Illinois Governor JB Pritzker promised a New York Times reporter to prosecute Trump officials the moment Democrats take back the White House.
That threat didn't go unnoticed at the Justice Department.
Now the man Trump just nominated as his permanent attorney general has a message for Pritzker and every Democrat who thinks 2029 is going to look like 2021.
Todd Blanche Nominated for Attorney General Signals DOJ Shift
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche sat down with NewsNation's Katie Pavlich – the same day Trump announced his formal nomination to be Attorney General – and didn't soft-pedal a single word.
When Pavlich pressed him on whether Democrats would move against Trump, his family, and his administration after the president leaves office in January 2029, Blanche went straight to it.
"I believe it's a possibility that the Democrats will go after President Trump, his family, anybody that knows him, anybody that worked for him," Blanche said. "I think they've proven that to be true."
Then came the part that's generating serious attention.
"And what can we do about it?" Blanche asked. "We can just keep on exposing when we learn about the weaponization that happened for many years. We can keep on exposing it and putting roadblocks in place so it never happens again."
He didn't spell out what those roadblocks look like. He didn't need to.
The message landed exactly the way it was intended – the Justice Department is building structural protections, and Democrats should factor that into whatever they're planning.
JB Pritzker Project 2029 Plan to Prosecute Trump Officials
The threat Blanche is preparing for isn't theoretical. JB Pritzker made it explicit in March.
The Illinois governor sat down with the New York Times and unveiled what he called "Project 2029" – a Democrat policy blueprint aimed squarely at Trump officials if Democrats retake the White House in 2028.
"We've got to restore the rule of law, and that means holding people accountable who've broken the law," Pritzker said. "I'm talking about the people in this administration who've broken the law and federal agents who've broken the law."
Asked point blank whether that meant criminal prosecution, Pritzker didn't hesitate. "Criminally prosecuted, civilly prosecuted. Whatever it is that we can do."
He couldn't name a single law that had been broken. The Times reporter didn't ask him to.
Blanche has watched this play before. Jack Smith came after Trump twice. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg brought 34 felony counts pulled out of thin air. Fani Willis opened a RICO case in Georgia. Every case either collapsed or was dismissed.
Trump won the 2024 election anyway. Blanche made sure to say so on camera.
"The American people saw them do it for four years and rejected it wholeheartedly," Blanche said. "That effort failed."
Now Pritzker wants a second run at it. The working assumption on the Left is that the DOJ roadblocks Blanche builds won't survive the next administration. Blanche is betting otherwise.
Democrats DOJ Weaponization History Against Trump
Democrats didn't invent lawfare, but they perfected it.
The moment Trump left office in 2021, the coordinated campaign began. The goal was litigation as political punishment – drain the money, consume the time, make the legal exposure so severe that running again became unthinkable.
It didn't work. The American people watched four years of it and sent Trump back to Washington by a margin that left no room for argument.
Pritzker's Project 2029 is the same playbook with a new name. He isn't running for governor – he's running for the Democrat presidential nomination, and retribution against Trump officials is how he plans to get there.
Blanche Moves to Block Future Trump Prosecution
Blanche has already started laying the groundwork – some of it in plain sight.
The IRS is now permanently barred from auditing Trump, his family, or his businesses – the result of an addendum Blanche signed to a settlement stemming from Trump's $10 billion lawsuit over leaked tax records.
A nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund died after Senate Republicans revolted over concerns it would pay January 6 defendants. Veteran prosecutor Joseph diGenova is running a Florida investigation into whether law enforcement officials spent the last decade conspiring to undermine Trump.
Blanche is building a paper trail Democrats can't erase and legal walls they can't easily knock down.
When Pavlich asked whether he worries about becoming a target himself, his answer was direct.
"I don't worry about, for myself, what happens in the future," Blanche said. "I worry about this country."
He added that he hopes Democrats will think twice before they fire up the machinery again.
"I would hope the Democrats would be a little smarter," Blanche said. "They have so far proven themselves not to be."
Pritzker announced the plan. Blanche just announced the countermeasure.
Sources:
- Carmine Sabia, "Blanche Intros 'Roadblocks' To Protect Trump From Future Prosecutions," Conservative Brief, June 7, 2026.
- "Pritzker Pushes Prosecutions of Trump Officials as Part of Dem 'Project 2029' Agenda," Fox News, March 20, 2026.
- "Acting AG Blanche Reveals Fate of Trump's 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' Under Pressure from House Lawmakers," Fox News, June 2, 2026.
- "Trump Says He Will Nominate Todd Blanche to Serve as Attorney General," NPR, June 4, 2026.
