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Attorney General Todd Blanche won鈥檛 pledge to act 鈥渋ndependently鈥� from the White House during an interview with NBC鈥檚 Meet the Press. Trump鈥檚 former personal attorney said no attorney general should ever 鈥減ledge鈥� to act independently from the White House, but assured the public that the president would never ask to do 鈥渟omething illegal鈥�.

Blanche鈥檚 comments have sparked a debate over the extent to which the justice department should be free from White House control. This comes at a time when Blanche was criticised for helping set up an 鈥渁nti weaponisation fund鈥� to compensate people who Trump claims were unfairly targeted by the previous Biden administration, such as Jan 6th rioters. There are also fears among Epstein survivors that Blanche - who was criticised for interviewing Ghislane Maxwell in prison - could affect their pursuit of justice.

And, a major legal case brought by 29 US states against Meta has begun, which could affect the way social media companies operate in the future. The states involved claim that Meta - which owns Facebook and Instagram - violated federal and state privacy laws for children and are seeking billions of dollars in damages as well as changes to user experience.

HOSTS:
鈥� Sarah Smith, North America Editor
鈥� Sumi Somaskanda, 麻豆社 News Chief Presenter
鈥� Marianna Spring, Senior Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent

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This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Ricardo McCarthy. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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