Main Justice - All About Todd BLANCHE: At Best, MISLEADING; At Worst, DISINGENUOUS - MS NOW
With Acting Attorney General Todd Blanches confirmation hearing set to begin mid-week, Andrew and Mary use this episode to look at the totality of his tenure at the Justice Department, detailing example after example of how despite his role as the chief lawyer for the United States he is still functioning as the de facto personal lawyer for the president.
They start things off by dissecting a deeply consequential and searing opinion from District Judge Kathleen Williams over Trumps IRS lawsuit, effectively finding, in Marys telling, that it was collusion. It was the president being on both sides of that case, and it's no adversity between the parties.
Then, the co-hosts take a broader gaze into what Blanche has done: his handling of the Epstein files and Ghislane Maxwell, the ongoing investigations and attempted prosecutions of Trumps political enemies and how he has used the DOJ as the presidents personal law firm.
Mary and Andrew also review the Justice Departments recent actions with Blanche at the helm, including an example from the past week of the ongoing assault on journalists: subpoenaing New York Times journalists who wrote about the jet gifted to the US by the Qatari government. - 07/14/2026.
Further Reading:
Here is a transcript of Marys testimony during former Attorney General Pam Bondis confirmation hearing: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-01-16_-_testimony_-_mccord.pdf
Judge Williams Decision - Here is the Order in Trump v. IRS: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.106.0.pdf
https://pmatep5f7b.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ProdStage