Bondis, Bullies, and Billionaires

I recently received a demand letter from lawyers for Brad Bondi, brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi, asking me to retract a video I posted on TikTok about Donald Trump’s pardon of Trevor Milton, a former billionaire convicted of a massive fraud with losses totaling over $600 million:

Like many other savvy 0.001 percenters engaged in white collar crime, Milton used his wealth and connections to curry favor with the President, including through a nearly $2M donation to Trump’s campaign. In March, Milton was rewarded with a full pardon, which wiped away his impending four-year prison sentence and his obligation to repay his defrauded investors.

So what does this have to do with Brad Bondi? Well, Bondi represented Milton throughout his criminal trial in the Southern District of New York. Bondi entered his appearance as Milton’s defense counsel in July 2021 and, as of today, he is still listed as a counsel of record.

Despite these facts, Bondi’s lawyers complain that my video wrongly implies that Bondi had a role in securing Milton’s pardon, which they swear he did not. Their “proof”—which is appended to the demand letter—is an interview Milton gave to a local TV station, in which Milton says Brad Bondi is “awesome” but didn’t work on his pardon. (Milton also says a lot of other inane things that make the interview worth watching in full.) So bottom line is that Bondi wants me to take down the video because it associates him with Milton’s pardon.

I am not going to do that. I believe that facts matter, and my video consists of verifiable facts. Viewers can decide for themselves what inferences to draw from those facts, and whether Bondi’s protestations (predicated on convicted fraudster Milton’s statements) are credible. Using threats or implications of potential legal action to suppress truth is a tried and tested tactic of entitled bullies. I’m not impressed by entitlement, and I don’t capitulate to bullies. We need less—not more—of those right now.

I’m struck by how much Trump’s transactional approach to justice has emboldened Bondis, bullies, and billionaires alike in their attitudes and actions. We are now routinely seeing supporters and allies of the President use their wealth, power, and access to suppress inconvenient facts, spin false counter narratives, and loot our system of justice.

We can’t afford to let those tactics go unchecked. So I have let Brad Bondi’s lawyers know that I will not be complying with their demand, and I recommend you watch the video above and my original video if you missed it.