(WND)—The U.S. Department of Justice is going to war with Fox News, claiming the digital division of the media giant engaged in “poor journalism” for a “patently false” story alleging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche pitched himself to replace Pam Bondi upon President Trump’s firing of her as the nation’s top cop.
On Saturday, Fox News reported: “Blanche huddled with President Donald Trump in the hours after Pam Bondi was forced out last week to make his pitch for the job full-time, Fox News Digital confirmed.
“Blanche was encouraged by top White House officials to speak with the president while other names, like Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, briefly circulated as possible contenders, two sources familiar told Fox News Digital. During that conversation, Blanche has made his case for why he should be the next attorney general.
“White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to Fox News Digital that the president and his then-deputy attorney general had spoken on Thursday, as did a source familiar with Blanche’s movements that day.”
One of the reporters on the story, Katelyn Caralle, said of her “SATURDAY SCOOP” that Blanche’s position as acting attorney general was his “audition” for the head position.
Later on Saturday, Emily Covington, public affairs director for DOJ, told Fox News that Blanche had never pitched himself to Trump, and Fox never bothered to seek comment.
“Fox never reached out to DOJ for comment on this patently false accusation from two ‘sources.’ At no point did Todd Blanche pitch himself to the president. He was told he would serve as Acting AG, that is all. Anyone who claims another conversation took place is misinformed at best or purposefully lying at worst,” Covington said.
Fox News claimed in its story: “Fox News Digital had reached out to the Department of Justice multiple times ahead of publication regarding the substance of the discussions. At the time, the DOJ declined to comment on what the two had discussed last week.”
On Sunday, the Justice Department reacted on X, saying: “Fox Digital doubles down on misleading the public to cover their failures during the reporting process.
“Never did they ask the DOJ once for comment on any claim about making a pitch to POTUS. DOJ flagged their errors at noon Saturday, and it took them 6 hours to update the story, which ended up further misleading the public as they tried to cover their mistakes. Calling this poor journalism is an understatement.”
Caralle is a recent hire by Fox News, leaving her previous job reporting on the White House for Britain’s Daily Mail.
On March 30, she noted her career change, saying on X: “After seven years covering the White House, I’m hopping off the beat and joining the editor’s desk at @FoxNews Digital.
“I’m forever appreciative of my time at the Daily Mail and the growth and opportunities I had with the team there. And I’m so excited to dive headfirst into this new position with a world-class team where we’ll continue to shape the political news landscape.”
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