Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said “of course” he will listen to President Donald Trump’s opinion on prosecutions.
Host Kristen Welker said, “Would you take his opinions into consideration when he says, I think this case should be revived? Will you take that into consideration?”
Blanche said, “So hold on, will I take the president of the United States, his view on something, into consideration? Yes, of course. And I hope every attorney general in history would not answer that question differently. Just, let’s play that out. The president of the United States, the elected president of the United States, says something to me. And I’m supposed to say to you, ‘I would say, nope.’ I mean, that’s not the way it works. Now, the president is is extraordinarily — every day he wakes up with one mission, which is making this country better. And as it relates to me, making this country safer. So if he has a view on that, he talks about it on social media, he speaks to the American people. That’s certainly something that I listen to.”
Welker said, “I’m asking in part because we did see this play out in his first term. Bill Barr, the attorney general during President Trump’s first term, did push back against President Trump in 2020. As you recall, he told him his election claims were detached from reality. If you were faced with a similar situation, something that you did not think actually met the standard, the legal standard in your mind, would you stand up to the president?”
Blanche said, “So, I will I will always stand up for what’s right. The president does not expect any of his leaders, including me, to just say yes to him, no matter what he says.”
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