Attorney General Todd Blanche’s understanding of the Justice Department is a stark departure from the law enforcement agency’s historic position within the federal government.
Speaking with the New York Post podcast Wednesday, Blanche boldly declared that he works “for President Trump.”
“There was this misperception that there’s this separation and independence between the Department of Justice and the White House, and everybody likes to champion that, and they accused me of not suffering from independence,” Blanche said. “I don’t.”
Contrary to Blanche’s opinion, the Justice Department is supposed to be independent and free from presidential interference. That’s been true since at least Watergate, after which the agency established interdepartmental policies and new political norms to distance its operations from the White House.
But that started to shift in 2024, when the Supreme Court sided with Donald Trump to expand his presidential immunity. At the time, Chief Justice John Roberts penned a majority decision that effectively transformed the Justice Department into an arm to be leveraged by the Oval Office, opening communication channels between the federal law enforcement agency and the presidency for all future investigations.
“The president may discuss potential investigations and prosecutions with his Attorney General and other Justice Department officials to carry out his constitutional duty to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed,’” Roberts wrote in his majority opinion.
Since then, Trump has repeatedly used the Justice Department for his own personal gain, directing prosecutors to lead his retribution campaign, to investigate election records, and to strong-arm other federal institutions.
Under Blanche’s supervision, the agency has also brushed off potential investigations into dubious activity by Trump and his family members. Last month, Blanche said he had no interest in examining the Russian ties to Donald Trump Jr., even after a Putin-connected Russian oligarch spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Trump Jr.’s wedding.