Attorney General Blanche’s appearances at political events blur Justice Department boundaries
Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke on September 16 at an event for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley in North Carolina, a week after addressing the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, and held a White House press briefing on September 15. At the Whatley event he called the President the greatest of his generation and ranged over the stock market, inflation and wage growth. What gives the appearances their institutional significance is the rule that used to forbid them: Attorney General Merrick Garland barred political appointees from attending fundraisers and campaign events, the Department tightened those restrictions in 2022, and Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded them before being dismissed in April. A Department spokesperson said the appearances are in Blanche’s personal capacity, are reviewed and cleared by Department ethics officials, and that he reimburses his travel. The critical reading rests substantially on one named former ethics official, Richard Painter, and the Department contests the characterisation on the record.