Overview
- President Trump removed Pam Bondi as attorney general and named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acting attorney general.
- MS NOW published a photo it says shows Bondi’s official portrait in a DOJ trash can hours after her ouster, and the network says it stands by the image.
- The Justice Department’s Rapid Response account on Friday called the report “fake news,” posted a different photo of a Bondi portrait on a wall, and the department said the trash image was misleading.
- Media comparisons pointed out that the portrait in MS NOW’s photo appears different from the one in DOJ’s rebuttal image, leaving the photo’s authenticity unresolved in public reporting.
- Coverage linked the uproar to strains during Bondi’s tenure, citing a reported demotion over predecessor portraits and scrutiny of her shifting Epstein claims, while reports say Trump is weighing permanent replacements.