Todd Blanche Fires Back at Adam Schiff: ‘You Can’t Accuse Me… and Then Lie’
Todd Blanche had a tense moment with Sen. Adam Schiff during Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
Blanche, President Trump’s pick for attorney general, appeared before the panel as senators pressed him on his record, his work at the Justice Department, and his past role as Trump’s personal attorney.
Trump announced last month that he had nominated Blanche to serve as attorney general. The night before the hearing, Trump praised Blanche and urged the Senate to confirm him.
“Todd Blanche is doing a PHENOMENAL job as Acting Attorney General of the United States. Under Todd’s incredible leadership at DOJ, Murder is down to the LOWEST level since 1900, and we just saw the biggest one year drop in RECORDED HISTORY,” Trump said on Tuesday evening.
Schiff used part of his questioning to focus on volume II of Jack Smith’s report involving Trump. He accused Blanche of having a conflict of interest because Blanche previously represented Trump before joining the Justice Department.
Schiff also suggested Blanche played a role in keeping that portion of Smith’s report from being released to the public.
Blanche did not let the accusation slide.
“What you’re saying happens to not be true! I did not do that…and I’m recused from that case! You can’t accuse me of violating ethical rules, and then lie about what I did!” Blanche said.
The exchange quickly became one of the sharpest moments of the hearing. Schiff kept the spotlight on Trump and the Smith report. Blanche pushed back by saying he was recused from the matter and rejected the claim that he had broken ethics rules.
The hearing lasted roughly five hours. Afterward, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley indicated he believes Blanche can still be confirmed on schedule, which would place a vote before the August recess.
A post from reporter Laura Weiss noted that Grassley also believes Blanche may be able to win over senators who still have concerns, including Thom Tillis and John Cornyn.
https://x.com/LauraEWeiss16/status/2077468347084521847?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Blanche’s path now depends on whether Republicans can stay united and whether any remaining holdouts are satisfied after the hearing. For now, the biggest headline from the day is clear: Schiff came after Blanche over the Smith report, and Blanche fired right back.