Justice Department Veterans Say Todd Blanche's Media Circuit Signals Break From DOJ Independence Norm

Since NBC News first flagged Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's appearance at the Iowa State Fair last month, Blanche has kept up a steady run of political media stops. He capped it Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, where he declined to say the Justice Department operates independently of the White House's executive functions, according to Breitbart's coverage of the interview.

PBS NewsHour's Ali Rogin reported on September 28 that unnamed experts say Blanche is blurring lines meant to keep DOJ free of partisan bias, with the midterms five weeks out. NBC's Ryan J. Reilly and Kelly O'Donnell reported September 17 that Justice Department veterans see the same pattern, pointing to the Iowa State Fair stop as evidence of a break from past practice.

The circuit continues

Blanche didn't slow down after that report. He appeared Saturday on Fox News's Saturday in America to react to the Supreme Court's stay allowing construction on the White House ballroom to proceed. He briefed reporters at a White House Rose Garden event on September 15. And Sunday on ABC's This Week, he told Martha Raddatz that President Trump is "sick and tired" of certain media outlets refusing to report accurate news, according to Breitbart's transcript of the exchange.

Justice Department veterans quoted by NBC argue that stacking these appearances, especially the explicit refusal on Meet the Press to affirm independence from the White House, signals something different than the normal give-and-take between a deputy attorney general and the press. DOJ's credibility in prosecuting cases against political figures of both parties depends partly on the public believing the department isn't taking orders from the Oval Office.

Blanche's defenders would counter that Justice Department officials have always done political media, and that refusing to recite a talking point about "independence" isn't the same as proving the department has actually acted on White House orders in a specific case. No source here identifies a specific prosecutorial decision that Blanche made at Trump's direction. The criticism, as reported, is about appearance and rhetoric, not a documented instance of a case being steered.

Democrats escalate, without a formal process

The political reaction has been loud. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on MS NOW's The Briefing that the administration "damn well better preserve records, because we're going to be investigating." Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said on MS NOW's All In that Blanche should be impeached, tying the call to oversight fights over Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency work. Former CIA Director John Brennan said on MS NOW that law schools will one day study "the corruption of President Donald Trump and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche." Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the Supreme Court "is not acting in the interests of the American people," in comments tied to Rep. Robert Garcia's condemnation of a DOJ memo.

None of these are formal legal proceedings. No impeachment articles have been filed against Blanche, and no independent investigation of his conduct has been announced. These are political statements, not adjudicated findings.

The work at DOJ hasn't stopped

While the political appearances draw headlines, the Justice Department has kept moving on substantive fronts. DOJ announced charges against 16 people across multiple states for election crimes, including noncitizens casting ballots, according to Breitbart, a move that lands squarely in the run-up to the midterms. Blanche also finalized a regulation creating a pathway for non-violent felons to seek restoration of their federal gun rights.

Politicization claims cut both ways

Records released by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and reported by the Daily Signal show the politicization complaints didn't start with Blanche. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Gounaud pushed in a February 2025 email to open a criminal investigation into Musk's use of social media to promote DOGE, comparing it to Hillary Clinton's private email server. Gounaud left the FBI that same month after 21 years. Separately, former agent Walter Giardina, who was involved in the Russia collusion investigation, asked at least seven times to join that probe's team. FBI Director Kash Patel fired him in 2025, and Giardina is now suing, alleging his firing was politically motivated.

Patel is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, September 29, where lawmakers are expected to question him about the newly released Gounaud and Giardina emails. Whether senators also press him, or Blanche, on the independence question raised by NBC and PBS remains an open question heading into that hearing.