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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we are considering the nomination of Todd Blanche, President Trump's nominee for Deputy Attorney General.

How important is this job? It is the No. 2 job in the Department of Justice. Traditionally, it has been given major responsibilities and has been treated very seriously, as it should be, and we should consider that when we consider this nomination.

I am not going to go into the background already outlined by Chairman Grassley about Mr. Blanche's legal representation of Donald Trump, which he did on repeated occasions. There is nothing to suggest that what he did was unethical in that capacity or unprofessional, so I am not going to raise a question about it.

As to whether or not he has any bias one way or another in dealing with the President in the future is speculative, but it is important.

The thing I would like to raise is January 6, 2021. That is the day a solemn constitutional proceeding was disrupted here in this Capitol, in this Senate Chamber, by a mob of thugs who were egged on by President Trump to attack and trash the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the Presidential election. I lived through that, as many of us did.

The insurrection led to the death of 5 law enforcement officers and injuries to approximately 140 others, many of whom are still paying that price today.

In a rally before the attack on the Capitol, President Trump said:

If you don't fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anymore.

Yet, in a court filing, Mr. Blanche argued:

Not a shred of evidence suggests President Trump called for any violence. In fact, President Trump clearly and repeatedly called for ``peaceful and patriotic'' assembly.

There was nothing peaceful or patriotic about President Trump's conduct that day, and the same goes for his supporters. Did it seem peaceful or patriotic when this crowd assaulted police officers who were doing their job and protecting us then, as they do to this day?

One of President Trump's first moves in office--not the very first but one of the first things he did--was to issue blanket pardons for all of the violent January 6 insurrectionists. When Mr. Blanche was asked at his hearing to condemn these actions, he repeatedly refused to do so.

In fact, it appears he buys into the conspiracy theory that the FBI is actually responsible for the insurrection. In response to our question, Mr. Blanche said he does not believe the inspector general's finding that the FBI did not have any undercover employees in the Capitol on that day.

I am especially disappointed--especially--that Mr. Blanche refused to commit to me and the committee that he would not disclose the names of the FBI agents who worked on the case of the January 6 rioters even though some of the rioters are already calling for retribution against these men and women who were simply doing their duty. This is extremely dangerous. We have seen these violent individuals, and we know that they are willing to dole out their own form of justice. They believe they are above the law because of the Presidential pardon, and President Trump validated that belief with the pardons full and unconditional.

Instead of accepting the legitimacy of cases brought against the President, Mr. Blanche has repeatedly used the word ``lawfare'' to describe these investigations.

I have been around this Chamber for a long time and around Washington for even longer, but I don't know what this word ``lawfare'' means. And to use it as your explanation of what you are going to do in the No. 2 position at the Department of Justice is mind-boggling.

After the hush money convictions came down, Mr. Blanche was asked if he accepted that the President had his day in court and a jury of his peers made the decision to convict him. In response, Mr. Blanche undermined our justice system by saying, ``No, not at all.''

Since the President has taken office, we have already witnessed the weaponization of the justice system. Mr. Blanche will not provide the necessary independence to avoid that. His response to questions was not satisfying in this regard.

His record and his undying loyalty to the President notwithstanding, I don't believe he is the right person for this job. I ask my colleagues to join me in opposing the nomination.

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