Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel stands by his side during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 21, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
A Democratic analyst caught a slip-up by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during a press conference on Tuesday.
Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Tuesday that the Trump administration had indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts of wire and bank fraud for its efforts to infiltrate extremist groups. The indictment was announced just days after The Atlantic published a bombshell report that alleged Patel has been drinking excessively on the job and was chronically absent from the office, which Patel denies.
At one point during the press conference, Blanche was asked whether he had read The Atlantic's report. Blanche denied, but Democratic analyst Adam Mockler noted that Blanche later let slip some details that suggested he had read the report.
"I have a lot of concerns, and my concerns are completely around the anonymous reporting that comes forth constantly, that you know, reporters have an obligation to report, and they have due diligence that they're supposed to do," Blanche said. "And when an entire article is based on anonymous sources, and there are things in the article suggesting, for example, that senior DOJ personnel were informed of something. That's me. I wasn't informed. No one called me about that. So like, listen, I did not read that article."
Mockler discussed the press conference in a new reaction video on YouTube.
"That has nothing to do with the article at hand. Meaning ... Wait a minute!? So you have read the article?" Mockler said.
Patel has denied the allegations contained in The Atlantic's report and sued the outlet for $250 million in damages. The Atlantic has said it stands by its reporting.