It now seems as if acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is prepared to do pretty much anything for Donald Trump, having carried that ethos from his previous job as Trump’s personal attorney into his current position heading up the Department of Justice. Oddly enough, his history of absolute fealty to the person of this president-slash-emperor could prove a hindrance in his quest to be confirmed as the next attorney general of the United States. For at least some Senate Republicans, a scintilla of independence may still be a job requirement. On this week’s Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick interviewed veteran federal prosecutor and MS NOW legal analyst Andrew Weissmann. Weissmann served as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s special counsel’s office from 2017–19 and as chief of the Fraud Section at the DOJ from 2015–19. His new book, Liar’s Kingdom: How to Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save America, came out three weeks ago and became an instant New York Times bestseller. Part of their conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, appears below.

Dahlia Lithwick: Donald Trump announced at a private dinner last Wednesday that Todd Blanche will be the next attorney general, so no more acting AG. This is a position Blanche has been serving in for two months, since Pam Bondi left the building. We’ve got two months of data about the kind of AG he might be. What have we learned, and what does it change in terms of his confirmation battle? 

Andrew Weissmann: I’ve been thinking about what that confirmation battle might look like, because we have not just the two months of data where Blanche has been in control of the Department of Justice, but, before that, when he was the right hand to Bondi and, according to her, also the principal person dealing with the Epstein files.

There are two stories there. There’s a story about corruption, about what he’s willing to do, the complicity he is willing to engage in for the president. The other is a question of competence. Here is somebody who has made a series of serious missteps. The slush fund is just the latest. Let’s not forget that they announced they’re doing this $2 billion fictitious settlement, then, after they get pushback and the judge overseeing the case says she wants to hear from them—which, by the way, is still pending—about why this is not fraud upon the court, they essentially say, “Never mind!” Whatever you could say about Bill Barr and what he was willing to do, he was extraordinarily smart, and he played chess, not checkers.

I think, with Blanche, there’s such an array of things to ask him about. The only question is whether senators will be effective in asking those questions. But if they get their act together, this could be a way to highlight how much the rule of law has been undermined in the Trump administration.

It’s interesting, because when I think back to........

© Slate