Trump's Attorney General Position is Structurally Impossible to Succeed In
Source: Jonathan Chait. "Pam Bondi Couldn’t Possibly Succeed - The Atlantic." April 2, 2026. www.theatlantic.com
The Gist
Trump keeps firing his attorneys general because he wants them to jail his political enemies, but you can't convict innocent people even if you try really hard. Bondi did everything Trump asked but still failed because the legal system requires actual evidence for convictions.
Conclusion
Pam Bondi's failure as Attorney General was inevitable because Trump's expectations for the role are fundamentally impossible to fulfill within the legal system
Premises
- Trump consistently demands that his attorneys general prosecute his political enemies regardless of evidence
- It remains very difficult to convict Americans of crimes they did not commit, even with compliant prosecutors
- Bondi was completely loyal to Trump, following his directives without pretense of independence
- Despite her complete compliance, Bondi kept losing cases because the charges were baseless
- Trump's pattern shows he fires attorneys general who either maintain independence (Sessions) or fail to deliver convictions (Bondi)
- Trump mistakenly believes Bondi's failures were due to incompetence rather than impossible demands
- The next attorney general (likely Zeldin) will face the same structural impossibility and eventual firing
Assumptions
- The American legal system still requires actual evidence to secure criminal convictions
- Juries and judges maintain some independence from political pressure
- Trump's enemies are generally not guilty of the crimes he wants them charged with
- Trump's primary criterion for attorney general success is securing convictions of political opponents
- Legal competence cannot overcome the fundamental problem of prosecuting innocent people