Todd Blanche Tells Dana Bash 'Stop It' on Donald Trump Overturn Question

Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN's Dana Bash to "stop it" on Sunday when she asked whether President Donald Trump was laying the groundwork for a scenario in which he tries to overturn an election. Blanche said it was "not a real question."

Answering for his department, Blanche said on CNN's State of the Union: "We're not laying any groundwork for the president to do that. So your premise, your question is not true."

The Justice Department has sued to block certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate race if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses, NBC News reported.

Dana Bash Presses Todd Blanche on Alaska and January 6

Bash tied her question to a phrase she said Blanche had used days earlier. "One of the big questions is whether or not the president is laying the groundwork for a scenario where the, whether it's Alaska or somewhere else, there is in your words, a couple of days ago, a doomsday scenario," she said. NBC News reported that Blanche used the word "doomsday" on the day the suit was filed. The same report quoted Blanche saying it was not DOJ's intention to "improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process," but he allowed there could be a "doomsday" scenario in which the department would seek to get involved.

She raised the possibility that "president Trump tries to overturn the election and the result of that could be, God forbid, what we saw after January 6th." On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to certify Joe Biden's 2020 victory. The attack followed months of Trump's false claims that the election had been stolen.

Blanche cut in. "Oh, you got to stop it with that. You are not being a real person. Come on, man," he said.

He then restated the question as he heard it: "because the president of the United States wants to stop a fraud and confusion in Alaska, is he going to do something crazy? That is not, that is not a real question." Blanche said the department was concerned about "an absolute fraud happening in Alaska."

Bash interjected that there is a question if the department is laying the groundwork for "the president to try to overturn an election that he doesn't like."

Blanche said the department's work was limited to one state. "What I said is the groundwork that we are laying is for Alaska, for the state of Alaska. If it becomes an issue after the election, we'll have the ability to determine whether there was confusion that violates the law and determining who the senator should be," he said.

What the Justice Department's Alaska Lawsuit Seeks

The suit centers on a second candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, who shares a name with the incumbent. It asks a federal court to block certification if the senator loses but would have won had "all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan," NBC News reported. The case turns on voter confusion over the same-named candidate, not on proven fraud.

Trump has taken credit for the suit, telling reporters after it was filed, "I'm the one that said do it." Democratic candidate Mary Peltola said of the lawsuit, "This is the corruption AK is fed up with," accusing Sullivan of using his DC allies to keep himself in power. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sullivan's own colleague in the state's delegation, called the lawsuit wholly unnecessary.

Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have asked a judge to dismiss the case. Their filing calls the suit "an unprecedented pre-emptive strike on democratic elections." Peltola leads Sullivan 47.6 percent to 44.2 percent in PolitiKool's polling average.

Timeline: Trump, Blanche and the Midterm Results

• October 9-13: An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found 70 percent of Americans were not confident Trump would accept a Republican midterm loss.
• Sunday: Blanche told Bash no groundwork was being laid for Trump to overturn an election.

Polling on Whether Trump Will Accept the Midterm Results

The ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll surveyed 2,545 adults from October 9 to 13. Only 28 percent said they were confident Trump would accept the results if Republicans lose. That is close to a December 2023 Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, in which 71 percent lacked confidence he would accept a 2024 defeat.

The results split sharply along party lines. Ninety-four percent of Democrats said they were not confident, while 63 percent of Republicans said they were confident. Even so, about 60 percent of Americans said they were confident the elections would be run fairly and accurately.

What Happens Next

A federal judge has yet to rule on the motion to dismiss, and Election Day is November 3. Blanche says any action will depend on what happens in Alaska after the votes are counted.