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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Peter Stone in Washington

‘Incredibly harmful’: why Trump’s FBI and DoJ picks scare civil liberties experts

a composite image of woman wearing black and man wearing blue suit and burgundy tie
Should they be confirmed by the Senate, Pam Bondi and Kash Patel would be instrumental in carrying out Trump’s threats of retribution against his enemies. Composite: EPA

By tapping two combative ultra-loyalists to run the FBI and the justice department, Donald Trump has sparked fears they will pursue the president-elect’s calls for “revenge” against his political foes and sack officials who Trump demonizes as “deep state” opponents, say ex-justice department prosecutors.

Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, who Trump has nominated to run the FBI and Department of Justice, respectively, have been unswerving loyalists to Trump for years, promoting Trump’s false claims that his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden was due to fraud.

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