Attorney General Pam Bondi deleted a social media post on December 31, 2025, after critics pointed out that data she shared to credit the Trump administration for reduced drug overdose deaths actually reflected progress made under President Joe Biden.
Bondi had shared a graph tracking drug overdose deaths, claiming that the Trump administration’s border and law enforcement policies were responsible for declining fatalities. She wrote in the now-deleted post that President Trump closed the border and DOJ agents seized fentanyl doses, according to The Daily Beast.
The graph, however, showed that drug overdose deaths declined sharply during the period when Biden was in office, representing a 27 percent reduction in overdose deaths. The data contradicted Bondi’s assertion that the Trump administration deserved credit for the improvement.
Ted Lieu of California quickly responded to the post, thanking Bondi for giving credit to Joe Biden. Lieu’s response highlighted the timeline issue, pointing out that the data ended before Trump took office for his second term.
After the criticism mounted, Bondi removed the post from her social media account. Several users had already captured screenshots of the original message before its deletion.
The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of the Trump administration’s approach to the nation’s drug crisis. While Bondi credited border enforcement and prosecution efforts, the data she cited covered a period extending from October 2023 to October 2024, when Biden’s policies were in effect.
The controversy over the deleted post is not the only recent challenge facing Bondi and the Justice Department. On September 20, Trump accidentally posted a message pressuring Bondi to bring charges against his political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The president had apparently intended the message as a direct communication, but instead posted it publicly to his Truth Social account.
In the message, Trump expressed frustration about his political rivals. The post was visible to the public before Trump realized his error.
Since that incident, two of the three people mentioned in Trump’s post have faced federal charges. James was indicted by a federal grand jury and denied the charges as politically motivated. The case was later dismissed.
Comey was also indicted and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. After the indictment, Trump denied involvement in the case against the former FBI director. Comey’s case was also dismissed.
The Justice Department has also faced criticism over its handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in a Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019. The department removed 13 files from its website, including a photo showing Trump with Epstein. Officials later reinstated the image after review, with Todd Blanche stating that concerns about protecting victims prompted the temporary removal.
The photo in question shows Trump, Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted associate.
Blanche rejected suggestions that the removal was related to Trump’s presence in the photograph, explaining that the files were removed after concerns were raised.
The Justice Department stated that after review, officials determined there was no evidence that any Epstein victims were depicted in the photograph, leading to its reinstatement without alteration or redaction.
