by Sharon Rondeau
(May 23, 2026) — In an interview with Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on the May 17 edition of “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo recounted the last decade or more of political chicanery aimed at thwarting Donald Trump’s presidential aspirations, particularly through the “Russia hoax” reportedly launched by the Obama regime in early December 2016 after Trump won an upset victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Blanche served as Trump’s lead attorney in a case brought in 2022 by New York Attorney General Letitia James claiming the Trump Organization overstated the value of its properties to obtain more favorable loan terms from its creditors.
Blanche is also a former federal prosecutor and previously a private practitioner, Bartiromo noted.
Bartiromo drew attention to a March interview with former House intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes in which he claimed a “conspiracy” unfolded among politically-motivated government operatives to damage Trump.
She then asked Blanche pointedly, “What have you done about it?”
Appearing perhaps less scripted than in recent press conferences, Blanche responded, “That’s exactly what we’re investigating right now. And by the way, what is not in dispute is that the whole Russia hoax — there was absolutely nothing to it. And so the question that the American people have to ask is, ‘Well, then, why did they do it? Why did [former FBI Director James] Comey say what he said? Why did the outgoing Obama administration do what they did?’…That’s what we’re studying right now.”
He said the government campaign against Trump “did great damage” to not only Trump’s ability to govern during his first presidential term, but also to the entire nation.
“Do you believe it was a conspiracy against President Trump?” Bartiromo asked.
“I mean, that’s what we’re looking at. Do you believe it?” Blanche responded. “I mean, look at what happened. Here there’s no evidence of any Russia collusion at all, and yet there was a special counsel appointed — two years, the president’s family, his entire administration was investigated — there was zero evidence of any Russia collusion. That cannot happen — it should never happen in this country, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”
Bartiromo replied that she was one of a very few journalists seeking information about the “collusion” allegations and that she and her audience concluded early on “doesn’t smell right.”
“I’d like to know why it’s taking so long,” she said. “Has the statute of limitations run up? Do you have no more wiggle room in terms of zeroing in on things like the Mueller Report, the Nunes Report, and all the evidence that was clear that they knew that there was no ‘Russia collusion?'”
“I don’t know that the statute has run out; I don’t think so,” Blanche said, “because what you saw — you saw a continued effort, all the way up until very recently, up until the raid of Mar-a-Lago just a couple of years ago, a continued effort to destroy President Trump, and whether that’s one conspiracy that continued from 2015, 2016, all the way up to 2023, is what we’re looking at right now.”
The DOJ’s method, Blanche said, is “with the grand jury process” and involves an in-depth investigation by the FBI. “We’re finding out some incredibly troubling things,” he said, “and at some point, at the right time, that will be made public, and the American people will see exactly what happened to this administration and President Trump over the past decade.”
“The country was ripped apart…When is the time right?” Bartiromo pressed. “When should we expect these charges of ‘conspiracy?'”
The Southern District of Florida, Blanche confirmed, “has an open criminal investigation. That involves hundreds of subpoenas; it involves hundreds of witnesses, and so, as far as timing, and when we can expect it, we are working hard and we are working efficiently, but we are going to do it right. We are not going to rush something that isn’t ready; we are not going to reach a conclusion before our investigation is over, but I assure you, and I assure the American people, that we are completely focused on it.”
“I don’t know — what is not ready? We’ve been watching this play out for a long time…weaponization keeps happening because it’s not corrected the time before.”
Bartiromo shifted to the recently announced charges against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly threatening President Trump’s life with an Instagram post. Comey was indicted by a grand jury in North Carolina but claims he is “innocent” of the charges.
Changing the subject again, Bartiromo asked Blanche about Trump’s repeated claim the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” which major media maintain is “false.”
Last July, now-outgoing Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard declared the plot to damage Trump a “treasonous conspiracy.”
After airing recent comments from White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles suggesting Trump won states publicly reported as having been captured by Joe Biden in 2020, Bartiromo asked Blanche, “Do you have any evidence that the election was rigged?”
“Well, there’s a ton of evidence that the election was rigged,” Blanche responded. “…There’s been evidence about that for many, many years. …we have multiple investigations going on in Arizona, in Fulton County, GA…This is very difficult, because they’re very good; they’re very good at hiding misconduct and hiding what they’re doing…”
Addressing Bartiromo’s earlier question as to “Why is it taking so long?” Blanche said, that “the reality to the answer to that is because it takes a lot of work to uncover what happened in 2020…”
He faulted the Biden administration for failing to prosecute illegal voters. “Just last year, we charged dozens,” he said, “and we’re investigating a ton more right now….We know that there were people who voted who were not eligible to vote…That’s the tip of the iceberg of what we’re doing…”
“So you believe there will be at some point a definitive answer to whether or not the 2020 election was stolen,” Bartiromo countered.
“I’m not going to promise there’s going to be a definitive answer,” Blanche responded. “That wouldn’t be fair to you or anybody else, but we are looking at it, and we’re hoping to get one.”
With that, Bartiromo thanked Blanche for his time and concluded the interview.