The Blanche test is a red alert moment for the rule of law

The nomination of President Trump’s personal fixer and enforcer Todd Blanche to be U.S. attorney general feels like an existential test for the rule of law.  

Truthfully, the same could be said for much of Trump’s second term. A crucial test for each of us and for our democratic institutions — especially the U.S. Senate — is not to be so numbed by Trump’s relentless lawbreaking and corruption that we fail to see this nomination for the bright red line that it is. 

The attorney general is responsible for federal efforts to punish lawbreaking and pursue justice fairly. Todd Blanche is everything an attorney general should not be.  

The Not Above the Law Coalition summarized his record at the Department of Justice as “16 months of corruption, retaliation, and abuse of power.” The conservative Society for the Rule of Law has urged senators to reject Blanche’s nomination based on his “troubling disregard for fundamental rule of law principles,” including his declaration of “war” against the independent judiciary. 

Blanche’s actions demonstrate that his ultimate loyalty is not to the Constitution or the American people, but to the boss he represented in court, an amoral authoritarian who demonstrates contempt for the law and for judges who defend it.  

Blanche is an ideological enforcer for Trump, helping our president turn the Justice Department into a powerful weapon against his personal enemies. The conservative editors at National Review wrote that while Blanche has served as interim attorney general, he has revealed himself to be “an instrument of Trump’s unworthy and abusive campaign to investigate and prosecute........

© The Hill