{"id":2630700,"date":"2026-07-16T14:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T14:09:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:09:35","slug":"former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashcroft Rips Apart Dem Narrative On Trump Targeting Political Enemies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2630700&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former Attorney General John Ashcroft criticized Democratic narratives claiming that the trump administration used the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a tool to target political enemies. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche\u2019s nomination, Ashcroft emphasized that the attorney general&#8217;s duty is to enforce the law impartially, regardless of political affiliations. He stated that if someone violates the law, they should be prosecuted without exemption due to political considerations.Ashcroft also defended the principle that the president&#8217;s role is to enforce laws and that this is not inherently at odds with executive responsibilities.Throughout the hearing, Ashcroft challenged left-wing points, notably rejecting the idea that the DOJ was weaponized for political purposes and clarifying his stance on the importance of law enforcement integrity. The article highlights his firm belief in the rule of law and judicial impartiality, countering claims of political bias within the DOJ.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/the-nomination-of-the-honorable-todd-blanche-to-be-attorney-general-of-the-united-states\">Senate Judiciary Committee<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/16\/former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Former AG: The DOJ Has A \u2018Duty\u2019 To Prosecute The President\u2019s \u2018Political Enemies\u2019 If They Broke The Law&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/16\/former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Former AG: The DOJ Has A \u2018Duty\u2019 To Prosecute The President\u2019s \u2018Political Enemies\u2019 If They Broke The Law&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/16\/former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/16\/former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Former AG: The DOJ Has A \u2018Duty\u2019 To Prosecute The President\u2019s \u2018Political Enemies\u2019 If They Broke The Law&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/16\/former-ag-the-doj-has-a-duty-to-prosecute-the-presidents-political-enemies-if-they-broke-the-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;Former AG: The DOJ Has A \u2018Duty\u2019 To Prosecute The President\u2019s \u2018Political Enemies\u2019 If They Broke The Law&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former Attorney General John Ashcroft ripped apart Democrats\u2019 narrative that the Trump administration is using the Department of Justice as a personal office to prosecute \u201cpolitical enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ashcroft was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of the nomination of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent position when Democrats like Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., attempted to project their party\u2019s Justice Department weaponization onto the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2878536383\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schiff asked Ashcroft about Blanche allegedly stating \u201che believes the president has both the right and the duty to use the Justice Department to go after his enemies.\u201d While Blanche disputed that characterization of his comments Wednesday, Schiff asked Ashcroft if he agreed with Blanche.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe that the Attorney General of the United States has the right and responsibility to enforce the law uniformly, and if the law has been broken by the president\u2019s enemies, he has a duty,\u201d Ashcroft said. \u201cThey do not become exempt from following the law merely by their enmity to the President of the United States. As a matter of fact, the people who break the law are in enmity with the people of the United States, whose expression of what is the law has been developed in this body in the Congress of the United States \u2014 we used to call people who break the law public enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo my view is that whether a person has been a political supporter or not of the President of the United States is not the determining factor regarding prosecution,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s whether a person has violated the law, and in enforcing the law. The attorney general is carrying out the will expressed in the Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schiff seemed surprised by his response, but tried to press further. Ashcroft doubled down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe President of the United States is the executive branch of the United States with whose charge it is to enforce the laws of the United States,\u201d he added. \u201cWhen the President of the United States asks that the laws be enforced, I don\u2019t see that as consistent with his duties or responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rebuke of Schiff was not the only time Ashcroft countered the left-wing narratives about the Trump administration\u2019s personal use of the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welch tried to trap Ashcroft into commenting on the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/anti-weaponization-fund\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anti-Weaponization Fund<\/a>, the now-defunct fund that was meant to provide some restitution to victims of the Biden administration\u2019s weaponization of the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCan you imagine serving as attorney general and having President Bush come to you and say \u2014 by the way, who paid you $9 million before you got to be attorney general to represent him in criminal actions \u2026 but then he said, \u2018I\u2019ve got an idea: We\u2019re going to sue the federal government for $10 billion and you\u2019re going to represent the IRS, and then why don\u2019t you work out a settlement where there\u2019s a $1.7 billion fund that I control?&#8217;\u201d he said. \u201cWould you see anything, like, odd about that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ashcroft did not take the bait, simply stating, \u201cI didn\u2019t have that situation. I didn\u2019t have a president that had been the subject of illegal disclosure of his activities \u2014 criminal disclosure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fighting over Welch attempting to interrupt him, Ashcroft continued, \u201cI swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth that\u2019s that\u2019s a big challenge in an oath, and so I want to give my answer and not your answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/adam-schiff\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Adam Schiff<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/anti-weaponization-fund\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Anti-Weaponization Fund<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Justice<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-ashcroft\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Ashcroft<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/peter-welch\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Peter Welch<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/todd-blanche\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Todd Blanche<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/weaponization\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Weaponization<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashcroft refutes claims of DOJ politicization during Senate hearing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2630701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-16-114343.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[82812,82811,82813,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2630700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-ashcroft","tag-democraticnarrative","tag-politicalconflict","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-16-114343.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2630700"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630703,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630700\/revisions\/2630703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2630700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2630700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2630700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}