Personalist Rule
By Lorraine Evanoff, August 13, 2026 – 480 Words
By the time Todd Blanche was confirmed as the 88th U.S. Attorney General, it was old news, but it was still horrifying. Blanche led Trump’s criminal defense that ended with the jury convicting Trump of 34 felony counts of election interference. Yet, Trump insisted on Blanche as AG. Trump could have kept Blanche as interim AG indefinitely to limit public outrage before the Midterms. So why push his confirmation through?
Trump fired Pam Bondi and gave the position to Blanche in a very Putinesque move. As Ruth Ben-Ghiat explains, with Blanche’s confirmation, Trump has achieved “personalist rule,” a leader who has no interest in public welfare and holds office solely for personal enrichment.
Now Trump’s own attorney controls federal law enforcement like the FBI and DEA and represents the U.S. government in federal court cases. Blanche can stonewall any case Trump doesn’t like. Right out of the gate, Blanche is protecting Trump from the IRS, which Trump has fought for decades. (What the fuck is in his tax returns?)
Blanche continues to stonewall release of the Epstein Files and is now obstructing the Epstein Zorro Ranch case in New Mexico. Epstein’s Island was the focal point of the Florida charges, and Blanche’s DOJ continues to illegally refuse to release the files in violation of the EFTA. He is also in contempt of the judge’s ruling in the suit brought by Katie Phang. Blanche himself appears in the Epstein files. Until recently, the Zorro Ranch case flew under the radar. But it is a time bomb that Blanche is trying to defuse.
Blanche can also interfere in the Midterm elections. Trump’s DOJ is already targeting Democrats with U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro convening a Special Grand Jury, the only explanation for which is to create bogus cases against democrats running in the midterm elections.
Will Trump’s regime face consequences for their lawlessness? According to federal criminal sentencing expert, Mark Allenbaugh, due to the Supreme Court ruling on Presidential Immunity, there’s scant chance Trump can be indicted on crimes committed during his presidency, maybe not even by the states. Even Trump’s staff might be protected under his immunity.
But my understanding is that the SCOTUS ruling only covers official acts within the bounds of core constitutional powers and presidential duties and does not cover unofficial private acts. So, Trump and his cronies might not be exempt from prosecution.
Trump is throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. Trump has issued executive orders, but judges have repeatedly ruled against him, most recently Trump’s attempted weaponization of the US Post Office to interfere in the midterm elections.
Blanche should take note that Nixon’s attorney general John Mitchell was convicted and served 19 months in federal prison. Blanche’s law license is with the New York state bar, which permanently disbarred Rudy Giuliani.
Everything Trump touches dies. VOTE BLUE.
TIMELINE CLEANSE
I’m exhausted, fam.
Here’s the sunset tonight. Stay strong.
Namaste.🙏🏻
Lorraine Evanoff, Louise Moscow, and the Sovereign Feline, Floofles -- meow, meow!
Everything Trump touches dies.
Todd Blanche is repulsive, like Pete Hedgsuck and the "Hillbilly Elegie" JD-Pants (see: https://www.thedailybeast.com/social-media-cant-get-over-jd-vances-tiny-little-pants/ ).
As long as the Personalist-Dictator -- thank you Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat -- rules, ICE will commit serial murder with impunity.
Of all of Orange-Trump's crimes, the kidnapping of toddlers to lure parents into internment camps and the serial murders of ICE repel me the most.
Edgar Hoover, the lawless head of the FBI from 1919 - 1972, and was recognized by Franklin Delano Roosevelt to be one of the top five most dangerous men in America, exercized his state-sponsored terror in subversive inflitration of NAACP peaceful protest and who tried through extortion to induce Dr. Martin Luther King to commit suicide.
This Administration in its terror of good, immigrant families, and serial murder by ICE -- with impunity, note well -- competes with Edgar Hoover for lowest evil in American history.
Competing with genocide of First Nation peoples; hundreds of years of slavery; feverish and epidemic lynchings that amount to attempted genocide.
Orange-Dip-Trump competes with all these evil forces in a race to the bottom for evil.
At 78, I lose hope of seeing America recover the vision of the NAACP, Dr. King, and the Civil Rights Movement -- which was the great Moral Movement of our Epoche.
I have vivid memories of our greatest statesmen ever, Eleanor Roosevelt -- far greater than her husband, FDR -- and the great Civil Rights Movement.
I shake my head in wonder that we could descend from these great moral heights to reliving of Jim Crow and serial murder with impunity.
I join forces, but I have no hope of seeing America recover a moral compass.
Back when trump was first elected in 2016 and just some of his criminality was being exposed, I wrote then that should democrats ever regain control of the government and start investigating what had come to light at that point(2017-18)it would be like cleaning the Augean stables, a task for a hero. How quaint that feels now. There is soooo much more at this point not only to investigate but to rebuild. Hunter Biden wrote today about not allowing cynicism to overtake our thinking but to stay focused instead on the task at hand which is victory in the midterms. The rest will take care of itself when we’re ready to tackle it. Every journey begins with the first step.
Peace Lorraine.