Trump to Nominate Blanche for AG       06/04 06:35

   President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Todd Blanche to 
serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal lawyer who has 
aggressively pursued the Republican president's agenda while leading the 
Justice Department in an acting role.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will 
nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal 
lawyer who has aggressively pursued the Republican president's agenda while 
leading the Justice Department in an acting role.

   Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate Blanche 
formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media 
by a White House aide.

   "We are going to make him permanent attorney general," Trump said at the 
Rose Garden event.

   Blanche sought quickly to position himself as the favorite for the permanent 
job after Pam Bondi's firing in April, accelerating investigations into Trump 
foes and announcing a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate the 
president's allies for alleged political persecution. The proposed fund created 
a bipartisan firestorm that forced the Justice Department to scrap the idea 
earlier this week in an extraordinary about-face.

   Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general 
and was elevated after Bondi's ousting over her failed efforts to prosecute 
Trump's perceived political opponents. Blanche insisted he wasn't auditioning 
for the permanent post but made clear through splashy moves since taking the 
reins his intent on proving his loyalty to Trump.

   Blanche's actions have outraged Democrats and other critics who accuse him 
of still acting like Trump's personal lawyer to carry out the president's 
campaign of retribution. The $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" also 
prompted backlash from Republicans in the Senate whose support Blanche will now 
need in order to be confirmed as attorney general.

   While Blanche has maintained he feels no pressure from the president, the 
Justice Department under his watch has advanced its pursuits of longtime Trump 
foes. Blanche has strongly rejected accusations that the Trump administration 
has politicized the Justice Department and has said he is focused on correcting 
what he contends were past abuses by the Biden administration.

   Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in April over a social media 
photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said constituted a threat 
the president. Comey, who has slammed the case as politically motivated, has 
said he wouldn't be surprised if the Justice Department pursues additional 
indictments against him.

   Blanche separately appointed Joseph diGenova, an 81-year-old former Justice 
Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a 
Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and 
intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump.

   He came under intense scrutiny last month over the proposed 
"Anti-Weaponization Fund," which the administration said was meant to 
compensate people who feel they've been unjustly investigated and prosecuted 
under past administrations. The fund sparked outrage over the possibility that 
violent offenders who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot could 
be considered for payments -- which Blanche refused to publicly rule out.

   Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday the Justice Department would not move 
forward with the plan after the political blowback stalled legislation to fund 
Trump's immigration enforcement agencies.

   A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche came to public prominence 
for his lead role on Trump's defense team, including during the Republican's 
hush money trial in New York. That perch afforded him, he has said, a firsthand 
look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system 
against Trump.