Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, refused to attend their deposition with the House Oversight Committee, despite receiving congressional subpoenas as part of an ongoing Republican-led probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s network and high-profile associates.
When the subject of a congressional subpoena ignored the House during the Biden administration, his Department of Justice (DOJ), led by former Attorney General Merrick Garland, ensured they were arrested, perp-walked, prosecuted, and imprisoned. The left shows no mercy when its authority is ignored.
The Clintons, on the other hand, appear to think that they can get away with ignoring Republican authority. Some wonder whether their blatant disregard for the law stems from Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi’s repeated failure to demonstrate the testicular fortitude needed to hold the left accountable.
“ We’re going to hold both Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress.” –@RepJamesComer
Bill didn’t show up. Hillary didn’t show up. Democrats didn’t show up. Jeffrey Epstein claimed to help set up the Clinton Foundation.
They’re not above the law. Contempt is coming. pic.twitter.com/CK9u1uMjya
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) January 14, 2026
It’s hardly a stretch to say that voters view Bondi’s tenure as Attorney General as representative of one of the biggest missed opportunities in the Trump administration’s second term. President Donald Trump campaigned on bold promises of accountability. Voters expected the Trump administration to deliver retribution against those who weaponized government against them during the Biden era. He promised to dismantle left-wing extremist networks and expose elite corruption through complete Epstein transparency. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
With Republican control of the White House and Congress, this was a historic moment to reshape the DOJ into a forceful instrument of justice for the American people. Instead, Bondi has run the department with caution, bureaucracy, and ineffectiveness, reportedly earning her the label “weak and ineffective” even from the president himself.
Nearly a year in, there have been no major indictments or perp walks. Cases against former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey, a Russiagate architect, and New York AG Letitia James, who weaponized her office against Trump, were dismissed on technicalities, and Bondi’s DOJ has failed to revive or advance them aggressively. Criminal referrals from Congress gather dust.
Trump has privately fumed about this inaction, according to the Wall Street Journal, even reportedly accidentally posting a public message meant for Bondi, urging prosecutions of “Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia???”
Even after Charlie Kirk was murdered before our eyes, not a single left-wing organization allegedly responsible for increased violence against conservatives has been held accountable by Bondi’s DOJ. A report in The Free Press examined the gap between the Trump administration’s aggressive rhetoric against left-leaning nonprofits following Kirk’s death and the lack of substantive action.
The core conclusion is that despite pressure from high-profile Trump officials, including the president, to investigate and bring accountability, the efforts have largely stalled due to backlash from donors, including some within GOP circles who worry about Democrat retribution if they take back power.
From Don Jr to to Charlie Kirk to Poso, All had the same talk with family. “The bad people might show up. Don’t do anything as they want to murder everyone.” These were not idle imaginations.
Douglas Mackey: Framed for a crime.
John Eastman, respected law professor: Disbarred.… pic.twitter.com/9VfIwPVAD7
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) January 14, 2026
While Bondi issued a memo in December outlining potential charges against Antifa-linked groups and directed FBI reviews of domestic terrorism intelligence with a left-wing focus, there have been no high-profile indictments or sweeping criminal actions against major liberal foundations accused of indirectly supporting violence.
Where is the systemic dismantlement we were promised? The inaction erodes the Republican base’s trust. Voters see Bondi’s inaction as protecting the status quo of the D.C. elite class rather than aggressively challenging it.
This administration received a rare alignment of power, granted by the voters, with a clear mandate attached to their newly founded authority. And the voters are desperate for action. Yet, Bondi operates like a caretaker of the establishment. The DOJ under her leadership doesn’t feel like the weapon against corruption it should be. Instead, it’s business as usual for those responsible for attempting to destroy Americans and our country.
Rep. James Comer says the lack of arrests and accountability is the biggest Republican complaint.
Susie Wiles pushed to hire her fellow Big Pharma lobbyist Pam Bondi as AG. Bondi did nothing with Epstein when she was AG in Florida. Now the entire MAGA base is frustrated about… pic.twitter.com/VHNnKL6IbH
— Tom Renz (@RenzTom) January 9, 2026
The left ignores congressional subpoenas. Comey feels perfectly comfortable posting (not so) cryptic threats against Trump’s life. George Soros continues to funnel money to violent extremists. All of this is because they know the DOJ will never pursue them. But this protectionism doesn’t flow both ways.
Bondi and others will not be spared retribution when Democrats return to power. There is no such thing as being a good Trump official to the left. A prominent left-wing account on X, which threatened ICE agents in a post with over 19,000 likes and 466,000 impressions, understands exactly what will happen.
“Temporary power, permanent consequences,” Christopher Webb said, along with a picture of an ICE agent arresting an illegal immigrant with the warning, “To all ICE agents, when Trump’s gone, so is your job and immunity, and we the people won’t forget what you did.”
He’s not in government. He’s just a supporter of leftist orthodoxy. Yet, with complete confidence, he knows that should Democrats gain control of the federal government, they’ll use it against conservatives because they have before and promised to do it again. (ROOKE: It Only Took A Couple Weeks For Dark Skies To Clear Up For GOP’s Future)
Republican voters aren’t demanding that Bondi round up innocent people, like Webb and other radical leftists expect their side to do. But they are asking her to hold those responsible for crimes accountable, which seems like a basic tenet of her job as the head of the DOJ.
Follow Mary Rooke on X: @MaryRooke