D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb are forcefully rejecting U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s late-night order attempting to sideline the local D.C. police chief, calling it unlawful and beyond federal authority.
“It is my opinion that the Bondi Order is unlawful, and that you are not legally obligated to follow it,” Schwab wrote in a letter to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith released on Thursday.
“Regardless of the Bondi Order, no official other than you may exercise all the powers and duties of the Chief of Police or issue any executive orders, general orders, or other written directives that apply to members of MPD,” Schwalb said.
According to Schwalb, Section 740 of the Home Rule Act allows the president to direct the D.C. mayor to provide MPD services for special federal emergencies, but it does not authorize the president or a designee to remove or replace the police chef, alter MPD’s chain of command, demand services directly from MPD, rescind or suspend MPD orders or set local enforcement priorities.
Schwalb called Bondi’s move “ultra vires,” or beyond legal authority.
“Having been duly appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council, you are the lawfully appointed Chief of Police of the District of Columbia,” Schwalb wrote to Smith. “Therefore, members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor.”
Bowser echoed that position
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