Following Trump’s slew of controversial appointees, Todd Blanche is next up for attorney general and he’s due for his Senate confirmation hearing next week. In the wake of his appointment, more than 1,200 former Department of Justice employees have urged senators to reject his nomination, arguing that his record raises serious questions about the department's independence.
Courier national correspondent Camaron Stevenson brings the receipts. Before becoming Trump’s personal lawyer, Blanche was a very well-respected public prosecutor and registered Democrat. All that changed in 2022 when he left his private practice to start his own firm, and became Trump’s personal attorney through each of the former president’s criminal prosecutions. It was a complete turnaround for Blanche, sacrificing not only his respected career but also his values just to defend Epstein’s friend.
Cameron sees that pivot as the defining moment of Blanche's career. Rather than simply taking on a high-profile client, Stevenson argues Blanche traded credibility for proximity to power, tying his future to Trump's legal and political survival. From that point on, he became more than a defense attorney; he became one of the president’s closest allies, cementing his place inside Trump's inner circle.
That history is what makes his nomination so contentious. The attorney general is expected to serve as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, maintaining the Justice Department’s independence even when investigations implicate the president. Critics argue Blanche’s years spent defending Trump personally, while advancing his legal and political interests, make that separation impossible. But will enough Republicans say, “Enough?”
Susan and Cameron discuss all this, plus his coverage of Trump’s Great American State Fair and ICE detention centers, on this must-watch episode of First Draft.
