Todd Blanche is reportedly auditioning for the job of attorney general right now. In that capacity, he took to the microphone this week to say, “I think it’s fair to say that threatening the life of anybody is dangerous, and potentially a crime.”
The context for this statement was the Department of Justice’s latest indictment of James Comey, on the charge that his “8647” seashells post constituted a threat on Trump’s life. This is taking place against the backdrop of the White House Correspondents’ Association attack, and the administration’s broader argument that the left is to blame for fomenting political violence.
Blanche went on to say: “His [Comey’s] alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate, and that we will always investigate, and regularly prosecute.” That’s an interesting statement coming from Blanch—“never tolerate,” “always investigate,” and “regularly prosecute”? Let’s run a quick fact-check on that.
Trump summoned a mob to Washington on January 6, told them to “show strength,” and refused to intervene for hours while they sacked the building and laid siege to police officers. Then he celebrated them as “great patriots” and, on his first day back in office, pardoned all of them.
Trump effectively said that Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should be executed for “treason,” writing on Truth Social: “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”
He posted a photo of himself swinging a bat at former Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Shortly after, Bragg’s office received a suspicious package containing white powder and a threatening note.
Amid the George Floyd protests, Trump threatened violence against protesters in the streets, posting “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” He then had police forcibly clear Lafayette Square so he could pose for a photo-op holding a Bible upside down in front of a church, whose Bishop roundly and vociferously denounced him for it.
In response to the criminal charges against him in 2023, Trump threatened “death & destruction” and said that “such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country.”
This is obviously an incomplete list. Trump has also threatened Iran with genocide, celebrated the death of Robert Mueller, encouraged his supporters to brutalize protestors, called neo-Nazis “very fine people,” and so on. He is the poster boy for political violence in America today.
Blanche has claimed that “this Department has charged dozens of cases involving threats against all sorts of individuals. We take these seriously, every single one of them.” That’s simply not true. Or at least it’s not true regarding Blanche’s audience of one.
Home of the Brave exists to show Americans the real-world consequences of this administration’s policies, and to highlight what bravery looks like in defense of American democracy.
