Adam Schiff Tries to Embarrass AG Nominee Todd Blanche, but It Wasn't a Fair Fight

Earlier Wednesday, we reported on Attorney General Nominee Todd Blanche's Senate confirmation hearing and the “extraordinarily obnoxious” questions lobbed at him by the insufferable Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and other Democrats.

But it wouldn’t be a true clown show without one of the hardest to stomach lawmakers in the entire metro D.C. area, Adam Schiff. The truth-challenged California senator went toe-to-toe with Blanche, who has been acting director since April following Pam Bondi’s departure, but he probably wished he hadn’t.

There are few things more satisfying than watching “Mr. Russia Collusion” get intellectually savaged by someone he’s trying to browbeat. According to Blanche, he might want to have his facts right when he pulls one of these stunts. The section we'll be discussing starts at the 2:28 mark:

There’s a bit of back-and-forth, but Schiff apparently thinks Blanche should basically recuse himself from every case. He’s also upset that Volume Two of former DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report, which concerns the classified documents investigation, was never released after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked its release multiple times.

Schiff accused Blanche of ethical lapses, but Blanche was having none of it:

SCHIFF: You've also refused to release Volume II of the Special Counsel's report. That was an investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents case. How is that not an abundant conflict of interest? Refusing to release to the public an investigative report of an investigation into your client?

BLANCHE: I am not a judge, a federal judge —

SCHIFF (interrupting): No, no, no, no, no. The department's position under you, Mr. Blanche, the department's position under you, Mr. Blanche, was to not release the report. But if you went into court asking them to release it, it would be released by now. So how is that not a patent conflict of interest?

The problem with Schiff’s argument? Blanche was not acting AG when the DOJ decided not to issue the report, and neither was he in the job when Cannon made her final ruling.

Oops.

BLANCHE: What you're saying happens to not be true. I did not do that. What you're talking about happened before.

SCHIFF: So do you support the release of Volume II?

BLANCHE: No, I don't — but I'm recused and had nothing to do with that case. You can't accuse me of violating my ethical rules and then lie about what I did.

Speaking of ethical lapses, Smith’s tenure as special counsel has come under increasing scrutiny amid allegations of wrongdoing, including failing to follow classified documents security protocols himself and spying on lawmakers, so his report would hardly be worth the paper it’s printed on anyway.

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MORE: Fresh Humiliation for Jack Smith As Judge Kills Final Classified Docs Report

'Runaway Train': Chuck Grassley Torches Jack Smith, Accuses Him of Obtaining Texts of Dozens of Lawmakers

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Of course, Schiff is gonna Schiff, so he attacked Blanche personally:

Schiff: What happened to the Todd Blanche who was a prosecutor people had respect for? What happened to the Todd Blanche of the Southern District of New York that could convert him into you?

Blanche: I am the same exact person I always was. pic.twitter.com/LIwb8I42Pp

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 15, 2026

The two went back and forth about the firing of disloyal prosecutors (why would the Trump administration keep people on who are actively undermining his agenda?), his pardoning of numerous J6 participants, and more, but it was Schiff, while trying to embarrass Blanche, who once again embarrassed himself.

There’s a strong competition going on in Congress these days, but Adam “Shifty Schiff” will always be at or near the top of the list of the worst and most deceitful lawmakers.