Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seemed really frustrated when he was questioned by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
The situation got heated as Blanche answered questions from lawmakers about the Jeffrey Epstein files, the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, and how long he plans to work with FBI Director Kash Patel.
Blanche became more defensive as Booker asked him about Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker who was moved to a minimum-security women’s prison in Texas after meeting with Blanche in 2025.
“Just one week after your meeting, Ms.
Maxwell was transferred from a low-security federal institution to a minimum security prison camp.Were you involved with that transfer?” Booker asked.
“As I talked about before, in the time leading up to me going down to meet with her, we learned that she was receiving threats, and it turned out-”
When Booker cut him off, Blanche said, “It’s not a question I can answer apparently in the time you’re giving me.”
After some back and forth, Booker changed the subject to the Paramount-Warner Bros.
Discovery merger.
“As deputy attorney general and later acting attorney general, you exercised oversight of the antitrust division.
Did you approve the decision to close the department’s investigation into that merger, yes or no?” Booker asked.
When Booker interrupted Blanche’s answer again, the top DOJ official got angry.
“You don’t even let me answer, man!” Blanche shouted.
“That’s incredible!”
Booker then asked Blanche about his appearance at a dinner hosted by Paramount-Skydance CEO David Ellison six weeks before the investigation was closed.
“Your attendance at that dinner was cleared by ethics officials?” Booker asked.
“You can ask the questions, but you cannot control my answers,” Blanche replied.
“I’m under oath, and I can answer the questions as I choose to answer them!”
Booker kept pushing: “Yes or no, were you approved by ethics?”
“When I do things outside the department, whether it’s a speech, whether it’s a dinner or whether it’s an event, they are approved by ethics officials.”
As Booker refused to back down, he finally got the one-word answer he was looking for.
“Every time I go out, it’s approved, yes,” Blanche said.
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