Newly Minted Attorney General Todd Blanche Refuses NBC Host’s Pledge To ‘Always Act Independently’ Of White House

An NBC host asked Todd Blanche to pledge he would "always act independently" of the White House, and he wouldn't take the bait. Good for him. That's not a dodge, that's an honest answer to a loaded question. The Attorney General works for the executive branch. He answers to the president who appointed him, within the bounds of the law, same as every AG before him whether they admitted it out loud or not.

What's actually revealing here is the premise of the question itself. Reporters spent four years pretending the Justice Department under the last administration was some untouchable island of pure independence, even while it was investigating the sitting president's chief political opponent. Now suddenly independence from the White House is the litmus test again. Funny how that works.

Blanche's actual line was the important part, not the pledge he refused to make. "The president would never ask me to do something illegal. He never has, never will." That's the real standard. Not some performative vow of detachment for cable news, but a plain statement that the law is the law and nobody's asking him to break it. If a host wants a talking point, he's not obligated to hand her one just because she wants a soundbite about resisting the man who hired him.

We'd rather have an AG who's honest about the chain of command than one who plays coy about "independence" while quietly running his own agenda. At least you know where Blanche stands.