Jack Goldsmith, who previously served as the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush, is issuing a stark warning Republican senators not to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general.
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Thus far, Blanche has been auditioning for the attorney general gig, CNN said, by issuing indictments of President Donald Trump’s political foes, whether or not they’ll even make it to trial. Blanche was a former personal lawyer to Trump against 34 felony fraud charges in New York.
As Politico stated in April, Blanche is a “Trump loyalist who relishes every opportunity to pick a fight on the president’s behalf.”
“The DOJ is not a personal law firm, yet Donald Trump has installed another one of his former personal defense lawyers to lead the DOJ,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) wrote on social media at the time. “His blind allegiance to Trump is not a qualification for the job. He is wholly unfit to lead the DOJ.”
The objections appear to also spread to conservatives like Goldsmith.
Gregg Nunziata, the executive director for the Society for the Rule of Law, flagged Goldsmith’s comments on X Friday. “If the Senate confirms Blanche, it’s not just confirming someone as attorney general; it’s endorsing Trump weaponization. That’s what’s at stake in the Senate confirmation: whether the Senate will exercise what I believe are its responsibilities to ensure that law enforcement isn’t abused. This is one very important check on that,” Nunziata wrote.
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“Now, to be clear,” he added, “Blanche is going to be acting as attorney general one way or the other. But the question is whether the Senate will endorse what’s been going on.”
Goldsmith and Bauer compared it to the nomination of Bill Pulte for the director of national intelligence post, which Trump withdrew and replaced with another appointee whom some also consider unqualified.
The conversation was part of a discussion with former White House Counsel under President Barack Obama, Bob Bauer for his Substack and comes before former Attorney General Bill Barr wrote his glowing endorsement of Blanche for the Wall Street Journal.
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Attorney General Todd Blanche? by Jack Goldsmith
The vital role of the Senate in preventing law enforcement abuse
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