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Todd Blanche Refuses to Pledge DOJ Independence From White House
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Attorney General Todd Blanche declined Sunday to pledge that the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) would always act independently of the White House, saying no attorney general should make such a commitment and that he would consider President Donald Trump 's views when making decisions.
The remarks are likely to reignite concerns about the DOJ's independence that were central to Blanche's contentious confirmation battle last week. Critics of his nomination, including Democratic lawmakers, government watchdog groups, and even two Republican senators, argued that Trump's former personal attorney was too closely tied to the president to serve as the nation's top law-enforcement official.
During an interview on NBC News' Meet the Press , host Kristen Welker asked Blanche: "Can you pledge that the Justice Department will always act independently of the White House?"
"No, I'm not going to pledge that," he answered. "And no attorney general should ever pledge that." He argued that a president is entitled to communicate priorities to the DOJ and suggested that a blanket promise of independence could conflict with those priorities.
Blanche went further when asked whether Trump should have a role in individual prosecution decisions.
"Will I take the president of the United States's view on something into consideration? Yes, of course," the attorney general said. "And I hope every attorney general in history would not answer that question differently."
For decades, Justice Department leaders have generally sought to maintain some distance from the White House in criminal investigations and prosecutorial decisions. Blanche, however, has previously defended a president's ability to weigh in on the department's priorities. In April, while serving as acting attorney general, he said Trump had a "right and indeed it is his duty" to shape federal investigations involving people and entities the president believed should be investigated.
Blanche narrowly won Senate confirmation in a 50-49 vote following one of the most contentious nomination battles of Trump's second term. His confirmation triggered warnings from Democrats, watchdog organizations and some Republicans that the DOJ risked becoming too closely aligned with the White House.
Before becoming attorney general, Blanche served as Trump's personal defense lawyer and later as acting attorney general after Pam Bondi was removed from the post in April. His elevation prompted immediate criticism from opponents who argued the DOJ's traditional independence could be weakened by placing one of Trump's former attorneys in charge of federal law enforcement.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer argued that Republicans had compromised the department's independence by confirming Trump's former lawyer.
"If you want to wipe out corruption, you can't have the president's personal attorney as the Attorney General," Schumer said after the confirmation vote.
CREW similarly warned that Blanche could lead a DOJ that "will serve [Trump], not the American people."
Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, also voted against Blanche's confirmation. Collins said Blanche had taken actions that "further eroded the Department's independence," while Murkowski said she lacked confidence that he would "check the worst impulses of this administration."
Blanche pushed back on those criticisms during Sunday's interview.
"I will act with integrity. Our prosecutors will act with integrity. We will prosecute without fear or any sort of favor," he said.
He also rejected suggestions that Trump influences individual prosecutions.
"There is this extraordinarily false narrative that the president wakes up in the morning and calls me and says, 'Todd, go prosecute X or Y.' He does not do that. He has never done that. He will never do that," Blanche said.
Asked whether he would refuse a presidential request that crossed legal or ethical lines, Blanche said such a scenario would never arise.
"The president will never ask me to do something unethical or illegal,” he said.
In response to Newsweek 's request for comment, a DOJ spokesperson said on Sunday that Blanche had already addressed concerns about the department's independence publicly and pointed to what the spokesperson described as internal communications showing the Biden administration's Justice Department took direction from the White House regarding a 2022 search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate .
Blanche signaled on Sunday the DOJ may continue aggressively pursuing one of the administration's most controversial legal initiatives: its effort to obtain voter registration data from states ahead of November's midterm elections.
Asked whether the administration could take its voter-roll fight to the U.S. Supreme Court after losing 22 lower-court cases, Blanche replied that it was "absolutely" a possibility.
The administration has sued dozens of states seeking access to voter registration records, arguing the information is needed to investigate election-law compliance and possible registration irregularities. Federal judges in at least 22 cases have sided with states that refused to provide the requested data, finding the DOJ lacked authority to compel disclosure of complete voter databases.
Blanche defended the effort Sunday, saying the DOJ would continue pursuing what he described as election integrity investigations and arguing that the federal government has a role in ensuring elections comply with federal law, even though states administer elections.
Blanche's comments touch on one of the most sensitive questions surrounding the DOJ: how independent the department should be from political influence.
Supporters argue a president is entitled to set law-enforcement priorities through appointed officials. Criti...
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