Attorney General Todd Blanche drew a wave of criticism on Sunday after he signaled on CNN that he’s ready to carry out President Donald Trump’s order to look into Democrats in Congress, and he didn’t rule out locking them up.
On “State of the Union,” host Dana Bash asked whether he would follow Trump’s order to investigate Democratic members of Congress, and what “criminal act” the president was referring to.
“What we’ve seen over the past several days and even over the past several weeks are outright threats,” Blanche said. “They’ve threatened donors. They’ve threatened individuals who are in college and might want to work for conservative institutions or for a conservative government or for President Trump. And that is extremely troubling.”
Bash pointed out that Democrats are “talking about investigation as part of their oversight role,” which is “prescribed by the Constitution.”
“Wait, wait, wait. No, no, no, no, no,” Blanche interrupted. “Have you been listening to the rhetoric the past couple of days? You honestly think that all they’re doing is talking about their oversight obligations when they’re talking about going after basically every member of the cabinet?”
Bash pressed him: “So are you saying that you are going to investigate them? And what you just described, is there a crime?”
“It depends on what’s said. So yes, there could be,” Blanche said. “You have free speech in this country. You are allowed to be critical of President Trump, of me, of this administration. But when the threats become so vile and so dangerous… you have to draw the line.”
“I’m not saying that necessarily that every case is going to be prosecuted,” he added. He then complained about “an incoming chairman” telling administration officials to “lawyer up.”
Bash noted that Democrats point to the Justice Department’s record of “going after some of the president’s perceived enemies in court without success,” from former FBI Director James Comey to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“You selectively talked about three cases,” Blanche shot back.
Then Bash asked about Trump’s claim that Democratic lawmakers are “extortionists” who “should be imprisoned.”
“Is that a possibility?” she asked.
“Well, it depends on what the crime is and what they’ve done,” Blanche said. He then accused Democrats of having “done nothing but threaten everything that’s happening in this administration” since Tuesday, including Stephen Miller, who “within moments” of his promotion to chief of staff drew threats from congressional leaders.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has said Miller should “lawyer up.” Blanche had responded that Miller already has a lawyer: the attorney general. Bash asked whether he saw it as his job to represent anyone in the administration investigated by Congress.
“Wait, do I see it as my job? The Constitution sees it as my job,” Blanche said. Of Garcia, he added: “I would suggest he read the Constitution. If he doesn’t have a copy, I can arrange to send him one.”
Asked whether he would represent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if he’s impeached, Blanche said, “Well, yeah.”
He closed that answer with a warning to Garcia’s committee: “I would be very worried if I was a member on that committee.”
Blanche showed far less interest in allegations against Trump’s own team. Bash asked about Calley Means, a former top health official who has accused outgoing chief of staff Susie Wiles of blocking health policies because of lobbying by her former firm.
“Something that someone says on a podcast? No, I do not listen to that. Absolutely not,” Blanche said. He called Means “a disgruntled former administration official.”
When Bash noted that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) had called it corruption, Blanche said: “If a senator who happens to be Republican thinks something differently, that is certainly their right. I don’t share it.”
Journalist Aaron Rupar, who shared the full interview, called it a “crashout.”
“Epic. You can feel the panic,” wrote the progressive outlet Tennessee Holler.
“F— this fascist clown. We’re in charge now,” wrote Molly Ploofkins, a popular anti-Trump commentator.
“Attorney General wants to make checks and balances and congressional oversight a criminal offense,” wrote MeidasTouch editor Ron Filipkowski.
New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser pointed to Blanche’s own record. “So Todd blanche thinks saying ‘lawyer up’ by Democrats is a scary threat that warrants criminal investigation… from the guy who is prosecuting James Comey for a seashell picture,” she wrote.
Anti-disinformation activist Jim Stewartson warned the clash is “setting up for a full rupture.”
“Article 1 doesn’t need to do ‘oversight,’” he wrote. “It needs to treat this as constitutional war and tear this mafia down.”
Garcia appeared right after Blanche. Asked about the warning to his committee, he began: “I think we should always remember that Todd Blanche was Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer.”
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