Quinta Jurecic writes:

The most stunning exchange of Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing to serve as attorney general came in response to an amiable question. Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana, a Republican who appears favorably inclined toward Blanche, asked the nominee whether he considered himself to be the president’s friend.

Blanche, who is currently leading the Justice Department in an interim role, responded: “I’m his lawyer.” Then, perhaps, realizing his mistake, he corrected himself. “Was his lawyer,” he said. “And now I’m the deputy attorney general.”

In politics, this is what is known as a Kinsley gaffe, a phenomenon described by the journalist Michael Kinsley: an instance where a political figure says something true that he didn’t intend to admit. Blanche’s day job may no longer involve working as President Trump’s private attorney, but his conduct at the top of the Justice Department has left little doubt that his primary loyalty is not to the United States or the Constitution but to the man in the White House. Blanche’s willingness to twist the law to Trump’s advantage has unnerved even some usually quiescent Senate Republicans, and he may face a tight confirmation vote in the weeks ahead. But whether or not Blanche secures the top job, yesterday’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee made clear that Trump has demolished everything but the occasional pretense of an independent Justice Department. [Continue reading…]