Chris Van Hollen Lights Into Acting AG Todd Blanche Over $1.8 Billion 'Slush Fund'

[0:00] And I would recognize Senator Van Hollen for his opening statement. [0:03] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Blanche, welcome. [0:06] The acting attorney general is supposed to be the people's lawyer and defend the rule of law [0:13] and not act as the president's personal lawyer. [0:16] But in this administration, the Department of Justice is solely focused on pleasing one man, [0:22] no matter the cost. [0:23] Lest anyone forget, huge banners with Donald Trump's face hang from both sides of the main justice building. [0:33] This is the big banner of Donald Trump on one side of it. [0:37] So that every single person who enters that building will see it and remember exactly what that man wants them to do. [0:47] You're his former personal attorney, and you know exactly what he wants. [0:51] In fact, he often posts it right here on social media, his Truth Social account. [0:57] He wants to weaponize the department for his own political ends. [1:01] And right from the start, you and your cohorts have worked to deliver what he wants, [1:07] doing his political dirty work. [1:09] Two days ago, you even suggested that there was, quote, [1:13] a ton of evidence that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump. [1:16] And here you are at a budget hearing asking for taxpayer funds to pursue the department's mission [1:23] when you're using those funds to punish Trump's adversaries, reward his friends, [1:28] and pursue his personal vendettas. [1:31] It began with pardoning the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6th [1:36] and assaulted police officers. [1:38] The revenge continued with the firing of more than a dozen lawyers [1:42] who represented the Justice Department in those cases. [1:47] Yesterday, you created a $1.8 billion slush fund [1:51] to dole out taxpayer dollars to the president's supporters, [1:55] including those who attacked this Capitol on January 6th. [1:59] That is pure theft of public funds. [2:03] And rewarding individuals who committed crimes is obscene. [2:08] Every American can see through this illegal, corrupt, self-dealing scheme. [2:12] You have also misspent resources on the blatant political prosecutions [2:17] of James Comey and others. [2:19] You couldn't find a single career lawyer to bring the first case against Comey. [2:24] And lawyers resigned rather than participate in that charade. [2:28] Now you've launched a ludicrous, vindictive prosecution in the Seashell case. [2:32] It's a shameful dereliction of your duty to pursue impartial justice without fear or favor. [2:39] You've also brought criminal charges against journalists [2:42] who were doing their jobs in Minneapolis. [2:43] You've refused to hold accountable the DHS agents who shot and killed Rene Good. [2:49] Instead, while members of the administration called both Rene Good and Alex Preddy [2:53] domestic terrorist, you ordered a criminal investigation of Rene Good's partner. [3:00] Hardworking professional attorneys resigned rather than engage in that abuse of power. [3:06] Others in the department have been fired for telling the truth to the courts. [3:10] An insidious message to send to officers of the court. [3:14] You have fired immigration judges who rendered decisions the administration didn't like. [3:19] More gross political interference in what is supposed to be an independent process. [3:25] All told, DOJ lost over 8,500 staff last year and nearly one quarter of its lawyers. [3:33] It's so bad that you're now offering $25,000 signing bonuses and hiring prosecutors with no prior legal experience, [3:43] seeking applicants who personally pledge support to the president. [3:48] You've also refused to share with members of Congress the Office of Legal Counsel's purported legal justification [3:53] for the blatantly illegal war the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu started in Iran. [3:58] You have clear conflicts of interest between your prior job as the president's personal lawyer and your duty to ensure justice. [4:09] This is especially true with respect to the cases of the survivors of the heinous crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein. [4:16] Many of those survivors are in New York City today as we speak as part of a 24-hour public reading of the Epstein files. [4:24] Many reading excerpts from their own FBI 302 reports documenting the abuses they endured. [4:32] These survivors have tried to share their stories with you. [4:36] Instead, you spent two days interviewing his convicted associate, Jelaine Maxwell, [4:42] and shortly thereafter she was moved to a lower security prison camp with special perks. [4:48] Mr. Blanche, the record is crystal clear. [4:51] You are still acting as the president's personal lawyer, not as acting attorney general. [4:59] It is hard to justify giving you any funds that will enable this pattern of wrongdoing to continue. [5:06] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.