Todd Blanche’s Pledge of Allegiance Sure Sounds Like a Pledge of Malfeasance

On his weekend appearance of “Meet the Press,” the AG offered zero reassurance on the “dead” weaponization fund—and point-blank refused to say the DOJ would “always act independently of the White House.” 

By Danielle Han  |  August 17, 2026 | 9:21am
Photo: NBC News on YouTube PoliticsTrump Administration Todd Blanche
Todd Blanche’s Pledge of Allegiance Sure Sounds Like a Pledge of Malfeasance

It’s now officially Week 2 of Todd Blanche serving as attorney general after barely eking out a Senate confirmation, and he’s been working overtime to keep sounding the alarm bells that should have kept him from the position in the first place.

Over the weekend, Blanche appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to outline his plans to lead the Justice Department. The good news—if any—is that he didn’t storm out on Kristen Welker, unlike a certain hissy-fit in command that just so happens to be his boss. The bad news? Pretty much everything else—including how he offered zero reassurance on the status of his and Trump’s “dead” weaponization slush fund, and point-blank refused to pledge the DOJ would “always act independently of the White House.” 

“No, I’m not going to pledge that and no attorney general should ever pledge that,” Blanche told Welker. “If I were to pledge I will be independent of the White House, what that means is that if President Trump says ‘I want the Department of Justice to go after every violent criminal in this country,” which is what he has said, what you’re saying to me is I should say, ‘No sir, not going to do it.’” Er … at least he’s honest, I guess?

 

Well, only a bit. Blanche continued on to say, “The president will never ask me to do something unethical or legal or illegal. He never has. He never will.” Smells a lot like bullshit to me! 

While the DOJ—and the AG position along with it—has been a part of the executive branch since their establishment in 1870, the department deliberately broke from any partisanship following Watergate’s “Saturday Night Massacre” in 1973, in which the former Nixon administration fired the AG, deputy AG, and special counsel investigating the political scandal. 

Alas, that 53-year norm seems to have nothing on the yearslong connection between Trump and Blanche—who’s also the first AG in modern history that was the president’s personal criminal defense lawyer. Prior to taking a post at the DOJ, Blanche representing Trump in his hush-money trial involving porn star Stormy Daniels, the Mar-a-Lago documents case, and the case accusing him of seeking to overturn the 2020 election. 

This is an appalling departure from the post-Watergate mission of the Department of Justice. DOJ, as we once knew it, is no more. Blanche has turned it into Trump‘s private law firm. What a complete disgrace. 

[image or embed]

— Barb McQuade (@barbmcquade.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 10:22 AM

 

During his “Meet the Press” appearance, Blanche also addressed the state of the “anti-weaponization fund”—the near-$2 bn. pot of cash to reward anyone who’s been wrongly targeted for “political, personal or ideological reasons,” and particularly so by the Biden administration—and whether it was actually “dead.” Because, prior to his confirmation, Blanche dropped the fund to win over Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), whose votes were on the fence. However, as we’ve covered before, the administration’s not needed to dip into this particular fund to reward an anti-abortion extremist pardoned by Trump a $1 mil. payout.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, Blanche’s comments offered little reassurance. When Welker asked him whether Jan. 6 rioters—who were really expecting to cash in on the fund when it was first announced—would still receive payouts, he responded, “Anyone who sues the federal government could get paid.” Yikes.

So, yeah. By Day 9, it looks like the AG has wasted zero time going back on any semblance of reassurance he had built in anticipation of his promotion. No alarm quite like the now. 

 
Join the discussion...
Keep scrolling for more great stories.