Attorney general nominee Todd Blanche has pressed into the controversial Trump fund, the Epstein files
Todd Blanche, a former attorney for Donald Trump, was challenged by members of the Democratic Alliance on his ability to lead the Department of Justice without the needs of the president in the first two days of hearings on Wednesday.
Blanche, Trump’s nominee to replace Pam Bondi as attorney general, has faced a number of questions, including the department’s handling of the release of files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and a controversial fund that Democrats have said rewarded Trump associates and family members. Blanche, a former assistant attorney general, has been acting in Bondi’s role since he left in early April.
Blanche, 51, made a slip that may have been widely played on social media, when she was asked by Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana if she was friends with Trump.
“I’m his lawyer,” Blanche said, before quickly correcting, “it was his lawyer.” Blanche has been criticized in the opening statement of Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, referring to the April news conference where Blanche told Trump, “I love you, sir.”
Asked in detail by Kennedy, Blanche insisted that Trump as president never gave her an illegal order, and that she would not follow that order if asked.
A notable absence
If the House Judiciary Committee recommends Blanche for confirmation, the full Senate will vote, where Republicans hold 53 of the 100 seats.
Republicans once again lead the committee, with 11 out of 10 Democrats after the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina last weekend. Blanche and several senators paid for Graham’s work and for serving on the panel.
The key Republican on the panel is undoubtedly John Cornyn of Texas, who will leave the Senate after being beaten in the first place by Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton this spring. Cornyn told Reuters on Tuesday that he had yet to decide how he would vote for Blanche’s replacement.
Cornyn, along with several Democrats, pressed Blanche on the Justice Department’s decision to settle Trump’s case against the Internal Revenue Service by creating a $1.8 billion US fund to compensate Trump’s allies for alleged government mismanagement. A related order shielded Trump and his family from facing tax audits for past conduct.
“The weapons bag is dead, we don’t continue,” said Blanche.
Cornyn doubted that, saying the deal notes it remains “in effect,” and got Blanche to admit that Trump’s lawyers could file a lawsuit challenging the end of the fund.
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The deal, derisively called a “slush fund” by Trump’s critics on Capitol Hill, has led to accusations of self-dealing. A federal judge on Monday concluded that Trump and lawyers in his administration misused the case to benefit the president and his allies and referred the lawyers involved, including Blanche, to state bar authorities to investigate any legal issues.
Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is also not running for the Senate next year, has called the fund “stupid on top of bricks.”
“I want to put a fork in it,” he said on Wednesday, urging Blanche to definitely write down the bag.
But beyond that, Tillis accused Democrats of hypocrisy, saying the Justice Department was armed in the Joe Biden administration for trying to prosecute Trump. He ends by telling Blanche that she “did a good job today.”
Epstein’s files were criticized
Blanche, who defended Trump in three criminal cases he faced as a private citizen during his presidency, said he would not discuss private conversations with the president. But his responses seemed to suggest that Trump, like previous attorney generals including Bondi, William Barr and Jeff Sessions, is in regular contact. Most other recent presidents have maintained an arm’s-length relationship with attorneys general.
Blanche was also asked about the Epstein files. This week, several women who claim to be survivors of Epstein’s abuse released a video criticizing the accidental release of files that exposed certain victims.
Blanche took responsibility for the errors in the release of the files and said the DOJ is committed to investigating and prosecuting the criminal conduct of anyone else related to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. But Blanche refused to commit to meeting Epstein’s victims, saying others in the department and the FBI were in a better position.
Asked by Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island how long Blanche as attorney general “will put up with that Kash Patel character,” Blanche said she has “full faith” in the FBI director.
Patel has faced criticism over his alleged personal use of the agency’s aircraft, as well as his lapses in high-profile investigations.
Blanche in her opening statement highlighted her record of reducing violent crime and combating fraud in public benefit programs. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who heads the committee, said that Blanche’s nomination was supported by many police officers and many unions and associations.
Democrats responded by sending a letter from more than 1,200 former Justice Department officials and staff opposing Blanche’s nomination. Profits since Trump returned to power are in the thousands.
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