WATCH: Padilla Warns Against Trump’s Push to Install His Personal Lawyers to Top Department of Justice Positions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, warned against President Trump’s alarming pattern of nominating lawyers who have previously represented him for senior Department of Justice positions, and called the nominees out for refusing to commit to uphold key Constitutional provisions. He voted against advancing Trump’s nominee for U.S. Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal criminal defense attorney in several cases, including Trump’s New York hush money trial, in which the President was convicted of 34 felony counts.
Padilla underscored the refusals of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Solicitor General nominee John Sauer to commit to protecting birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He also highlighted the conflicts of interest Bondi, Blanche, Sauer, and other top officials at the Justice Department have due to their previous representation of Trump — raising concerns about both their independence from Trump and how many officials might need to recuse themselves from important cases.
In light of these dangerous nominations, Padilla voiced his concerns about eroding public trust in Congress and the Justice system.
Key Quotes:
- I can’t recall a time when not just any nominee by any President, but specifically high-ranking positions within the Department of Justice when those nominees would not clearly and strongly respond to the questions that we’ve been asking, about what if you are asked to do something unconstitutional or illegal or unethical? What would you do in that instance?
- As we zoom out and in the aggregate, it’s not just individual concerns, nominee by nominee by nominee, but collectively speaking, you know, when given so many of these people’s personal history with President Trump, having been his personal lawyer, the concern about true independence and conflict of interest is stronger than ever.
- There’s so many people now and soon to be at the highest levels of the Department of Justice, we’re at an unprecedented point of where does the conflict stop? Where is the independence, the commitment to the people of the United States and the Constitution? Not fealty to the President of the United States, that not just us as the Senate Judiciary Committee or Congress as a whole, but the American public, they’re losing confidence and faith in this most important of institutions.
- As we are expressing our concern or even outrage with some of these specific nominees and individual nominees, let’s not lose sight of what’s happening collectively as these nominees are flying through because we’re not hearing any question, any concern from our Republican colleagues in this committee, let alone in the Senate as an entire body, with what’s going on here.
Video of Senator Padilla’s remarks is available here.
Footage of his remarks can be downloaded here.
Senator Padilla has fought to hold Trump’s DOJ nominees accountable. Earlier this month, he questioned Blanche on his personal ties to the President and the Trump Administration’s unlawful firings of more than a dozen Inspectors General. Padilla previously opposed advancing Attorney General Bondi’s nomination after she refused to affirm birthright citizenship, which is constitutionally guaranteed, and declined to disavow the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. He also sounded the alarm on Kash Patel’s reckless nomination to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), delivering remarks ahead of Patel’s confirmation at a press conference outside FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. and in a speech on the Senate floor. Yesterday, Padilla questioned three of President Trump’s DOJ nominees, raising concerns over Republican DOJ nominees’ apparent willingness to disregard the rule of law and ignore court orders they disagree with. Additionally, Padilla joined Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats last month in demanding answers from Bondi, Blanche, Patel, and other Trump Administration nominees and officials on the removal or reassignment of career law enforcement officials across the DOJ and FBI.
More information on today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is available here.
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