Blanche argues Trump has ‘right’ to shape DOJ investigations into political foes

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that President Donald Trump has the “right” and “duty” to influence federal investigations, including those involving the president’s political enemies who have investigated him in the past.

Blanche, who was appointed acting attorney general last week, rejected the idea that the Justice Department was improperly going after Trump’s opponents and defended the president’s influence over federal investigations.

“There are thousands of investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now. It is true that some of these involve men, women and organizations that the president has had trouble with in the past and believes should be investigated,” Blanche said at a news conference. he said.

“It’s his right and it’s actually his duty to do that, to lead this country, and so I don’t see it as pressure,” he continued.

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This comes after Trump fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday over bipartisan frustration over Trump’s failure to produce successful indictments against some of his political rivals and her handling of the Epstein files.

The Justice Department has launched several investigations into Trump’s opponents; These include U.S. officials finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to support Trump, Democratic lawmakers encouraging U.S. service members to ignore illegal orders, former President Joe Biden allegedly using autosignature to sign official documents without his direct permission, and liberal donors and fundraising groups.

Blanche put an end to the idea that the Trump administration was weaponizing the Justice Department by pointing out several of the investigations into Trump under the Biden administration.

“You had a president who had support along with this department, so this department helped two other local prosecutors go after the president. You had this department sitting idle as states tried to keep President Trump off the ballot,” Blanche said, adding that the Trump administration’s claim that it had “supposedly weaponized” the Justice Department was “completely false.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was appointed acting attorney general last week. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Blanche, who represented Trump in three of the four criminal cases he faced while out of office, cited those cases, arguing that Trump “wants justice” for those he believes have improperly weaponized the legal system against him.

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The acting attorney general declined to say whether he would seek nomination for the vacant attorney general post. She said she would be honored if Trump chose her for the role, but she would still love him if he chose someone else.

President Donald Trump fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi last week. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“As for whether I wanted this job or not, I didn’t want this job. I love working for President Trump,” Blanche said. “This is the greatest honor in life, and if President Trump chooses to keep me acting, that’s an honor. If he chooses to nominate me, that’s an honor. If he chooses to nominate someone else and asks me to do something else, I’ll say, ‘Thank you so much. I love you, sir.'”

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Officials can serve as deputies for up to 210 days. Trump has not signaled a candidate to fill the role on a permanent basis, but he may nominate Blanche. The president also reportedly spoke with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin about accepting the job.

Reuters contributed to this report.