Sen. Durbin: Trump's AG pick LIED under oath

[0:00] Senator Durbin. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Reflect on the fact that as we meet today, there are thousands, literally tens of thousands of men and women in the United States who got up this morning and put on a badge or picked up their briefcase and went to work to make sure that we would be safe. They are in law enforcement all across the United States of America. They count on this system of justice as we all do to give us not only safety in our homes, but also fairness when it comes to treatment by the government. [0:30] The man we are discussing this morning seeks to be the number one law enforcement enforcer of the United States of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the highest ranking law enforcement position. And what have we learned in the last few weeks when it comes to Todd Blanche? We have learned that simply his word is not enough for most of us, not even for some of my Republican friends. Even his word under oath is not credible enough. [1:00] We have a demand by colleagues that I support, a demand that Mr. Blanche, when it comes to important promises to the American people, put it in writing, put it in writing. And in fact, he did. [1:15] Mr. Chairman, the political escapade of the last week has made it clearer than ever that Todd Blanche has no business serving as our nation's chief law enforcement officer. [1:24] Two Republican members of this committee said they would not vote for Mr. Blanche unless the J6 cop beater slush fund was permanently and irrevocably terminated. [1:36] And of course, these two members, and I support their position, said to Mr. Blanche, you have to put it in writing if you're going to say those words. [1:44] President Trump responded, as we might have guessed, as he always does, by doubling down on his position and personally attacking our colleagues. [1:55] To state the obvious, Mr. Blanche's statement on the slush fund and the IRS immunity agreement are not signed by the parties to the settlement agreement and are therefore unenforceable. [2:07] The parties could still sue to enforce the agreement and the cop beater's fund can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as Attorney General. [2:21] Indeed, the president himself has loudly telegraphed that's his plan. [2:26] This is the exact issue that the two senators identified as a basis for their objection to his nomination, Blanche's nomination. [2:33] To my Republican colleagues, you gave Mr. Blanche the benefit of the doubt when you supported his nomination to be Deputy Attorney General. [2:42] Seventeen months later, there is no doubt where his loyalty will lie. [2:46] Take a look at this promise. [2:48] Unprecedented, I believe, in the history of the United States. [2:52] That somehow Mr. Blanche engineered an agreement, an understanding, a settlement, you name it, [2:57] that said that Donald Trump will never be held responsible for any violations of tax crimes. [3:05] Before the date of this document that was signed, saying that the president can commit any crime in tax code and not be held personally responsible. [3:16] Does that sound like he is being held to an accountability that we all expect of every single American? [3:23] Instead of serving the American people and upholding the rule of law in the Constitution, [3:27] Mr. Blanche has aided and abetted the most corrupt administration in the history of the United States. [3:34] Prior to this hearing, Mr. Blanche told me he, quote, made a mistake, close quote, by creating the January 6th slush fund. [3:43] Where did he say it? [3:44] In my office with witnesses, my staff, to what I'm about to say. [3:50] When I asked him about this under oath, Mr. Blanche falsely claimed that he never made this statement. [3:56] That's not true. [3:56] Mr. Blanche's willingness to casually lie under oath about a statement he made in a room full of witnesses shows the lengths he will go to to avoid offending President Trump. [4:08] Why doesn't he want to concede he made a mistake? [4:10] We all do that from time to time, right? [4:12] No, no, no. [4:14] Manly mega leaders do not admit a mistake or use the word sorry. [4:20] So he was held accountable by the president. [4:21] Mr. Blanche's claim he recused himself from matters involving President Trump in his personal capacity. [4:29] Yet he personally signed the agreement releasing President Trump, his family, and businesses from tax liability. [4:37] When asked how DOJ justified the slush fund's outrageous $1.776 billion price tag, Mr. Blanche refused to answer. [4:47] He shows contempt for this committee and for our history by refusing to admit that the sum was chosen to signal support for the January 6 rioters. [4:58] And many of us remember when they attacked and invaded the Capitol. [5:03] Those rioters shamelessly invoked 1776 to compare themselves to American revolutionaries. [5:10] Give me a break. [5:11] Mr. Blanche told me that a ruling against the settlement was, quote, a hit piece personally directed at him. [5:18] This is no surprise coming from the man who declared that the Justice Suburban is, quote, at war, close quote, with the courts. [5:27] These are not the words of someone who would serve our nation as a top law enforcement official. [5:33] One of Mr. Blanche's first acts as Deputy Attorney General was to issue a memo gutting DOJ's crypto crime enforcement, [5:40] which allowed the president to rake in $1.4 billion in a crypto windfall last year, [5:49] even as Americans reported billions of dollars in cryptocurrency fraud losses. [5:55] The president did just fine. [5:57] Thank you. [5:58] Meanwhile, Mr. Blanche still has, through his children and grandchildren, $150,000 in crypto assets. [6:06] Last year, under Mr. Blanche's leadership, more than 1,000 FBI personnel were pulled off key law enforcement priorities. [6:15] What was a higher priority than their oath they've taken to uphold the law? [6:20] They were directed to flag Epstein records and look for any mention of Donald Trump. [6:26] Mr. Blanche refused to tell me who gave this order. [6:30] But former Attorney General Bondi made it clear, saying Blanche was, quote, in charge of the Epstein files. [6:36] And when the Epstein Files Transparency Act forced DOJ to release the files, [6:42] not only did the department delay reviewing and producing it, [6:45] it recklessly failed to redact hundreds of survivors' personal information, victimizing them all over again. [6:53] And they testified before this committee under oath to that fact. [6:58] Meanwhile, the names of powerful Epstein cronies remained protected in clear violation of the law. [7:04] When scrutiny of the Epstein cover-up intensified, Mr. Blanche participated in secret meetings in the White House Situation Room, [7:12] of all places, to strategize about protecting Trump, not Epstein survivors. [7:18] Mr. Blanche volunteered to interview convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, [7:23] a transparent attempt to exonerate President Trump. [7:26] Just days later, she was transferred to a minimum security camp, [7:31] which is unheard of, unprecedented for serious sex offenders like her. [7:36] Mr. Blanche agreed to meet with Epstein survivors after months of pleas, [7:41] only when his nomination was in jeopardy and a member of this committee said he wouldn't meet, [7:46] wouldn't consider voting for him unless he met with these survivors. [7:49] He finally met with them for almost an hour. [7:52] As one survivor, Dan Obensky, who testified before this committee said, [7:57] the meeting was a box-checking exercise. [8:01] Mr. Blanche refused to take accountability for redaction failures, [8:05] and he wouldn't commit to following their suggested investigative leads. [8:10] It is clear that Mr. Blanche hopes to sweep the Epstein scandal under the rug. [8:14] I thank those survivors for the courage they showed in this room today and around the country [8:20] for continuing to advocate for survivors and speak truth to power. [8:25] Mr. Blanche has played a key role in terminating thousands of Department of Justice officials. [8:31] The chairman talked about his law enforcement record. [8:33] Let's look at it. [8:34] The goal is clear. [8:36] Replace these DOJ officials with unqualified mega-loyalists [8:41] who will rubber-stamp President Trump's corruption. [8:46] Under Mr. Blanche's leadership, more than 16,000 employees have left the Department of Justice, [8:57] including more than a fourth of its attorneys. [9:00] Many have been fired for declining to initiate vindictive prosecutions [9:03] or refusing to follow unethical orders, [9:06] like career immigration litigator Erez Uruvani, [9:10] who refused an order from Mr. Blanche's former law partner, Emil Bove, [9:15] to lie in federal court. [9:16] Mr. Blanche bragged about firing career law enforcement officials [9:20] simply because they were assigned to investigate President Trump's misconduct. [9:25] Mr. Blanche is responsible for Department losing thousands of years [9:29] of law enforcement and national security expertise. [9:33] This makes all of us less safe. [9:34] Consider this quote. [9:37] On Blanche's watch, the Trump DOJ has pursued an unabashedly vindictive agenda [9:43] of leveraging the government's awesome prosecutorial powers [9:48] in its public trust against the president's political enemies. [9:53] These aren't my words. [9:55] This is the conclusion of the National Review, [9:58] the leading conservative publication founded by William Buckley. [10:01] This isn't about Democrats versus Republicans. [10:03] This is about rule of law versus lawlessness. [10:07] The attorney general is supposed to be the people's lawyer. [10:11] Department of Justice should work on behalf of all the American people. [10:16] Mr. Blanche continues to operate as the president's personal lawyer, [10:20] treating the Justice Department like a law firm serving one client, the president. [10:26] The president has made it clear he plans to keep Mr. Blanche in place [10:30] as acting attorney general, a damning comment on his capacity [10:34] to honorably serve in this role. [10:36] This committee does not need to legitimate Mr. Blanche's appointment [10:40] by providing our consent. [10:42] I yield. [10:43] The president of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United States of the United