Corruption & Accountability · Report · File No. 261108-705
Blanche dismisses Calley Means' corruption claims against White House aides
The attorney general said the Justice Department won't look into Means' allegations, which he called talk from "a podcast." That leaves Congress, soon to be run by Democrats, as the most likely place for any scrutiny of the White House.
Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work
Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that the Justice Department will not look into corruption allegations that a former Trump health adviser, Calley Means, made against senior White House officials 1. Blanche spoke on CNN's "State of the Union." 1
Asked whether the department would investigate, Blanche said he does not listen to claims made on a podcast 1. His full answer is quoted below.
Something that someone says on a podcast? No, I do not listen to that. Absolutely not.
What Means alleges
Means alleged widespread corruption in a Friday interview with podcaster Joe Rogan 1. On CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, he said he had wanted White House chief of staff Susie Wiles removed 1. Wiles is now leaving her post, and Stephen Miller is becoming chief of staff 2.
Means has said top White House aides put special interests ahead of the MAHA health agenda before the midterm elections 2. CBS has asked whether his allegations led to Wiles' ouster, but the wire copy does not answer that 2.
From Channel GOPDurbin asks Blanche under oath to meet Epstein survivorsTodd Blanche · 5.8K plays · captioned, with the source named
Others weigh in
Axios reported that a former FDA (Food and Drug Administration) commissioner described pressure from tobacco lobbyists, and that a Republican congressman called for scrutiny 1. Former commissioner Marty Makary backed up part of Means' account in a statement to CBS 1.
Some of the people Means has accused are pushing back. James Blair, a former White House adviser and an ally of Wiles, disputed Means' allegations in messages to Axios 1. Fabrizio, who Means said was "in the pocket of Big Pharma," called that claim "ridiculous" and "demonstrably false." He pointed to his firm's polling showing support for lower prescription drug prices 1.
The allegations remain unproven. Axios noted a wrinkle in Means' account. Means has portrayed Trump as unaware of decisions his advisers made, but the Wall Street Journal reported in May that Trump personally pressured Makary to approve flavored vaping products 1.
Who investigates next
Axios framed the central question this way: were Trump's advisers undermining his health agenda, or carrying out his wishes? 1 The attorney general's answer means the Justice Department will not be where that gets tested.
That points to Congress. Democrats won a healthy majority on Capitol Hill in Tuesday's election, though not a veto-proof one 2. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the expected incoming chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said on the same CBS program that people are sick of a White House that dropped investigations 2.
Anyone who's been cheating. That's what investigations are all about.
Warren was speaking about corporate wrongdoing, not about Means. Her comments show how Democrats plan to use their new power. Whether committees take up Means' claims is a separate decision, and none has said so in the sources reviewed here.
That matters because the allegations involve health policy, including drug prices and tobacco and vaping rules, that touches older Americans directly. Means' claims may prove wrong. But the Justice Department has said it will not check them, so any answer will likely come from Congress or the courts.
The Record
- Democrats win a healthy majority on Capitol Hill in the midterm election, though not a veto-proof one 2.
- Calley Means alleges widespread corruption in an interview with Joe Rogan 1.
- Todd Blanche says on CNN that he will not investigate Means' allegations; Means tells CBS he wanted Susie Wiles removed 1.
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Sources
- Axios, “Blanche dismisses Means allegations as GOP's MAHA feud deepens” (2026-11-08). axios.com/2026/11/08/todd-blanche-calley-means-susie-wiles-m
- CBS News, “Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Nov. 8, 2026” (2026-11-08). cbsnews.com/news/full-transcript-face-the-nation-with-margar
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
More from the files
Blanche won't rule out prosecuting Democrats who vow to investigate Trump officials
Attorney General Todd Blanche said on CNN that Justice Department investigations of Democratic lawmakers could be possible. Democrats are about to gain subpoena power, so the dispute is over who gets to investigate whom.
Ex-RFK Jr. adviser Calley Means blames White House aides for stalling MAHA agenda
Calley Means, who quit as a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in October, named five Trump advisers he says blocked health reforms. A Trump strategist he named called the claims a political attack.
Justice Department's top national security lawyer John Eisenberg resigns abruptly
Eisenberg, who ran the Justice Department's National Security Division, is the second assistant attorney general to step down this week. The departures follow Democrats' midterm sweep and come as Democrats question Attorney General Todd Blanche's leadership.
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