The Steady State applauds the Bar of the City of New York for its powerful and principled opposition to the nomination of Todd Blanche as Attorney General of the United States. At a moment when the independence of the Department of Justice and the integrity of the legal profession face extraordinary strain, the City Bar has reaffirmed the fundamental proposition that the nation’s chief law enforcement officer must demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the rule of law, fidelity to ethical obligations, and respect for the constitutional separation of powers. The timing of the City Bar’s letter could not be more significant. Today, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a blistering opinion in the so-called “slush fund” litigation, concluding that the lawsuit was pursued for an improper purpose and describing an effort to manipulate the judicial process in order to secure judicial approval for an arrangement that the court found fundamentally incompatible with the Constitution and the role of the federal judiciary. In doing so, Judge Williams sharply criticized the conduct of the parties and counsel, including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and ordered that her opinion be transmitted to the appropriate bar authorities while referring one attorney for disciplinary proceedings. These developments underscore precisely why the Senate must scrutinize Mr. Blanche’s nomination with the utmost care. The Attorney General is entrusted not merely with enforcing the law, but with safeguarding public confidence that justice will be administered impartially, honestly, and in accordance with the Constitution. When a federal judge concludes that the judicial process itself has been misused to advance an improper objective, the concerns raised by the legal profession are no longer abstract—they become immediate, concrete, and impossible to ignore. The City Bar has performed an important public service by speaking clearly and unequivocally at this critical moment, and its warning deserves the careful attention of every United States Senator before casting a vote on this nomination.
#ToddBlanche #Democracy #Politics #RuleofLaw #holdfast
source
This Nomination Should Worry Every American
