Todd Blanche declines to pledge independence from White House
US attorney general says no one in his role ‘should ever’ make this vow amid concern over Trump steering DoJ
TL;DR
- US Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to pledge that the Justice Department would always act independently of the White House and Donald Trump.
- Blanche stated that no attorney general should ever make such a pledge and claimed Trump would never ask him to do anything unethical or illegal.
- A law professor criticized Blanche's position as an "appalling departure" from the Justice Department's mission, calling it "Trump’s private law firm."
- Blanche was narrowly confirmed by the Senate and previously served as Trump's criminal defense lawyer.
- He defended Trump's pardons of Capitol attack supporters, stating it was the president's right.
- Blanche affirmed the Justice Department would continue "election integrity" efforts despite numerous court defeats.