Attorney General Todd Blanche set off a firestorm with a candid admission about whom he really answers to inside the Justice Department.
Appearing Wednesday on "Pod Force One," Blanche waved away the idea that federal prosecutors are supposed to keep the president at arm's length. "There was this misperception that there's this separation and independence between the Department of Justice and the White House, and everybody likes to champion that, and they accused me of not suffering from independence," Blanche said. "I don't," he added.
He went further, framing his loyalty in personal terms. "I work for President Trump."
The comments fly in the face of a norm Justice Department leaders of both parties honored for roughly half a century. After Watergate, the DOJ put new policies in place to wall itself off from the White House, The New Republic noted in its coverage of Blanche's comments.
A clip of the remarks, shared by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, quickly drew fire online.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director at the American Immigration Council, pointed back to the scandal that built the norm in the first place. "50 years ago, the Attorney General went to prison for committing crimes to cover up the criminal actions of the President of the United States," he noted on Bluesky and X. "The fallout from Watergate led to the building of a wall of independence at DOJ that lasted half a century. That wall has been shattered by Trump's people."
New York Times Justice Department reporter Glenn Thrush zeroed in on Blanche's suggestion during the podcast interview that former Attorney General Merrick Garland jumped to White House orders just as readily as Blanche has for Trump. "Be interested in seeing evidence beyond everybody-knows-it's-true etc.," Thrush said on X. "Biden WH was VERY frustrated w/ Garland's aloofness, particularly after he charged Hunter."
The Bluesky account Watchdog Progressive pointed to the oath Blanche swore when he took office. "Categorically wrong," the account declared. "Blanche takes an oath which says he is to serve the U.S. Constitution, not Trump."