A prominent Trump watcher flagged a “major question mark” that Democrats face as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared certain to be confirmed for the attorney general role.
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Maggie Haberman, a New York Times reporter and author, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” that the deal brokered between the Trump administration and Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) to end their holdout on supporting Blanche’s confirmation created a perilous situation. She noted that it could put the Department of Justice squarely at odds with Congress after the November midterms if Democrats regain power, as some polling suggests they might.
Tapper described the situation as a “real recipe for confrontation.”
Haberman added that there is more at stake.
“I think this is the major question mark hanging over what happens post-November, if Democrats retake control of the House and possibly the Senate, as they seem poised to do in current polling,” Haberman said. “We don’t know by what margin if that does happen, but we have seen Justice Departments either slow-walk or not comply with Congressional subpoenas on very specific matters.”
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Democrats have said their first priority after retaking power would be to impeach President Donald Trump. The DOJ could slow-walk that process by refusing to share information and spurring court battles.
“What we haven’t seen before is an entire government, or major aspects of the government, that simply don’t respond to these subpoenas,” Haberman said. “And Congress does have pretty limited recourse in what it can do. It can take a contempt of Congress vote against the Attorney General. I’m just not sure who adjudicates that.”
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