complained that he had accidentally elevated a “woke RINO” to U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — referencing Erik Siebert — and pushed Bondi to appoint his former personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, to the role instead.
Immediately after the message was posted publicly, social media users speculated that it was meant to be a private text. Politico’s senior legal affairs correspondent Kyle Cheney noted that the “post that looks a lot like a DM,” and even Trump ally Laura Loomer admitted that the post “appears to be a text message.”
They weren’t the only ones. According to Rolling Stone, three sources close to the administration, as well as several senior officials at the Department of Justice and the White House, told the outlet they were surprised to see the message Saturday.
The officials told Rolling Stone that the message resembled how Trump typically texts, which they noted is similar to how he writes on Truth Social.
“Yeah, he texts like that,” one Trump adviser told the magazine. “It’s a lot like what the president writes online.”
The Independent has asked the White House for comment on the post.
The messages appeared to be evidence of a sitting American president directly calling for the prosecution of his political enemies, said political commentator Mehdi Hasan.
“Here is the president openly insisting his DOJ prosecute his political opponents, elected Democrats, for unspecific alleged crimes,” he wrote. “If this isn’t authoritarianism and weaponization of government then I don’t know what is.”
Schiff, who was named in Trump’s post, called the message an example of “political retaliation.”
“There’s no hiding the political retaliation and weaponization,” Schiff wrote. “It’s all out in the open.”
His 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, likened Trump’s post to Richard Nixon tweeting publicly about the Watergate scandal.
“Imagine if Richard Nixon had just tweeted out the Watergate scandal rather than putting it on secret tapes,” Clinton wrote on Sunday morning. “That’s what this is.”
Trump fired Comey in 2017, reportedly over his handling of the Clinton email investigation, though the dismissal came days after Comey confirmed the FBI was investigating potential Russian interference in his 2016 presidential campaign.
Schiff was a leading voice in calling for an investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign, and pushed for his first impeachment. He also played a key role in the January 6 committee following the Capitol riot.
James campaigned on investigating Trump and sued the Trump Organization, claiming it had inflated the value of its assets and misrepresented property values by hundreds of millions of dollars.
About an hour after posting the message demanding that Bondi act, Trump posted a second message lavishing praise on the attorney general.
“Pam Bondi is doing a GREAT job as Attorney General of the United States,” he wrote.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt issued a statement to NBC News, insisting that Trump was happy with Bondi’s performance.
“President Trump appreciates all Attorney General Bondi is doing to Make America Safe Again. The President wants justice and accountability for the many corrupt criminals and politicians who weaponized our justice system against him and his millions of patriotic supporters,” she said.
On Saturday night, after posting the message, Trump spoke to reporters about it.
“We have to act fast,” he said. “If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty or if they should be charged, they should be charged. And we have to do it now.”
