‘Unleashed’: Trump's AG ramps up ‘salvo of actions’ to hunt down his enemies

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is moving quickly to prove his loyalty to Donald Trump and shed the “acting” label by launching a sweeping push targeting the president’s perceived enemies, according to a report in the New York Times.

The outlet reported Friday that Blanche has set off “a conspicuous salvo of actions” aimed at demonstrating progress on Trump’s priorities, “chief among them, payback” against his political adversaries.

Among the high-profile figures now in the Justice Department’s crosshairs is former CIA Director John Brennan, along with former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who spoke out publicly against Trump in the events surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the report said. The DOJ has also authorized inquiries tied to the Democratic fundraising group ActBlue, and is revisiting a failed attempt to charge former FBI Director James Comey.

“He’s been unleashed,” Trump said at a private White House event earlier this month, according to the Times. The president added that Blanche “is doing a fantastic, he’s doing a great job always, but he’s doing a great job as the attorney general.”

Still, the effort may face significant hurdles - both within the MAGA movement and in the courts.

Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters have questioned Blanche’s loyalty and pushed alternative figures, like far-right activist Ed Martin and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, the report said.

Meanwhile, past attempts to bring charges against some of Trump’s perceived enemies have fallen flat due to a lack of evidence, raising concerns about the “politicization of the department, which historically acts independently of the White House.”

“The president wants Blanche to pursue his targets,” said former U.S. attorney John P. Fishwick. “The challenge for Blanche is that several of these cases are very uphill.”

But, according to the Times, Blanche “has clearly hastened the cadence” of investigations.