President Donald Trump's attorney general, Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal criminal defense lawyer — has repeatedly signaled that he intends to meddle in the midterm elections at his boss's direction. Now a conservative columnist is calling him out — not only over the elections, but over what he describes as a broader pattern of abuses of power.

Writing in The New York Times on Sunday, conservative columnist David French — a former constitutional litigator — said he had reviewed the Trump administration's ongoing and unsuccessful attempts to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017; Comey's daughter Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor; and former Trump official Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified publicly before the House January 6 committee.

"I'm going to stop there, but even as I do, I feel as if I'm misleading you," French wrote. "I'm stopping because of space, not because that's the end of the outrages. In case after case after case, the Department of Justice is targeting Trump opponents, making frivolous arguments and engaging in vindictive, meritless prosecutions."

"I blame Trump, but I also blame Blanche," he added. "He doesn't understand his own job. We all know that Trump has an extreme view of executive power that renders him a virtual elected monarch. His administration's actions extend well beyond conventional "unitary executive theory," which puts a premium on presidential control over the executive branch. He treats the law as his plaything, deciding on his own whim which laws will be enforced and which ones will not."

French went on to argue that the attorney general occupies a uniquely constrained role in any administration. "It is true that the president is the boss of every cabinet official. He can fire them at will," he wrote. "But it is also true that the attorney general is different from every other member of the cabinet. Unlike, say, Pete Hegseth, Blanche has three masters, not one. The attorney general and all the lawyers working for him also answer to the judiciary, which not only decides the cases he brings; it also governs the conduct of D.O.J. officials in court. And he also answers to the bar — rules of ethics are binding on every attorney, including government attorneys."

The distinction has practical consequences. The Justice Department brings every federal criminal prosecution, and its internal standards have long been designed to keep charging decisions insulated from political direction. Judges can dismiss cases brought without a lawful basis and sanction attorneys who violate courtroom rules — the layered accountability French argues Blanche answers to alongside the president.

French's column followed similar warnings from other former officials and commentators about the risks facing those who serve the president.

Earlier in October, former Trump Homeland Security official Miles Taylor issued a direct message to those around the president, writing: "to Trump's henchmen, let me offer a friendly reminder before you move to decertify election results or prevent the peaceful transfer of power: the man you're doing this for is putting you at risk… he doesn't care about you… and even if he did, he cannot save you from accountability."

Also earlier in October, liberal commentator Steven Harper cautioned that "Blanche might consider this: Trump is a fickle friend who can quickly become a fierce foe."

Harper continued, "In the near term, he's angling to thwart the midterm elections in which Republicans are poised to lose President Donald Trump's death grip on Congress. In the long run, the nation will bear the consequences of his weaponization of the Justice Department for years to come."

With the prosecutions French cited still unresolved and the midterms imminent, the checks he identifies are set to operate in the open: federal judges will rule on the government's pending cases, and bar disciplinary authorities retain jurisdiction over the conduct of the Justice Department's lawyers.