Todd Blanche, chosen by Donald Trump as Minister of Justice, faced heavy fire from Democratic opposition on Wednesday during his hearing in the US Senate, responsible for confirming the appointment of this former personal lawyer of the Republican president.
“This country deserves a Minister of Justice who loves the Constitution more than any president,” declared Democratic Senator Dick Durbin in the preamble to the hearing of the current acting Minister of Justice before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“A Minister of Justice concerned about America’s security and fighting corruption, not satisfying the president’s personal grievances,” added the senator in front of Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer.
Todd Blanche, who was No. 2 at the Justice Department until Pam Bondi’s dismissal in April, defended his record.
“We are protecting America and this is only the beginning,” he said.
It only takes one Republican vote against Todd Blanche, who has been responsible for this interim since Pam Bondi was fired in April by Donald Trump, to derail his nomination.
And even if approved by the Judiciary Committee, his nomination must be confirmed by a vote before the full Senate.
“I am his lawyer”
For Democrats, Todd Blanche is one of the leading figures in the campaign of retaliation launched by the Trump administration against the president’s adversaries.
“In less than 18 months at the Department of Justice, you have demonstrated that you are still President Trump’s personal lawyer,” said Dick Durbin.
Asked about his ties of friendship with the president, Todd Blanche also made a slip of the tongue.
“I’m his lawyer,” he said, before immediately correcting himself to say, “I was his lawyer.” »
Critics also focused on the so-called “anti-instrumentalization” fund, defended by Todd Blanche and which aimed to financially compensate allies of Donald Trump for prosecutions initiated under the Biden administration, as well as to offer tax immunity to the Republican president and his relatives.
The government has since abandoned this project under pressure from the courts and elected Democrats who denounced a “slush fund”.
Todd Blanche has also attracted criticism from victims of Jeffrey Epstein, who accuse him of a lack of transparency and incompetence in his management of the publication of the investigation file on the sex criminal.
“Chaotic”
Tensions rose during the hearing as Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse accused him of running the “most chaotic Justice Department in the history” of the United States.
The current interim minister in return castigated questions that were “odious” and riddled with untruths, according to him.
On his Truth Social network, Donald Trump defended Todd Blanche on Tuesday, saying that his former lawyer was doing a “phenomenal job” as interim minister and that “every Republican senator” should vote to confirm him to this position permanently.
Before joining the Department of Justice last year, Todd Blanche was a member of the billionaire’s team of lawyers during his trial in New York, but also in two federal cases in which the Republican was prosecuted.
The president’s party has a majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but at least two Republican members have expressed reservations about Todd Blanche’s nomination: Senator Thom Tillis, who will retire in a few months, and Senator John Cornyn, who recently lost the Republican nomination for the November elections after Donald Trump’s support for his opponent.
During the hearing, however, the two Republican senators seemed inclined to approve his nomination.
More than 1,200 former Justice Department officials also signed an open letter to oppose Todd Blanche’s nomination, highlighting his dismissal of numerous officials perceived as insufficiently loyal to Donald Trump.
