‘How is That Consistent?’ Kristen Welker Grills AG Todd Blanche on J6 Pardons in Blockbuster MTP Interview

Attorney General Todd Blanche insisted there’s “nothing inconsistent” about his intent to protect police officers and President Donald Trump’s pardons for the more than 170 people who attacked officers on January 6.

Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker asked, “Mr. Attorney General, on President Trump’s first day in office, as you know, he pardoned everyone who attacked the Capitol on January 6th, including 172 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers. How is that consistent with your pledge to always protect law enforcement?”

Blanche responded:

There’s nothing inconsistent about that. Any president’s pardon powers are not limited. So when I say and when this Department of Justice says and when the FBI says, like we’re saying, and every U.S. attorney is saying that if you assault law enforcement, we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law, that is absolutely what President Trump expects, absolutely what I expect of our prosecutors. And that’s completely separate from any president’s ability to pardon.

After Welker pointed out Trump ” did the opposite of that effectively” and “police officers were beaten with baseball bats and flagpoles,” Blanche said, “Every attorney general vows to protect law enforcement including me. And so I’m not opining or in any way saying what President Trump did is wrong. Absolutely not.”

“Isn’t it inconsistent with what you said though?” Welker asked.

“Absolutely not. There’s a difference —” Blanche began before Welker cut in, “Is it inconsistent with your pledge?”

Blanche replied:

No. There’s a difference, Kristen. We will prosecute anybody. If later a president chooses to pardon that individual, that is the president’s right under our constitution. Do not forget that a few days before President Trump pardoned the individuals associated and who had plead guilty to the conduct on January 6th, President Biden pardoned hundreds and hundreds of criminals, many of whom were quite violent. So that’s his right to do that just like it’s President Trump’s right to do that.

Blanche also refused to say his DOJ will maintain independence from the Trump administration while under his tenure.

He said:

Well, there’s a big difference between saying we will always do our job and investigate any case and act independently of the White House. No, I’m not going to pledge that. And no attorney general should ever pledge that. I mean, if I were to pledge I will be independent of the White House, what that means if that if President Trump says, ‘I want the Department of Justice to go after every violent criminal in this country,’ which is what he has said, what you’re saying to me is I should say, ‘No, sir, I’m not going to do it.’ So I will act with integrity. Our prosecutors will act with integrity. We will prosecute without fear or any sort of favor. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing. And that’s what every Department of Justice should do.

Welker also asked if President Donald Trump or any sitting president should “have a voice in individual prosecution decisions at all.”

“Every American has a voice in prosecutions. I mean, we hear from Americans all the time,” Blanche answered. “As a matter of fact, many of our investigations start with an American citizen coming forward and saying they saw something. And so whether President Trump should have a, quote, ‘voice,’ it depends.”

The pair’s game of political dodgeball also included a segment in which Blanche danced around the anti-weaponization fund, which would give payments to those “who felt they were in some ways wronged by the federal government and could have included people who attacked the Capitol on January 6th,” Welker pointed out before asking if Blanche would revive the attempt to pass the fund.

He responded:

Well, the president has said it’s dead as well. And as the president has said that he very strongly believes that those that had this Department of Justice weaponized against them should be compensated, he’s going to continue to say that.

After Welker noted Trump said reviving the fund attempt is “up to you,” Blanche answered more clearly.

“And I’ve said repeatedly it’s dead. And he has also said it’s dead. He said it in a cabinet meeting with the press there,” he said. “And so I think it might be enjoyable for the media to continually ask me about whether the fund is really dead. And there is no fund. No money went from the treasury to any account. There were no commissioners established. And so there is no fund. There will be no fund. I’ve said it repeatedly.”

Watch the above via Meet the Press.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!