WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The Justice Department’s new leader said Tuesday that 鈥渘obody鈥� other than President Donald Trump knows last week.
鈥淣obody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general, and I鈥檓 the acting attorney general, except for President Trump,鈥� Todd Blanche told reporters when asked at an unrelated news conference if Bondi lost her job because she was not successful in bringing criminal cases against the Republican president’s perceived adversaries.
Blanche, the deputy attorney general for the last year, was elevated to the top job on at least an acting basis after Trump replaced Bondi. He insisted Tuesday that he did not feel “pressure” in the job , though he also said that the president was entitled to seek investigations against former government officials he believes have wronged him.
鈥淲e have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now. And 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,” Blanche said.
Blanche demurred when asked if he was interested in being nominated to the role of attorney general.
鈥淚f President Trump chooses to keep me as acting,鈥� Blanche said, 鈥渢hat’s an honor. If he chooses to nominate me, that’s an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and I go back to being the DAG, that鈥檚 an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say, 鈥楾hank you very much. I love you, sir.鈥� I don’t have any goals or aspirations beyond that.鈥�
Blanche used his first news conference in his new role as acting attorney general to herald a redoubled effort in fighting fraud, offering details about a new fraud enforcement division that he said would draw in prosecutors from offices across the country. and Blanche aide, Colin McDonald, to lead that division.
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