In his first press conference after taking over for former Attorney General Pam Bondi following her firing by President Donald Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche went full scorched earth on a reporter who asked a question about Trump’s four indictments that, according to Blanche and other conservatives, demonstrate the lack of intelligence of mainstream media journalists.
During the press conference, Blanche announced the creation of the “National Fraud Enforcement Division, which he said will, “zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal taxpayer dollars and rip off the American people.” He then added, “What we saw, and what President Trump went through, every single prosecutor in this department, you have a duty to do the right thing.”
“You have prosecutors who are absolutely not doing the right thing,” he continued. What happened the last four years is something that will never happen again.” The reporter then asked the question that quickly became a viral clip on social media. “You said earlier that this Department of Justice has indicted President Trump four times. Can you explain what you base that statement on?” the reporter asked.
“What kind of a question is that?” Blanche immediately fired back, according to The Gateway Pundit. “He got indicted 4 times. He got indicted in Florida, and then he got indicted in D.C., and then they superseded in Florida, and then they superseded in D.C,” he responded. Jack Smith indicted President Trump on 37 federal counts in Miami for allegedly unlawfully storing presidential records at his Mar-a-Lago residence in June 2023.
The following month, Smith slapped the president with three additional charges in the investigation into classified documents stored at his home, which was filed in the Southern District of Florida and claims that Trump was participating in a scheme to delete security footage from Mar-a-Lago. Then, in September 2023, Trump was indicted on 4 counts in Smith’s January 6 case in Washington, D.C.
Those four charges include: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Later, Smith moved to have both cases tossed out due to the immunity given to a sitting president and stated that it does not require dismissal with prejudice.
“As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant, Donald J. Trump, will be inaugurated as President on January 20, 2025. It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President,” Jack Smith went on to write. Smith continued to explain his decision to dismiss the cases by discussing the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictments for a sitting president.
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“After careful consideration, the department has determined that [the Office of Legal Counsel’s] prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith continued.“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government stands fully behind,” Jack Smith stated in the government’s motion to dismiss.
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