Overview
- Blanche, President Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general, faced sharp questioning in a Judiciary Committee hearing that began Wednesday over his prior work for the president and recent decisions as acting DOJ chief.
- He drew attention when he said, “I am his lawyer,” then corrected himself to say he “was” Trump’s lawyer, a slip that senators seized on to question his ability to separate the president’s interests from the country’s.
- Senators pressed Blanche about a disputed out-of-court Trump–DOJ/IRS settlement that proposed a compensation fund; Blanche told lawmakers the fund was “dead” but acknowledged there is no written agreement formally voiding it.
- Blanche personally authorized subpoenas for New York Times reporters who wrote about the new Air Force One, a move press-rights groups say chills journalism while Blanche defended the subpoenas as part of an investigation into leaked classified material.
- The committee must still vote on the nomination and the outcome is uncertain because a single Republican dissent in committee would block Blanche, a result that could leave the DOJ led by an acting attorney general and deepen debate over politicization, press freedom, and victims’ access to files.