Originally published at: Blanche Does Cagey Dance on DOJ Independence: Dept of Justice Is ‘Under the Executive Branch’
There was no question heading into Wednesday’s confirmation hearing for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that Blanche would receive little to no pushback from Republicans about the inappropriate nature of the work he has done to help transform the Department of Justice into President Trump’s personal law firm. Only two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary…
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the cartoonishly corrupt slush fund that Trump created to dole out compensation to his political supporters, which is now defunct
As if.
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Will tomorrow’s confirmation hearing include his ignoring of the law that requires the release of the Epstein files that he says he will continue to ignore?
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Just a polite observation that many of my trans friends do not appreciate the “gender-affirming care” jokes in response to MAHA freakouts because it conflates essential, science-based medical care with the paranoid ravings of weird, homicidal freaks.
A better response would be to note that the leadership of the Pentagon is incapable of winning the illegal war of choice the commander-in-chief started and is instead spending its energy resegregating the officer corps, obsessing over facial hair, and trying to give men back acne and mood swings. Shahed drones don’t care how much you can lift, bro.
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Say what??
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Watch the vid.
Wish more senators were focusing on that get out of IRS audits free card, given to TFG’s whole family as part of the “settlement.”
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Todd Blanche isn’t attorney general. He’s Trump’s personal lawyer. He has zero independence and absolutely no ethics. To Blanche, fealty to Trump is all; the Constitution is nothing.
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Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) got into a heated back-and-forth with Blanche about who was telling the truth about their private meeting before Padilla, fed up, asked: “So the Department of Justice should be independent or not?”
“I think — as I said earlier, the Department of Justice is under the executive branch. If confirmed, I will be a member of the president’s Cabinet,” Blanche said. “So absolutely, my obligation is to the American people and the rule of law. So that being said, I am a member of the Cabinet of the President of United States.”
One of many examples of senators handing Blanche (and other nominees they question) the opportunity to evade and obfuscate. Why not sometimes try this? In the lead up that frames your question, cede the points you anticipate they will make, and then ask your question. Ceding a point or points to win an argument is sorta HS Debate Club 101.
Dem questioner: "The president is the executive officer of the executive branch. In that role he has sworn an oath to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and he has the authority to nominate officials like the attorney general to assist him in that obligation. When the Senate has confirmed his nominee, the president retains the right to fire any member of his cabinet, including his attorney general at any time.
(Perhaps pause here for, Do you agree? Cut the respondent off if they use the opportunity to consume time.)
Dem questioner resumes: Long experience has taught us that, unlike other cabinet officials, the AG’s independence from the White House is crucial to ensuring that the AG acts as the attorney of the American people and not as the president’s attorney. (Don’t waste time with even a reference to Nixon’s AG history.)
Then launch your yes or no question.
I dunno. I’m just beginning to formulate this thought. But I can’t help thinking that using preliminary time to cede harmless points in order to cut the nominee off from elaborating on them and to corner them into answering the crucial question would be the way to go.
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He even slipped up today and said so.
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I’m starting to seriously wonder if Pete Hegseth has a major case of Erectile Dysfunction, and his actions in regard to the military, especially today’s weird testosterone uber alles! pronouncement, are his way of dealing with it.
Projection is everything with these clowns.
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It may be more than one thing. It fits his juvenile, manosphere agenda to elevate men over women in the military (if you’re White). But it might also be a way to normalize his own abuse of testosterone for non-medical reasons.
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What Blanche really meant was “under the Executive thumb”.
Border czar warns of more ‘bloodshed’ unless Dems ‘shut their mouths’
It all goes back to the Dems who want to continually attack ICE and tell people to evade them, tell people don’t comply, tell people to resist, and tell people ICE isn’t a real law enforcement,” Homan said. “There’s still going to be more bloodshed unless they shut their mouth and let ICE enforce the laws that they enacted.”
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Blanche was nswering a question other than the one question which was asked. The last refuge of liars and scoundrels when sitting for a congressional hearing. Why does this regime need this particular liar in the most important law enforcement position in America?