Attorney General Pam Bondi fires lead prosecutor in Govoni fraud case [View all]

Source: Tampa Bay Times

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the lead prosecutor handling the federal fraud case against St. Petersburg businessperson Leo Govoni, ostensibly in retaliation for his role in prosecuting Jan. 6 rioters.

A Department of Justice memo dated June 27 and obtained by the Tampa Bay Times informed Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gordon that he’d been removed from federal service. The memo bore Bondi’s signature.

Her action removes Gordon from a high-profile Tampa case involving the embezzlement of $100 million from medical trust funds taking place in Bondi’s home community. It came a day after Gordon successfully argued in court that Govoni should be denied bail.

Bondi’s memo does not state a reason for the dismissal but multiple national news outlets, including NBC News, reported that she fired three prosecutors, all of whom worked on Jan. 6 prosecutions. The prosecutors were not named.

The memo cites the president’s constitutional authority and the “laws of the United States” in removing Gordon from federal service, but gives no indication his termination was related to his job performance. Under the law, most federal prosecutors are not considered to be at-will employees, which means they cannot be fired without cause.

Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2025/07/07/attorney-general-pam-bondi-fires-lead-prosecutor-govoni-fraud-case/