'Never, ever, ever': Trump's AG refuses to say who the president ordered to file Alaska lawsuit
Attorney General Todd Blanche on President Trump saying he recommended the Alaska election lawsuit: @margbrennan: “When the president said, ‘I'm the one that said do it,' who did he tell to do it?” AG Blanche: “I will never, ever, ever talk about communications that I have with the president of the United States. I never have, and I never will.” @margbrennan: “No, the president of the United States said this on camera. He said, ‘I told them to do it.’ Did he tell that to you?” AG Blanche: “No, that wasn’t your question. No, he didn't say that on camera.” @margbrennan: “Yes, he did.”
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 25, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to say whom President Donald Trump told to file a Justice Department lawsuit that could delay certification of Alaska's Senate race if Sen Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) loses narrowly.
Trump acknowledged that he directed the filing of the DOJ lawsuit demanding court intervention in the Alaska Senate race given the rising controversy due to the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot.
Todd Blanche refuses to reveal Trump's orders
During his appearance on CBS's 'Face the Nation' on Sunday, October 25, Blanche repeatedly declined to discuss the president’s communications, saying he would not talk about them even if he knew who Trump had instructed.
He also said that the Justice Department had been examining the issue for months and that its Civil Rights Unit drafted the lawsuit after its own legal review.
Host Margaret Brennan noted that Trump had said, "I'm the one that said do it," and asked whom he told.
“I will never, ever, ever talk about communications that I have with the president of the United States. I never have, and I never will,” Blanche replied.
Brennan asked Blanche whether Trump had personally told him to file the lawsuit, pointing out that the president had publicly said, “I told them to do it.”
Blanche pushed back, saying, “No, that wasn’t your question,” before claiming Trump had not made the remark on camera.
"Yes, he did," Brennan replied.
Todd Blanche accuses host of misleading viewers
Blanche accused Brennan of misleading viewers by saying that there were two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the Alaska Senate ballot without explaining why the DOJ believes the second candidate is running.
He said that the head of the Alaska Division of Elections had said the second Dan Sullivan was running solely to confuse voters and take votes away from the Republican incumbent.
“President Trump has been talking about what a travesty this is for many, many, many months, and the Department of Justice has been looking at it for many, many, many months, as we should under federal law,” Blanche said.
He defended the lawsuit, saying it was not an attempt by the federal government to take control of Alaska’s Senate election. Instead, he said the DOJ wanted a court to consider federal law and establish a process to determine whether voter confusion affected the results.
