ICYMI: Booker “Brings the Heat” at Confirmation Hearing, Tells AG Nominee Blanche: 'This Is a Performance Review — And You Failed'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In case you missed it, this week U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, "grilled" and "ripped" Trump's personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, at his confirmation hearing for Attorney General, drawing praise for his "especially powerful" questioning, which called out Blanche's concern for Ghislaine Maxwell over Epstein survivors, and highlighted how Blanche's "own record and testimony were reason enough to reject his nomination."

SEE FOR YOURSELF:

CBS: Booker grills Todd Blanche about Ghislaine Maxwell meeting, Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger
July 15, 2026

• "New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker grilled Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about his meeting with Jeffrey Epstein ally and convicted criminal Ghislaine Maxwell during a Senate panel hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Booker also pressed Blanche about attending a dinner hosted by David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, as a Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger bid continues."

MS NOW: Sen. Booker roasts Todd Blanche: 'Your role is not to advance political agendas'
July 15, 2026

• "Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) pressed Todd Blanche on the independence of the Department of Justice and the failure to redact some of the survivors' names and personal information in the Epstein files."

DEADLINE: Attorney General Nominee Todd Blanche Grilled on DOJ's Greenlight of Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger: "I Was Part Of That Decision"
July 15, 2026

• "Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and his nominee to serve as attorney general, was grilled over his role in the Justice Department's sign-off of Paramount's proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery."

MS NOW - Deadline White House: Todd Blanche Questioned at Confirmation Hearing by Senate
July 15, 2026

• Nicolle Wallace: The Senate Judiciary Committee gave Todd Blanche an opportunity to articulate a direction different from any of those flagrant abuses of norms and power at his confirmation hearing, an opportunity he did not seize. Senators Cory Booker and Adam Schiff were especially powerful in their condemnations of him.

New Jersey Monitor: Cory Booker accuses AG nominee of picking 'Trump over truth
July 15, 2026

• In a heated exchange during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Booker blitzed Blanche with questions about how he treated President Donald Trump's political foes compared to Trump's supporters and friends.

• 'Your role is not to advance political agendas. Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, and to uphold due process for all,' Booker said, quoting the judge's admonishment."

• Booker said, "If your record and your testimony today should show us anything, it should show you, in my opinion, that you should not be confirmed to this job."

USA Today : Todd Blanche, Sen. Cory Booker clash over meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, prison transfer
July 15, 2026

• Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Sen. Cory Booker clashed over a meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell and prison transfer in a heated exchange.

POLITICO: Booker challenges Blanche on claims he can't meet with Epstein victims
July 15, 2026

• "Todd Blanche was visibly frustrated during an exchange with Sen. Cory Booker as part of his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee."

• "The back-and-forth took place as Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, was questioning Blanche - President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as attorney general about attending a dinner hosted by David Ellison, the head of Paramount, while the Justice Department was investigating Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery."

The Hill: Booker: 'Absurdity' for Blanche to be concerned about Maxwell safety
July 16, 2026

• "Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) ripped Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for his Wednesday testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Blanche said the convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, in 2025 because of safety concerns, which Booker called an "absurdity."

@CalltoActivism: Senator Cory Booker: Todd Blanche Just Lied Under Oath
July 15, 2026

• "BOMBSHELL: Sen. Cory Booker says Todd Blanche LIED while under oath after claiming he couldn't meet with Epstein survivors.'He can meet with Ghislaine Maxwell… but not victims."

Meidas Touch- Legal AF: Trump PANICS as Blanche CRASHES and BURNS!!!
July 15, 2026

• "I liked the way Senator Booker, from my home state of New Jersey, used it almost like a can opener to get at Todd Blanche and talk about character. For me, that was a defining moment."