President Donald Trump’s attorney general, Todd Blanche, was confirmed over the weekend despite the initial opposition to his nomination voiced by Republican lawmakers like Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Yet even though Blanche overcame the hurdles to taking office, a new report reveals that his biggest struggles are still ahead of him.
“As Blanche assumes his new role, now with the imprimatur of Senate backing, walking a tightrope between satisfying Trump and fulfilling an attorney general’s obligations to the rule of law is likely to only grow more perilous,” reported The Washington Post’s Jeremy Roebuck on Sunday. “Over the next several months, the Justice Department is expected to make a number of charging decisions in sensitive cases of keen interest to the president.”
Roebuck added that “prosecutors in Florida have been at work for months on what Trump allies have referred to as a ‘grand conspiracy’ investigation of former Obama- and Biden-era officials, including former CIA director John Brennan, who they say engaged in a long-running scheme to violate the president’s civil rights through efforts to undermine his presidency — allegations Brennan denies.”
The journalist continued, “Meanwhile, department investigators continue to seek evidence to back Trump’s unproven assertions that the 2020 election was stolen, that there exist broad left-wing conspiracies to oppose his second-term agenda and that his critics, including former FBI director James B. Comey, deserve to be put in prison.”
If Blanche proceeds to weaponize the Justice Department to go after Trump’s political opponents, it will violate the assurances he reportedly made to Republican lawmakers who initially expressed reservations about backing him.
While Cassidy, Cornyn and Tillis claimed that Blanche reassured them he would not allow Trump to politicize the Justice Department, Roebuck pointed out that “Blanche has repeatedly defended the president’s ‘right’ to intervene in Justice Department business — a significant departure from long-standing norms.” The Post then quoted Blanche saying “if we have discussions where we have to talk about a case and whether we’re going to charge a case or whether we have charged a case, that’s okay. I’m not concerned about that.”
Despite Blanche’s statements that he will allow Trump to meddle in Justice Department business, the three Republicans who flipped to support him claimed to have been reassured.
“In casting the pivotal votes, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) each said they worried about Blanche’s ability to put the interests of the American people above those of his former client,” Roebuck reported.
He then wrote, “But each said Blanche had provided them with personal assurances that had assuaged their doubts about his ability to effectively counsel Trump when the president’s instincts run contrary to the rule of law.”