How Blanche is shattering DOJ's standard of political independence

Geoff Bennett:

Attorney General Todd Blanche is drawing scrutiny for his recent political appearances. with just five weeks left until the midterms, Blanche is blurring lines meant to keep the DOJ free of partisan bias.

Justice correspondent Ali Rogin reports.

Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney General:

My name is Todd Blanche.

(Cheering)

Ali Rogin:

Attorney General Todd Blanche has been introducing himself to some unusual crowds, like at the Republican Party's midterm convention.

Todd Blanche:

To evil men and women in this country, know this. President Trump will hold you accountable.

Ali Rogin:

An event in New York where he touted the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bruce Blakeman.

Todd Blanche:

We just heard from our great Nassau County executive, Bruce Blakeman, who is doing everything we need him to do to back the blue, to support law enforcement, and to make this county -- and to make this county a safe county that we can all raise our kids in.

(Cheering)

Ali Rogin:

And a North Carolina rally where he praised GOP Senate hopeful Michael Whatley.

Todd Blanche:

I have been put in an impossible position. I have to follow the great leader you just heard from, Michael Whatley. But I am also the last speaker before you hear from the greatest president of our generation, President Donald J. Trump.

(Cheering)

Ali Rogin:

Ethics experts say this message delivered by this messenger shouldn't be happening.

Joseph Tirrell, Former Justice Department Official:

Having the senior law enforcement officer in the United States campaigning on behalf of candidates creates the appearance, if not worse, that the Department of Justice is not going to fairly enforce election law.

Ali Rogin:

Joseph Tirrell was the DOJ's top ethics official until he was fired last year by Blanche's predecessor, Pam Bondi.

What would you be advising Attorney General Blanche to do if he were still working within the Department of Justice?

Joseph Tirrell:

The same thing I used to advise former attorneys general before I left the Department of Justice, which is, it's inappropriate for you to make these kind of statements on behalf of any candidate.

Ali Rogin:

Tirrell says Blanche may be violating the Hatch Act, a federal law limiting certain political activities of government employees. He wouldn't be the first to do so, nor are violations exclusive to one political party.

During the Biden administration, Massachusetts U.S. attorney Rachael Rollins was found to have engaged in among the most egregious transgressions of the act ever investigated, attending a political party fund-raiser in her official capacity, and then attempting to sabotage a political candidate by leaking that he was under DOJ investigation. She resigned as a result.

That same year, Attorney General Merrick Garland tightened the DOJ's restrictions on political activity, saying non-career appointees couldn't attend any partisan activity in any capacity. Bondi later loosened those rules.

Claire Finkelstein, University of Pennsylvania: It's very unlikely that any of these Hatch Act complaints will result in any sort of enforcement.

Ali Rogin:

Claire Finkelstein is a law and ethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Claire Finkelstein:

The office that determines whether or not a Hatch Act violation has occurred is supposed to be independent. But with this administration, there are -- there's fewer and fewer truly independent agencies that can act without influence from the White House.

She says Blanche has also blurred the lines by briefing the press from the official White House podium recently, weighing in on issues of political importance to the president, like voting by mail...

Todd Blanche:

There should be nothing surprising about what we're trying to do when it comes to mail-in voting.

Ali Rogin:

... and artificial intelligence.

Todd Blanche:

Every Democrat senator suddenly races to a microphone to talk about AI after being eerily silent for months and months and months. So to talk about the timing of this as being nothing but an effort to influence the midterms, I shouldn't have to say that out loud.

Ali Rogin:

Blanche has long teetered on the line between official and political. He began working with Trump as his defense lawyer after the president's reelection loss and has continued to vigorously defend him in office.

In a statement, the DOJ said: "Attorney General Blanche's appearances at political events are made in his personal capacity. His appearances are reviewed and cleared by the department's ethics officials." It also noted that he did not engage in political fund-raising.

Tirrell says attorneys general should be held to a higher standard.

Joseph Tirrell:

Even with a disclaimer that you're speaking in your so-called personal capacity, the office of the attorney general is just too well-known and too important to create even the appearance of impartiality or impropriety, and attorneys generals should not be speaking on behalf of any candidate in any partisan election.

Todd Blanche:

So I am the last speaker before the main event, President Trump.

(Cheering)

Ali Rogin:

Prior DOJ rules required political appointees to remain passive participants at approved events, but by making speeches before campaign crowds, Blanche appears to be taking a more active role.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Ali Rogin.