Former Judge Luttig Condemns Senate Republicans for Confirming Todd Blanche as Attorney General
Key Takeaways
- •Retired Judge J. Michael Luttig warned Senate Republicans they would regret confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general, calling it a historically corrupt appointment.
- •Todd Blanche previously served as Donald Trump's personal defense attorney in the Manhattan criminal case that yielded 34 felony convictions against the president.
- •Luttig described Blanche's confirmation as undermining the traditional expectation of independence between the White House and the Department of Justice.
- •Luttig alleged that Blanche's appointment is politically motivated, intended to serve as a key figure in contesting the seating of elected Democrats following the 2026 midterms.
- •Luttig, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, is a prominent conservative legal voice who previously influenced Vice President Mike Pence's decision on electoral vote certification on January 6, 2021.
Retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative jurist who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, issued a sharp rebuke of Senate Republicans on Saturday, warning that they would come to deeply regret their vote to confirm Todd Blanche—President Donald Trump's former personal criminal defense attorney—as the next attorney general of the United States. Blanche previously represented Trump in the Manhattan criminal case that resulted in 34 felony convictions, making his elevation to the nation's top law enforcement post a stark departure from the traditional expectation of independence between the White House and the Department of Justice.
Speaking on MS NOW just hours after the confirmation vote, Luttig did not mince words. "They will bear this badge of shame the rest of their lives," he declared. "Never before in American history has an attorney general been confirmed who was as corrupt as Todd Blanche."
Luttig, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush and has emerged as a vocal critic of Trump's challenges to democratic norms, characterized Blanche as "a symbol of Donald Trump's corruption of the rule of law." He described Senate Republicans' support for the nomination as "another shameful act of acquiescence, if not obeisance." Luttig's standing among conservatives gives his critique particular weight: he was widely cited as a key legal influence on Vice President Mike Pence's decision that he lacked constitutional authority to reject certified electoral votes on January 6, 2021.
"The Department of Justice is already in shambles... he will further ruin [it]," Luttig added.
The former judge also pointed to what he described as a politically calculated rationale behind Trump's insistence on Blanche's confirmation. He argued that the move is tied to Republican anxieties over potentially losing their House majority in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
"Blanche will now be Donald Trump and Mike Johnson's point man on Nov. 3rd, when the Republicans claim that the Democrats who were elected to the 120th Congress will not be seated because of fraud in their elections," Luttig warned.
"That's the overarching significance today of this confirmation of this man."
Source: Raw Story
