According to reporting by multiple outlets, Bondi had quietly raised concerns about the case against Comey, the former FBI director, after federal prosecutors in Virginia concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
Stephanie McCrummen, The Atlantic, January 20, 2026
For a moment, it seemed that Bondi might say no.
But Trump was relentless. He forced the resignation of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He sent a Truth Social message to “Pam,” which he accidentally posted publicly.
The above quote appears in an article titled, “The Attorney General Who Won’t Say No.” The tag line reads, “Does Pam Bondi have any red lines?” Although McCrummen’s story will not appear in print until the magazine’s March issue, it was released online as a “special preview.” It was the tag line which initially caught my attention. Why? Because January 20 was the day I created the following Facebook post.
Congressman Aaron Bean, is there anything that you consider a red line? District #4 deserves a representative with a VOICE, not an ECHO, echo, echo…
Besides similarity of message, we both chose to focus on public officials, i.e., a congressman and the attorney general. But what about voters? Shouldn’t we be asking the same question? Is there any “bridge too far” from which you will disembark the MAGA train? After re-reading the above excerpt from The Atlantic article, I realized I was asking the wrong question. If the reporting was correct, Pam Bondi did have a red line, prosecution of former FBI director James Comey. The more important question now appears to be why, having identified a personal red line, did she not say NO?
Only then did I realize we may have wrongly characterized the MAGAverse as a cult. Perhaps it started that way, but has since evolved into something quite different. Let me explain by using the Bondi experience as a metaphor. To do that, I again cite Stephanie McCrummen’s article where she describes the future AG before she dipped her toe into the MAGAverse.
Colleagues and others who knew Bondi then remember her as a competent, at times excellent prosecutor who was good with juries, won many convictions, and was able to convey the moral certitude necessary to seek the death penalty…Many others recalled how kind she could be, how accommodating, how Pambi.
Her life, to this point, would have been enough for most people. However, in 2006 she meets Donald Trump and ends up defending him in a case in which the City of Palm Beach ordered him to remove an oversized American flag planted on the lawn at Mar-a-Lago. It was her first experiment with a drug that promised to make life more exciting. Call it her “crack” and Trump was now her supplier.
Each subsequent hit is more potent than the first. Trump supports her for Florida AG. In return, she chooses not to join the New York fraud case involving Trump University, even though many victims of the scam were Florida residents. Not only does she win Trump’s favor, this time the narcotic comes with a $25,000 donation to her campaign fund. Pam Bondi is not a member of a cult. She is an addict.
Which answers my question, “Even when she knows prosecuting Comey is wrong, why does she eventually acquiesce?” She is so addicted to the drug she has been taking for 18 years, she cannot break the habit. She no longer needs him to give her cash or a cabinet position. All it takes is a “Dear Pam” email. He might as well have written, “Here Pam. You know you want this. Just one more hit. You’ll feel great afterwards.”
Which brings me back to the Trump voter. It is time we stop demeaning them for being members of a cult. They too are addicts. Trump, the dealer, told them he had the political equivalent of the drug MMDA, also known as ECSTASY, “both a stimulant and hallucinogen, producing an energizing effect, distortions in time and perception, and enhanced enjoyment of tactile experiences. Used to reduce inhibitions and to promote euphoria, feelings of closeness, and sexuality.” (From definition posted onDEA.GOV)
The evidence is everywhere that members of the MAGAverse are acting exactly as one would expect from a Molly-user.
- They were certainly energized on January 6, 2021.
- They have lost track of time. Most think they are living in the 1950s.
- They are uninhibited. The now have permission to be cruel, dishonest, racist, misogynist, homophobic, and xenophobic.
- And, especially the men, are obsessed with their sexuality.
Maybe it’s time we take a lesson from the medical experts who recognized that alcoholism is more than a lack of willpower, it is a “chronic, progressive brain disease.” (Source: “Understanding Alcoholism: Disease or Choice?”, University Behavioral Center, March 3, 2025) I am not sure if there is a cure. Or, sticking with the metaphor, I wonder whether there is value in creating chapters of “Trumpsters Anonymous” or hosting interventions. I do know, the next time I run into someone who exhibits the slightest hint of wanting to kick their Trump addiction, my response will be, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP
I had no idea that Attorneys-General or Federal Prosecutors have campaign funds. Wouldn’t that force them to recuse themselves from any case involving a donor of any consequence?
This was when she was Florida Attorney General. It is an elected office; so they have to have campaign funds. But, of course, they should recuse themselves from cases which involve major donors. I guess you know the extent to which that is likely enforced.