'Incompetence': George Conway reveals AG Bondi made a 'major misstep' on DC takeover
A conservative lawyer noted on Thursday that the U.S. Attorney General may have made a major mistake in the federal takeover of Washington, D.C.'s police department.
One of the first moves Attorney General Pam Bondi made after President Donald Trump federalized the D.C. police force was to appoint the Drug Enforcement Agency's director as the chief of D.C. police. However, this move put the federal government out of compliance with the statute that allows it to take over the police force in the first place, according to conservative lawyer George Conway.
Conway discussed the takeover on The Bullwark's eponymous podcast, hosted by Jonathan V. Last.
"It was just incompetence on her part to have issued that order to begin with," Conway said.
Bondi's order also allowed D.C. lawmakers to challenge the takeover in court, Conway noted. He said the order was overbroad and "really wasn't tailored to the statute." D.C. lawmakers sued, and a federal judge has signaled that they are willing to issue a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the federal takeover.
However, Conway noted that the judge wants to see if the government and D.C. lawmakers can come to a resolution themselves first.
"It was a major misstep by the Justice Department," Conway said. "Really incompetent lawyering, I think, and just overreaching."
He also noted that the misstep could impact Trump's future plans for the D.C. police force.
"The Bondi order is so egregiously inconsistent with the statute and inconsistent with the executive order frankly, that you know there was a misstep by Bondi and she has to cave," Conway said.