'Flabbergasting': Ex-Defense lawyer 'shocked' by Trump DOJ's move
Former Department of Defense special counsel Ryan Goodman was taken aback by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s public comments about the new criminal case involving Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan.
Bondi on Friday sparked a firestorm of criticism from Democrats when she suggested the judge arrested by the FBI on charges of obstructing justice is “deranged” and implied she is “above the law.”
Goodman, a former federal prosecutor, slammed Bondi’s remarks during an interview on CNN, which he said crossed a line.
“So it's extraordinary for an attorney general to be speaking about an ongoing criminal investigation at all and prosecution like that,” Goodman said Friday. “And the idea that she would be smearing or disparaging the defendant in a case is extraordinary.”
He compared the comments to a hypothetical scenario involving former Attorney General Merrick Garland.
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“Imagine if AG Garland had gone on a left-wing media outlet to start disparaging some defendant in a criminal case,” Goodman said. “We'd just be flabbergasted by that.”
“So to me, it's flabbergasting,” he added. Goodman went on to tell CNN host Erin Burnett that the comments may signal a political motive behind the prosecution.
“It maybe feeds into this idea that what's really going on in this case is not about bringing criminal charges that will stick, but rather about creating a public message,” he said. Goodman admitted that he was “100%” shocked by the unfolding new legal drama involving President Donald Trump’s administration.
“It's just a shocking move within our country to see something like that,” he said.