Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche holds a news conference in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday, April 7, defended investigations of individuals Donald Trump "has had issues with" and said only the president knows why his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was fired. "We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now," Blanche said at his first press appearance since being named interim head of the Justice Department last week.
"And it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president, in the past, has had issues with and believes should be investigated," he said. "That is his right, and indeed, it is his duty to do that."
Bondi was fired last week after reportedly drawing Trump's ire by falling short in efforts to prosecute perceived Trump political opponents such as former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, said only the president knows why Bondi was dismissed. "Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general and I'm the acting attorney general, except for President Trump," he said.
