Dan Abrams Blasts Todd Blanche: Meet the Press Exchange Raises Questions About DOJ Independence

Media commentator Dan Abrams sharply criticized Attorney General Todd Blanche after Blanche's appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, arguing the interview exposed troubling realities about how the Justice Department may operate under President Donald Trump.

Blanche was asked by moderator Kristen Welker about remarks he made at a Friday rally supporting New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, where he vowed: "If anybody touches a federal law enforcement officer in any way inappropriate, we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

Welker pressed Blanche on how that promise squares with President Trump's sweeping pardons related to the Jan. 6 attack, including 172 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers. Blanche replied there was "nothing inconsistent" — saying the Justice Department could still pursue prosecutions even if a president later grants clemency — and declined to offer an absolute pledge that the DOJ would act independently of the White House. When asked whether Mr. Trump should have a "voice" in specific prosecution decisions, Blanche said it "depends."

The attorney general also addressed the administration's previously proposed "anti-weaponization" fund — a plan that might have compensated people who claimed federal overreach, including some Jan. 6 defendants — insisting the proposal was "dead" and that "there will be no fund."

On Monday's The Dan Abrams Show on SiriusXM, Abrams said he believed Blanche "likes" interviews with Welker because she sometimes does not press hard enough, but praised this segment for exposing what he called "absurd" answers. Abrams acknowledged that the president has constitutional pardon power, but argued Welker's follow-up — asking whether Blanche thought those pardons were wrong — exposed an evasive response.

"You can't claim that you are the kind of attorney general who is gonna ensure that our police officers feel protected, and then say, 'No, no, no, I don't think the president did anything wrong by pardoning all of them.' He's playing this absurd semantic game," Abrams said.

Abrams also played a clip of Blanche's May appearance on CNN about the anti-weaponization fund and argued Blanche appeared willing to accept a situation in which a president shields supporters from accountability. He criticized Blanche's refusal to promise DOJ independence as a "word salad," saying independence means making prosecution decisions on their own merits — not reflexively following or opposing the president.

Welker also asked whether Blanche would follow a request from the president that crossed an ethical or legal line. Abrams responded: "We know he's already asked him to do things that are unethical… How dumb does Todd Blanche think that we in the public are?"

The clip referenced by Abrams is available on YouTube. The exchange has renewed debate about the balance between presidential pardon power and the Justice Department's independence in pursuing accountability for assaults on federal officers.