Washington, Aug 2026 : US Attorney General Todd Blanche has said he will not make a blanket commitment to operate independently of the White House, arguing that such a pledge could interfere with the Justice Department’s ability to pursue the administration’s legitimate law-enforcement priorities.
Blanche, a former personal defence lawyer for President Donald Trump, made the remarks during an interview with NBC News on Sunday. Asked whether he could guarantee that the Justice Department would always act independently of the White House, Blanche replied that he would not make such a promise.
He said an Attorney General’s responsibility was to act with integrity while carrying out the administration’s lawful priorities. “I will act with integrity. Our prosecutors will act with integrity. We will prosecute without fear or any sort of favour,” he said.
Blanche was also asked how he would respond if Trump requested an action that crossed legal or ethical boundaries. Rejecting the possibility, he said Trump would never ask him to do anything unethical or illegal.
According to Blanche, his constitutional oath would remain the guiding principle for his decisions. He described suggestions that Trump could direct him to take illegal action as a “false narrative”.
At the same time, Blanche acknowledged that he would take the President’s views into consideration when dealing with individual cases. He said Trump had never personally called him to order the prosecution of a particular individual.
Blanche also maintained that he would challenge the President when necessary. He said Trump did not expect his senior officials to automatically agree with everything he said and that he would “always stand up for what’s right”.
The Attorney General’s comments come amid continuing debate in the United States over the independence of the Justice Department and the extent to which a President should influence federal law-enforcement decisions.
The interview also touched on Trump’s pardons for individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Blanche rejected claims that those pardons conflicted with his commitment to protecting law-enforcement officers.
He argued that presidential pardon powers are constitutionally broad and separate from the Justice Department’s responsibility to prosecute crimes against police officers.
Blanche said the department would continue to pursue cases involving assaults on law-enforcement personnel, while noting that a subsequent presidential pardon represents a separate constitutional authority.
The Attorney General also ruled out reviving a proposal for an “anti-weaponisation fund” that had been discussed as a mechanism to compensate people who claimed they had been unfairly targeted by the federal government.
“There is no fund. There will be no fund,” Blanche said, effectively closing the door on the proposal.
His remarks underscore the administration’s approach to the Justice Department, balancing presidential policy priorities with the department’s constitutional and legal responsibilities.
(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
