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Congressional hearings come with a lot of pomp, but most aren’t all that important. Witnesses answer dry, in-the-weeds questions about things that matter to individual lawmakers but rarely to the entire country. Today’s Senate confirmation hearing for Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s nominee to become attorney general, was different. Blanche’s track record suggests he’ll use his power over the Department of Justice to put the president’s interests above the country’s. Here’s what we learned.

Wait—who is this guy, again?Blanche, who has led the DOJ in an acting capacity since April, is Trump’s former lawyer. After representing various Trumpworld figures, Blanche led the once and future president’s defense against allegations that he paid hush money to a porn star—a trial Trump lost—and other charges. After Trump won reelection, Blanche became the DOJ’s No. 2 official.

Why did Trump pick him for the top job? For one thing, the position is open. Trump fired Pam Bondi, his first attorney general, earlier this year, reportedly because she wasn’t prosecuting his political opponents quickly enough. Hence the fears that Trump promoted Blanche with the expectation that he’ll do as told.

What are those fears based on?All AGs share their president’s policy goals. But after the abuses of Watergate, the DOJ created a........

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