WASHINGTON, April 7 - Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is entitled and obliged to push for federal probes of those who investigated him, comments that come as the department faces pressure from the president to produce prosecutions of figures he regards as adversaries.
In his first prolonged public remarks since assuming the acting attorney general role last week, Blanche pushed back on the idea that the Justice Department has been improperly singling out opponents of the president. At the same time, he defended the view that the president may direct attention to matters involving people and entities with which he has had disputes.
Blanche said, "We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now. It is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and believes should be investigated. That is his right and indeed it is his duty to do that, meaning to lead this country."
The acting attorney general's remarks followed recent developments at the Justice Department, including the firing of former Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday - a move that sources said was in part driven by dissatisfaction with the speed and outcomes of cases the president had urged.
Under the Trump administration, the Justice Department has launched a range of investigations into several of the president's perceived adversaries, according to Blanche's remarks. Those inquiries have included probes of U.S. officials who concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and of Democratic lawmakers who pushed U.S. military personnel to refuse unlawful orders. The department has also investigated liberal donors and fundraising groups.
Blanche acknowledged that many of these efforts have faced challenges in the judicial process. He noted obstacles from judges and grand juries in a number of investigations and pointed to a federal judge last year who dismissed cases brought against two officials who had investigated the president, James Comey and Letitia James.
Blanche, who represented the president in three of the four criminal cases he faced during his years out of office, cited those legal proceedings as evidence that Mr. Trump "wants justice" for people he believes wrongly used the legal system against him.
The acting attorney general declined to state whether he seeks nomination to the permanent attorney general post. He said that nomination decisions lie with the president, and that if the president were to select another nominee and ask Blanche to step down from his current role in the Justice Department, he would respond, "thank you very much, I love you, sir."
Blanche's appearance represents his first extended public explanation of how he views the relationship between presidential prerogative and the department's investigative work since his elevation to acting attorney general.
Context and implications
Blanche framed the president's involvement in investigations as both a right and a governmental duty, while maintaining that the Justice Department has not been improperly pursuing the president's opponents. He also acknowledged judicial and grand jury hurdles that have limited some of the department's investigative outcomes.