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Republican Senator Makes Startling Admission Ahead Of Todd Blanche Confirmation Vote

WASHINGTON — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Tuesday lamented the "weaponization" of government against political opponents during both Democratic and Republican administrations ― and even suggested it's worse than ever under President Donald Trump.

Ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote to advance the nomination of Trump's former personal attorney, Todd Blanche, to be attorney general, Tillis said weaponization is "maybe a little bit more intense in this administration," but said confirming Blanche will somehow "bend the curve of this absurdity."

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Even from a Republican senator who occasionally criticizes the White House, it's a striking acknowledgment of the Justice Department's transformation into a vehicle for presidential revenge. And it was a bit strange as part of a speech justifying a vote for Blanche, who has led the department since April and is directly responsible for its most controversial moves.

Thanks to Tillis and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) withdrawing their earlier objections, the committee voted along partisan lines to advance Blanche's confirmation as attorney general. Tillis and Cornyn had delayed the vote over Blanche granting Trump immunity from tax investigations and setting up a $1.8 billion slush fund to pay off Trump's political loyalists. On Sunday, in response to their gripes, Blanche put in writing that the fund had been rescinded. But he let Trump keep his tax immunity.

Tillis sought to portray improper political use of federal law enforcement as a bipartisan tradition Blanche could break. He pointed to supposedly improper IRS audits of conservative groups during President Barack Obama's administration, and then to President Joe Biden's dubious pardons of his family members.

"The bottom line is nobody is clean here, and until we start recognizing this behavior is bad, we're just going to wind up [with more of] it. Maybe it's a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one, and that a little bit more intense in the prior administration, and so on and so forth," Tillis said during the committee meeting. "But folks, we got to end this stuff. We do. I'm going to support Mr. Blanche's nomination, but what I hope I see out of him is a bending of the curve of this absurdity."

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Tillis then blasted the prosecution of former FBI director James Comey ― for having posted a photo of allegedly threatening seashells on a North Carolina beach ― as an egregious mistake.

"Some bonehead in North Carolina thinks that that's a crime. Well, they better **** sure have information to back it up because if all it is is a picture, that person should lose his job," Tillis said.

The Justice Department secured its indictment against Comey after Blanche had become acting attorney general, meaning he likely signed off on it. But Tillis has a habit of making excuses for his fellow Republicans' decision-making, such as by blaming Trump's mistakes on bad advice from aides. He then likened the Comey prosecution to the Biden administration's efforts to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters for attacking the Capitol.

Later during the judiciary meeting, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) indulged Tillis' premise that there's been improper use of public office by both Democrats and Republicans. He criticized Biden for having allowed his son Hunter to serve on the board of a Ukrainian energy company when Biden oversaw foreign policy in Eastern Europe as vice president, but he said it was no comparison to what Trump is doing.

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"That's like using a magnifying glass to study a stain on the living room carpet while ignoring the mountain of excrement covering the living room couch and coffee table," Booker said. "You are worried about a pickpocket when it comes to grand theft larceny, when it comes to our democracy. You're worried about someone doing petty theft while there is the murder of our democratic traditions going on before our eyes."

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