Blanche declines to pledge independence from the White House | CNN Politics

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday declined to commit to always acting independently of the White House, a concern among critics who worry the Justice Department is carrying out President Donald Trump’s political agenda. “No, I’m not going to pledge that, and no attorney general should ever pledge that,” Blanche told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press,” going on to say Trump has not and never will ask him to cross a legal or ethical line and that the Justice Department will “prosecute without fear or any sort of favor.” Blanche — Trump’s former personal defense attorney who was confirmed by the Senate last weekend after serving in an acting capacity since April — also suggested he’d take the president’s views into account in individual prosecution decisions. “Every American has a voice in prosecutions… So whether President Trump should have a, quote, voice, it depends, but yes,” Blanche said when pressed on whether Trump should ever have such a say in light of the president’s call to revisit the Reflecting Pool vandalism case that the US Attorney for the District of Columbia recently dismissed. “Will I take the president of the United