Trump Attorney General Takes Over White House Briefing as Questions Swirl Around Karoline Leavitt

Attorney General Todd Blanche stepped before reporters in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, assuming briefing duties as questions continue to surround the absence of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The senior Trump administration official addressed several major issues, including the Justice Department’s fight against fraud, its public-corruption investigations and the planned release of additional records concerning possible Saudi links to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Blanche said the department intends to make more 9/11-related material available to the American people while continuing to safeguard information that remains legitimately classified.

“The one thing that we are not doing, we’re not protecting people,” Blanche said.

His remarks suggested the Justice Department would not use national-security classifications as political cover for individuals whose conduct may warrant greater public scrutiny.

Blanche also highlighted the department’s intensified effort to combat fraud targeting American taxpayers.

On Monday, he joined Vice President JD Vance in Missouri to announce federal action against individuals accused of stealing millions of dollars through pandemic-era relief programs intended to help struggling small businesses.

The appearance reinforced the Trump administration’s broader commitment to recovering taxpayer money and prosecuting those who allegedly exploited emergency federal programs for personal enrichment.

Blanche used Wednesday’s briefing to make clear that fraud and public corruption remain central priorities for the Justice Department. Those efforts come as the department pursues several other significant national-security and immigration cases.

In a historic development announced Friday, the Justice Department confirmed that an Afghan woman accused of assisting an ISIS-inspired Election Day terror plot had been deported from the United States.

The case involving 47-year-old Nazira Haji Zada marked the first proceeding ever brought before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized tribunal Congress created three decades ago but had never previously used.

Zada, who lived in Fort Worth, Texas, was returned to Afghanistan after agreeing to removal and conceding for purposes of the proceeding that she met the federal definition of an “alien terrorist.”

The court issued its removal order on Aug. 20. That decision remained sealed until the Justice Department publicly confirmed Friday that Zada had been deported.

Congress established the Alien Terrorist Removal Court under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. The tribunal was designed to give the federal government a way to remove noncitizens accused of terrorism without forcing officials to disclose highly sensitive intelligence in public proceedings.

Five federal district judges, each representing a different judicial circuit and selected by the chief justice of the United States, serve on the specialized court.

Unlike standard immigration courts, the tribunal may review classified evidence under procedures created to protect national-security information.

Civil-liberties groups and Zada’s attorneys have criticized that system, arguing that defendants may not receive a full opportunity to examine or contest certain evidence presented against them.

Zada held lawful permanent resident status when the government initiated removal proceedings. Federal prosecutors did not bring criminal charges against her in connection with the alleged Election Day plot.

Instead, the Justice Department filed an application on July 15 seeking her removal based on allegations that she supported family members who were preparing an ISIS-inspired attack.

Authorities arrested Zada later that month, and she subsequently appeared before Chief Judge Joan Ericksen in Washington.

The underlying terror plot had already produced criminal convictions.

Zada’s son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, after buying two AK-47-style rifles, magazines and ammunition from an undercover FBI agent.

Federal investigators said the weapons were intended for a mass-casualty attack planned for approximately Nov. 5, 2024—Election Day.

Court records showed that Tawhedi communicated with an ISIS facilitator during preparations for the attack and discussed whether 500 rounds of ammunition would be enough.

He later acknowledged that, between June and October 2024, he conspired with at least one other individual to acquire weapons and conduct an attack on ISIS’s behalf.

In June 2025, Tawhedi pleaded guilty to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, as well as firearms charges connected to a federal terrorism offense. He has not yet been sentenced.

Abdullah was 17 when authorities arrested him but pleaded guilty as an adult. A federal judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

Under his plea agreement, Abdullah consented to removal to Afghanistan after completing his sentence and waived most of his opportunities to challenge that eventual deportation.

The unprecedented use of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court signals that President Donald J. Trump’s administration is prepared to employ long-dormant legal authorities to confront suspected terrorist threats and defend the country.