WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Attorney General Todd Blanche sought to rally a Thursday in his first speech since taking the reins of the beleaguered agency, promising rank-and-file staff that he will lead them with integrity.
Blanche’s speech inside the storied Great Hall at Justice Department headquarters represented an effort to reassure lawyers and law enforcement officials on the heels of a that exposed deep concerns about the direction of the agency under Republican President Donald Trump.
Blanche vowed to uphold the rule of law 鈥渨ithout fear or favor,鈥� and told staff he would welcome their ideas and encourage disagreement. Without mentioning specific moves that have that Blanche is still functioning as Trump鈥檚 personal lawyer, the attorney general acknowledged he would 鈥渘ot get every decision right.鈥�
鈥淓verything that I do will not be the right path or the right decision,鈥� said Blanche, before entering the department last year as deputy attorney general. 鈥淣o one does that, but I do promise you this: I promise you that I will work as hard as any of you. I promise that I鈥檒l listen to you. That I will listen to the ideas that you have, or adjustments that we need to make, and if we need to make them, I will make them.鈥�
Blanche is assuming control of the Justice Department at a turbulent time, with mass firings and resignations and a slew of politically charged investigations drawing concerns that the agency is being used as a weapon to target the president’s perceived foes.
He was confirmed by the Senate early Saturday by the narrowest of margins, who expressed concerns about what they described as the politicization of the Justice Department under Trump.
Blanche told the workforce he is proud of the department’s work under the second Trump administration to tackle violent crime, illegal drug trafficking and violent gangs and cartels.
“It鈥檚 easy to focus on the negative or the news story that is critical of something we鈥檙e doing or something that we鈥檝e done, or questions something that we’re doing or something that we’ve done,” Blanche said. 鈥淏ut do not forget that we have accomplished a tremendous amount of good, positive work in the past year and a half.鈥�
Justice Connection, a network of alums, said in a statement that 鈥淏lanche鈥檚 platitudes will only resonate if his actions start matching his words.” The group noted that the department under Blanche’s leadership has pushed out employees who opposed decisions in high-profile cases or who were deemed insufficiently loyal to the administration’s agenda.
鈥淭housands more have left because leadership has consistently violated the principles Blanche articulated: prosecuting defendants based only on the facts and the law; holding those who attack law enforcement accountable; and respecting the courts,鈥� the group said.
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