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From Trump’s Attorney to Attorney General: The Rise of Todd Blanche
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Blanche as Trump's Legal Gatekeeper: Advising on the Limits of Power
At 20:56 · chapter starts 19:55
As demands poured in from the White House and the MAGA ecosystem to pursue Trump's adversaries, Blanche occupied an almost impossible middle position. He was publicly committed to executing Trump's vision of a DOJ that investigates perceived enemies — but privately, he was also a former federal prosecutor with a clear-eyed sense of what juries would actually do. [1] — Glenn Thrush "Blanche occupied an almost impossible middle position — fielding demands from the White House and MAGA allies to go after Trump's enemies, …" 17:00 The clearest example was his advice against prosecuting New York AG Leticia James (indicted on mortgage fraud) and former FBI Director James Comey (indicted for allegedly lying to Congress). Blanche told Trump directly: you have the authority to do this, but your chances of getting a conviction in Northern Virginia are practically zero. Trump proceeded anyway. And as Thrush notes, Blanche's initial advice has since been vindicated — though the episode doesn't dwell on the fallout, the prosecutions have not gone well.
Blanche and Pam Bondi reportedly briefed Trump on precisely how many times and in what context he was mentioned in the Jeffrey Epstein files — a deeply ambiguous role that is likely to generate sharp questions at the confirmation hearing.
