Pam Bondi puts Lori Lightfoot, Nancy Pelosi on notice for vowing to ‘unmask’ ICE agents

WASHINGTON, DC: Attorney General Pam Bondi has put former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on notice on Thursday, October 23, over her vow to "unmask" ICE agents.

During an interview on Fox News, the Attorney General shared her reaction to a clip of Lightfoot talking about how she wants to create a real-time portal to track "purported criminal actions of ICE and CBP agents" and "unmask" them.

Pam Bondi makes sure Lori Lightfoot is 'not violating the law'

During an interview on 'Jesse Watters Primetime', Pam Bondi told the host, "This is the first time I’ve seen the Lori Lightfoot video was just now on your show."

"She will be getting a letter from us tomorrow to preserve anything she has done as well, to make sure that she’s not violating the law. It appears she is. You cannot disclose the identity of a federal agent — where they live, anything that could harm them," Bondi added.

The former Chicago Mayor made the comments on FOX32 Chicago’s "Chicago Report", saying she and other attorneys are creating a nonprofit called "The ICE Accountability Project".

She said it would be a "centralized archive of all the purported criminal actions of ICE and CBP agents" that would deliver real-time updates to the public.

"We start the process of unmasking the agents," Lightfoot said.

She further claimed she has a constitutional right to document what’s happening because they are on public property.

Meanwhile, Bondi said on Thursday that it’s not just Lightfoot she’s looking into. 

"Pritzker, same ball game. Nancy Pelosi got a letter today from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, so did Brooke Jenkins – that DA in San Francisco. We told them: 'preserve your emails, preserve everything you have on this topic'. Because if you are telling people to arrest our ICE officers, our federal agents, you cannot do that. You are impeding an investigation, and we will charge them," she said.

The letter, referenced by Bondi, cites several federal statutes that criminalize assaulting, impeding, or conspiring against federal officers.

It further notes that the supremacy clause of the US Constitution dictates that state officials cannot prosecute federal agents for actions taken in the course of their duties.

Todd Blanche warns California Dems to 'stand down or face prosecution'

Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche warned California Democrats on Thursday to "stand down or face prosecution" amid threats to arrest federal agents.

Interestingly, his warning comes after Rep Nancy Pelosi suggested on Wednesday, October 22, that San Francisco police could potentially arrest federal agents if they were found violating state law during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. 

Following this, Blanche posted a letter on X that he had sent to Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, state Attorney General Rob Bonta, Pelosi, and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

"California politicians want to arrest federal agents for enforcing federal law. We just sent them a letter: Stand down or face prosecution. No one threatens our agents. No one will stop us from Making America Safe Again," his X post read.

Blanche wrote in the letter that instead of "supporting and working" with federal officials, the lawmakers have called for state and local law enforcement to "arrest" officers "enforcing federal laws enacted by the US Congress, including federal immigration laws."

He further added that any attempt to arrest federal agents would be considered by the Justice Department as "both illegal and futile". 

The letter further read, "Accordingly, you are hereby directed to preserve all written and electronic communications and records related to any attempts or efforts to impede or obstruct federal law enforcement officials. We urge you and other California officials to publicly abandon this apparent criminal conspiracy, to stop threatening law enforcement, and to prioritize the safety of your citizens."

"In the meantime, federal agents and officers will continue to enforce federal law and will not be deterred by the threat of arrest by California authorities who have abdicated their duty to protect their constituents," it concluded.