- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg privately met with Attorney General Pam Bondi in March, a new book says.
- The reported purpose of the meeting: How to talk to Trump about Meta.
- That would’ve come as Meta prepared for a trial in an ongoing FTC antitrust case against them.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg privately met with Attorney General Pam Bondi at the Department of Justice earlier this year, according to a new book.
In “Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America,” ABC reporter Jonathan Karl reports that Zuckerberg asked Bondi for “advice on how to effectively speak” with President Donald Trump about “Meta’s concerns.”
The previously unreported meeting took place on March 12, during one of Zuckerberg’s several trips to Washington, DC, in 2025. He later met with Trump at the White House that same day.
Spokespeople for both Meta and Bondi declined to comment.
The meeting would have taken place weeks before the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case against Meta went to trial. The case began at the tail end of Trump’s first term in office and proceeded under President Joe Biden.
The trial proceeded in April before wrapping up in May. If the government is successful, Meta may have to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp.
A federal judge has yet to rule on whether Meta has violated antitrust laws.
More broadly, the episode is an example of how Zuckerberg and other Big Tech CEOs are seeking to navigate their relationships with Trump since he took office.
Zuckerberg was one of several Big Tech CEOs who attended Trump’s inauguration in January. The CEO, who Trump once threatened to jail, was also photographed sitting next to the president at a White House dinner in September attended by many tech CEOs following an AI summit led by first lady Melania Trump.
Meta is also among the Big Tech firms that have agreed to contribute to the construction of a new ballroom at the White House.
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