If you’re considering running for president of the bar association, it behooves you not to be related to the head of Donald Trump’s personal law firm.
When Paul Hastings partner Brad Bondi announced his run for D.C. bar president, we already knew where this was going. While some saw a Machiavellian plot to consolidate Trumpian control over the capital’s ethics watchdog, Bondi’s campaign never really turned on politics. The bar association’s disciplinary function exists outside the purview of its president and Bondi’s platform concerned itself more with “CLE” than “MAGA,” but in a political moment dominated by a noxious blend of nepotism and cronyism, handing the DC bar over to the Attorney General’s brother was a non-starter.
And it was a blowout.
At a whopping 9 percent, we can file this as one of the rare occasions where “decimated” comes pretty close to its literal meaning.
Sometimes it’s fair, sometimes it’s not, but you can’t always get what you want when someone in the family decides to indulge political ambitions. Jonathan Turley and his Republican buddies waged a multi-year witch hunt based on Hunter Biden having the gall to hold a job while his dad was NOT in politics. In that world, the prospects for electing the sitting AG’s brother were tricky under the best of circumstances and nigh impossible while she’s busy collecting ethics complaints and positioning the DOJ for sanctions. As we noted earlier, Brad Bondi’s best bet was to campaign on being his sister’s most consistent and vociferous critic ever since he tore the head off her favorite Barbie. Well, his best bet would’ve been to get her to resign first… so maybe his “best realistic bet.”
Instead, his campaign asked voters to overlook the connection entirely — an implausible ask — which only succeeded in making him seem oblivious to overwhelmingly obvious optics.
O-based alliteration! How often do you see that in the wild?
Earlier: Pam Bondi’s Brother And Ed Martin’s Assistant Running To Lead D.C. Bar… No Way This Is A Bad Idea!
DC Bar Election Seems To Be Tracking Canada, Australia… Papacy
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
