Donald Trump picks his criminal lawyer, Todd Blanche, as deputy attorney general

 President-elect Donald Trump chose Todd Blanche, a lawyer who represented him aggressively in his New York hush money trial and in two federal criminal cases, to serve as deputy attorney general in his next administration.

Trump chose Blanche to join former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who was picked to become attorney general.The deputy is a key administrative post in the Justice Department, helping formulate and implement policies while supervising agencies such as the FBI.

When Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump tried to halt Mueller’s inquiry and fired Sessions after the 2018 midterm election.