The man running President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is about to become a regular fixture on Capitol Hill, according to a legal expert.
Attorney Michael Popok, host of the “Legal AF” podcast, predicted Wednesday that Attorney General Todd Blanche will be hauled before the House Judiciary Committee roughly every other month once Democrats take control of the chamber following Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“Todd Blanche is going to be called in front of that committee about every other month, I believe,” Popok said.
Popok explained that starting January 3, Democrats will outnumber Republicans on every House committee, giving them control of the agenda, the votes and the subpoena power that come with each gavel. The Judiciary committees in both chambers, he noted, oversee the Justice Department.
He pointed to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), who’s set to chair the House Oversight Committee, and his blunt two-word statement after his party secured control of the House, telling the Trump administration to “lawyer up.”
“What he meant is everybody in the administration, and they are already, should be scrambling for lawyers,” Popok said.
The hearings won’t happen in private, Popok stressed. He predicted “investigative hearings, which will be public, which will not be behind closed doors anymore, which will be on television and on YouTube.”
He doesn’t expect the Justice Department to act on anything Congress uncovers.
“We know the Department of Justice under Todd Blanche, unless and until he’s removed, is not going to listen to a referral from the House or the Senate committees for an investigation,” Popok warned. “They’re going to ignore it.”
Instead, he suggested House investigators could work with state attorneys general to pursue crimes that fall outside federal jurisdiction.
Popok also raised the prospect of impeaching Blanche, which would take only a simple House majority. Removal is another matter, he cautioned, since a Senate conviction requires 67 votes, a threshold he doesn’t see the Democrats reaching.
“They’re not going to be able to remove him through impeachment, but it doesn’t mean it’s not worth it,” Popok argued. “Having him be an impeached attorney general is worth it.”
Blanche DEFEATED as House Dems Start Planning Oversight Hearings to Bring DOJ and Blanche to Justice by Legal AF
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