00:02Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says President Trump has the right and the duty to push for investigations into people
00:09he believes should be looked at.
00:11Blanche made the comments during his first extended remarks since taking over at the Justice Department after Pam Bondi was
00:18fired last week.
00:19He pushed back on questions about political pressure, saying investigations will move forward under the law, including cases involving people
00:27that Trump has clashed with.
00:28We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now.
00:34And it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has
00:41had issues with and that believe should be investigated.
00:44That is his right. And indeed, it is his duty to do that, meaning to lead this country.
00:50And so I do not view this as pressure. I do not view this as something that is going to
00:56keep me up at night, except to make sure that we are investigating every case that we have to the
01:02fullest extent of the law and using all the resources we can.
01:06Blanche also left open the possibility that he could stay in the job permanently.
01:10The former Trump defense lawyer said the decision is up to the president and that he would take whatever role
01:16Trump wants him to take.
01:18I love working for President Trump. It's the greatest honor of a lifetime.
01:22And if President Trump chooses to keep me as acting, that's an honor.
01:27If he chooses to nominate me, that's an honor.
01:30If he chooses to nominate somebody else and I go back to being the DAG, that's an honor.
01:34If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say thank you
01:39very much.
01:39I love you, sir.
01:40Blanche has been serving as deputy attorney general and was elevated to the top job on an acting basis after
01:46Bondi's exit.
01:47He also said only President Trump knows why Pam Bondi is no longer attorney general.
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