Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on Sunday that he would not commit to maintaining absolute independence from the White House, a stance that has fueled concerns among critics regarding the Justice Department’s potential alignment with President Donald Trump’s political agenda. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Blanche rejected the idea of such a pledge, asserting, “No, I’m not going to pledge that, and no attorney general should ever pledge that.” He maintained that the Justice Department remains committed to prosecuting cases without fear or favor, emphasizing that the president has never requested that he violate ethical or legal boundaries.
Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal defense attorney and was confirmed by the Senate last weekend after holding the position in an acting capacity since April, argued that it is appropriate for an attorney general to consider the president’s perspective. When questioned about whether Trump should have a voice in specific prosecutions—particularly regarding the president’s desire to revisit a recently dismissed vandalism case at the Reflecting Pool—Blanche replied, “Every American has a voice in prosecutions… So whether President Trump should have a, quote, voice, it depends, but yes.” He added that he hopes every attorney general in history would similarly take the president’s views into account.
Addressing the perception that the Justice Department acts as an arm of the administration to target political rivals, such as former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, Blanche dismissed the notion that the president micromanages his work. “There’s that misnomer about President Trump – which is that he wakes up in the morning, calls me up, and says ‘Todd, go prosecute this.’ That’s absolutely not the case,” he stated. In separate interviews on “Meet the Press” and “Fox News Sunday,” Blanche insisted that he maintains the autonomy to disagree with the president, noting that Trump actively encourages candid counsel and expects honest feedback even when it contradicts his own desires.
Regarding the Reflecting Pool vandalism case, Blanche declined to confirm whether he would direct DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro to reopen the matter, though he expressed full support for her performance. While acknowledging that the president is “extraordinarily frustrated” by the outcome of that case, Blanche defended Pirro, stating she is “doing a phenomenal job” and that it would be unfair to judge her tenure based on a single legal decision.
The attorney general also addressed the administration’s ongoing efforts to secure unredacted voter rolls from approximately 30 states, a push linked to Trump’s persistent claims regarding the 2020 election. Although the administration has faced numerous legal setbacks in these efforts, Blanche indicated that taking these cases to the Supreme Court remains a “possibility.” He framed the initiative as a matter of election integrity, a key platform of the president’s second term, stating, “Election integrity is something that President Trump ran on, and the American people elected him.”
Finally, Blanche confirmed that the controversial “anti-weaponization” fund, which had previously threatened to stall his confirmation, has been formally rescinded. Despite this, he noted that standard, long-standing processes remain available for individuals who believe they have been wronged by the federal government to seek compensation. When asked if this could include participants from the January 6, 2021, riots, he declined to provide a guarantee, stating, “Well, anybody can file a claim against the federal government, not just anybody associated with January 6.” He emphasized that he would not comment on whether potential future litigation would result in financial payouts, focusing instead on the established legal avenues for seeking redress. The report also notes that “He wants to get counsel from all of his leaders that is just that – counsel. The report also notes that and I don’t in any way fault him for that.”, now that’s different than whether the president is extraordinarily frustrated at what happened in that case. The report also notes that trump has demanded states turn over unredacted voter rolls and other sensitive information — part of the administration’s efforts to insert itself in federal elections that was fueled by Trump’s longstanding and baseless assertions that the 2020 election was stolen from him. The report also notes that but has frequently lost in court, the administration has sued roughly 30 states that have refused to open their voter rolls to administration scrutiny.
