Attorney General's Campaign-Event Schedule Sparks Neutrality Debate

Attorney General Todd Blanche is drawing renewed scrutiny after appearing at events that look more like campaign rallies than routine Justice Department work. Critics say the pattern makes it harder for the public to see federal law enforcement as independent.

Blanche spoke this week for a Republican Senate candidate in North Carolina. Only days earlier, he addressed a GOP midterm convention, praised President Donald Trump, and promoted the administration's hard-line approach to crime. At the North Carolina event, he argued that more families, friends, and neighbors are safer than they were two years earlier. He credited Trump and Vice President JD Vance, called Trump the greatest president of his generation, and even discussed markets, inflation, and wages.

Those remarks sit outside the usual role expected of an attorney general. For decades, the position has kept a wider distance from party rallies and White House politics. The idea is simple: elections and prosecutions should not look tied to a campaign. Blanche, who once served as Trump's personal lawyer, has pushed back against claims that the Justice Department is being used for partisan purposes. The department also rejected the idea that the White House is improperly directing its cases. Blanche has also rejected claims that the current administration politicized the agency, even though the Justice Department brought two criminal cases against Trump while President Joe Biden was in office.

The Justice Department says Blanche's event appearances are personal appearances, reviewed by ethics officials, and do not involve agency policy or official business. It says his travel costs were reimbursed under federal rules. Public Citizen has challenged one earlier appearance at a Long Island event held for Trump-endorsed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Blanche has defended the appearance by saying he goes when the president asks and that he was there to thank police and law enforcement for doing their jobs. His recent White House press briefing also drew attention because he answered questions on matters beyond his usual law-enforcement portfolio, including the Iran war.