Acting AG Todd Blanche Struggles On Epstein, DOJ Slush Fund, And Trump Loyalty During Confirmation Hearing

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared for his first day of confirmation hearings before the US Senate on Wednesday, seeking a permanent position as the nation’s top law enforcement authority. Before Blanche can secure his position as the head AG in charge, he needs to convince Democratic and Republican senators that he isn’t still planning to serve as President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, that the president’s ill-advised  “anti-weaponization of lawfare” fund represents a mistake that his office won’t repeat, and that his office won’t continue to serve as a buffer between American people and the truth about the president’s connection to late billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Sure, there are certainly other important issues, but those are the bullet points that threaten to tank Blanche’s hopes of being confirmed as the new U.S. attorney general.

So, how did he do?

“President Trump trusts me to give him counsel,” Blanche told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as the Washington Post reported. “Counsel does not mean I’m a yes-man.”

I mean, maybe not, but when you, as a lawyer for the president and an acting legal authority for the nation, are a party to the president suing the IRS, an organization he’s in charge of, and settling that suit in exchange for a slush fund and immunity from the IRS, which, again, is an agency he controls, you’re either deeply corrupt yourself, or you’re a yes-man for the deeply corrupt.

We previously reported that Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) had expressed his skepticism regarding whether Blanche could serve in the role of U.S. AG, because, in his view, “The attorney general is not the president’s private lawyer.” On Wednesday, Cornyn grilled Blanche about his role in Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, and the settlement, which included the slush fund and immunity from IRS investigations on past tax-related complaints for Trump and his family members, which a federal judge rebuked the administration over on Monday, ruling that lawsuit was filed for an “improper purpose,” and that the settlement constituted self-dealing and an abuse of the court process.

But Blanche didn’t want to answer for any of that, so he simply said, “It is a moot issue, meaning there is no weaponization fund. The weaponization fund is dead. It’s not moving forward.”

Yes, it’s true that the fund was permanently shut down in early June, but that still doesn’t address the issue of the IRS immunity that came with it, or the fact that he was so deeply involved in the deal as the temporary AG, and now he’s seeking the job permanently.

There was one interesting moment when Sen. John N Kennedy (R-Louisiana) asked Blanche flat-out if he and Trump were friends, to which Blanche replied, “I’m his lawyer,” before scrambling to clarify, “I was his lawyer.”

Anyway, Blanche wasn’t much more convincing when he was asked questions about Epstein, which he answered by lying about the redactor-in-chief and his administration being “more transparent than any past administration,” including the Biden administration, because a Trump stooge just wouldn’t be a Trump stooge without taking random swipes at the president’s predecessors, as Trump does numerous times a day.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett wasn’t feeling Blanche’s answers at all, by the way.

In fact, Blanche didn’t fare well at all with Democratic lawmakers, who weren’t willing to bother with softball question for Blanche like some Republicans did. Here’s Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) questioning him about the often violent overreach of federal law enforcement that has been constant throughout Trump’s second term, especially as it relates to his immigration crackdown.

“Do you agree that it’s unacceptable for federal agents to forcibly enter someone’s home without a warrant and drag them onto the street without checking that they even have the right person?” Klobuchar asked Blanche.

Seems like a simple yes-or-no-but-preferably-yes kind of question, right? Well, apparently not.

“Well, it depends on the circumstances,” Blanche responded. “It’s not a black-and-white answer.”

No, it’s certainly not a black-and-white issue; more like a Black and brown problem, if you get my meaning.

Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) was basically like, Nah, I thinks TF not!

By the end of the hearing, Blanche’s prospects for becoming the country’s next AG was still very much up in the air. According to the New York Times, Cornyn told reporters after the session that he hasn’t made up his mind about voting in his favor.

“I don’t have to make a decision now, so I’m not,” he said.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), on the other hand, said he was still undecided, but leaning towards saying “yes” to Blanche’s appointment.

As the Times noted, though, “even a single Republican ‘no’ vote on the Judiciary Committee would block Mr. Blanche’s nomination from consideration by the full Senate.”

So, we shall see.

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