Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies before a Senate subcommittee on the Justice Department's proposed 2027 budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 19, 2026. REUTER/Evelyn Hockstein
Todd Blanche refused to say Monday whether President Donald Trump's Justice Department is investigating Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom — hours after Newsom went public with the probe.
The moment came during a photo op ahead of Blanche's confirmation meeting with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. When reporters pressed Blanche on the Newsom investigation, Grassley cut them off.
"This is not a news conference," the Iowa Republican said.
Newsom announced earlier Monday that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are under investigation by the Department of Justice. He called it a political hit job ordered by Trump.
"They have not found a crime," Gov. Newsom wrote on X. "They are simply trying to find one."
Gov. Newsom said he believes he's being targeted because he is considering a 2028 presidential run — and has spent years as one of Trump's most vocal Democratic critics.
Blanche has served as acting attorney general since Trump fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2. He was Trump's personal criminal defense attorney before taking over the Justice Department — a fact Democrats have repeatedly raised as a conflict of interest.
Blanche was formally nominated on June 8 and faces a contested confirmation, with several Republican senators still uncommitted.
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