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The constraint shaping the independence debate at the Justice Department is the line the department's own manual draws between two categories of White House contact: policy direction, which the Justice Manual permits, and case-specific interference, which it restricts to senior officials.
Attorney General Todd Blanche put that framework at the center of his answer Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," when host Kristen Welker asked him to pledge that the department would always act independently of the White House.
"No, I'm not going to pledge that," Blanche said. "And no attorney general should ever pledge that." The distinction Blanche described is not novel.
The Justice Manual draws it explicitly: coordination between the White House and DOJ on policy matters unrelated to pending cases is permitted, while contacts about individual cases are limited to senior officials to protect enforcement decisions from improper influence.
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