Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended Donald Trump’s efforts to prosecute his perceived political foes, saying it’s the president’s “right” and “duty” to have his enemies investigated, “using all of the resources we can.”
While taking questions for the first time since his appointment last week, Blanche dismissed concerns about whether he could balance “relentless pressure” from Trump to go after his enemies with the White House’s vow to end the Justice Department’s weaponization.
“We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now, and it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president, in the past, has had issues with and that [he] believes should be investigated,” Blanche said Tuesday. “That is his right and, indeed, it is his duty to do that, meaning to lead this country.”
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Blanche said he did not view the mandate as “something that is going to keep me up at night, except to make sure that we investigate every case that we have, to the fullest extent of the law and using all of the resources we can.”
“When I see reporting about shock and awe at this supposed weaponization of this Department of Justice, it means nothing to me because it’s completely false,” he said, while portraying Trump as a victim who “wants justice” after enduring four indictments in 2023 during the Joe Biden administration.
Trump fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, reportedly in part due to her slow and unsuccessful prosecution of his political enemies ― including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump had made his dissatisfaction with her performance public knowledge.
Asked about Bondi’s termination on Tuesday, Blanche claimed that “nobody” knows why she was ousted and that Trump has the right to keep it that way.
“I don’t operate every day trying to second-guess what President Trump or anybody else is thinking,” said Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal attorney prior to his last role as deputy attorney general.
