A former US attorney general under President George W. Bush was briefly at a loss for words after being put on the spot over his half-hearted defense of Todd Blanche.
Appearing on MS NOW with host Peter Alexander, law professor Alberto Gonzalesrepeatedly expressed support for the newly confirmed President Donald Trump appointee while, at the same time, admitting he has been dismayed with his actions — including the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
That enthusiasm gap led Alexander to pounce.
After Gonzales repeatedly claimed he wanted to give the controversial Blanche the “benefit of the doubt,“ Alexander asked, “You keep saying you’re concerned about his integrity. So I guess my question is, why are you still giving him the benefit of the doubt based on what we have witnessed?”
Starting and stopping several times, Gonzales finally attempted, “Again, as I said at the outset, I congratulate him. I do feel that I’m hopeful the full weight of history, of being the confirmed attorney general, will hit Todd Blanche, and he’ll understand the ultimate responsibility that he has to the Constitution and the laws passed by this Congress.”
“To be clear, if I’m wrong and— ,” he continued only to be cut off by the MS NOW host.
“To be clear, based on what you’ve seen so far, I recognize your optimism, but do you have confidence based on what you’ve witnessed to this point as acting attorney general?” he asked.
“Oh, I think I’d have to be naive and foolish to not understand or remember the history that, you know, the past few years, his performance in the decisions that he’s made,” the former AG conceded. “But again, he’s now the attorney general. And until proven otherwise, I hope that he will faithfully execute the laws of this country and the Constitution of this country.”
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