All posts tagged "todd blanche"

Disturbing pattern revealed as judge blisters Trump DOJ's 'slush fund': analyst

A judge had a blistering response Monday for President Donald Trump's Department of Justice "slush fund," which a former Florida lawmaker described as a troubling pattern, CNN reported.

Former Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell responded to the ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in the Southern District of Florida, who had noted that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had signed a settlement document on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants — highlighting that only the Trump administration's interests were represented. CNN anchor Kasie Hunt referred to it as "one of many examples of where the president has tried to use our system to benefit himself in ways that then the legal system has had to scramble to catch up to."

Mucarsel-Powell called out why the pattern was so problematic.

"I think the point here — it's not just about the IRS. It's not just about this one case. It's the pattern that we've seen here, and it's that the executive branch, the president, is trying to use the power of his office to actually negotiate deals to benefit himself," Mucarsel-Powell said.

"And one of the things that the judge says in this case, which I think is very important to keep in mind, is that the court has to be bound by the Constitution," she added. "Congress is bound by the Constitution, the same as the executive [branch]. You can't have a president abuse the power of his office to try to benefit that office for himself. The judge says that as well. So Todd Blanche is going to be facing senators who are going to be questioning whether he's working for the American people or whether he's working for one person in the executive branch, President Donald Trump. That's not the way that these agencies should function. They should be independent, working for the American people, not for the president."

'What happened?' Todd Blanche's former colleague 'disgusted' by his transformation

A former colleague of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that she's "very surprised" and "disgusted" by his "major transformation" under Trump.

During an interview on Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance, former federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah described how "very upsetting" it is to see who Blanche has become in the Trump administration. She spoke with Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor, about her memories of Blanche ahead of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15 to become attorney general.

In 2001, Blanche was a paralegal at the Southern District of New York who "had a very good career," Rocah remembered. She described him as a family man with kids, a "team player," and a "hard worker" who "seemed to be the person doing it all" when Rocah knew him at SDNY.

"He was great. He was going to law school at night while not only working as a paralegal but doing a really good job as a paralegal," Rocah said. "That's high praise. Like, prosecutors, you know, quickly figure out who are the people you want on your team, and he was one of them."

He became Rocah's co-chief over the White Plains division and tried to teach new prosecutors, "and be their supporter and help them learn from mistakes," Rocah said.

Now, she's "shocked" at how Blanche visited Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in prison and "behaved like a criminal defense lawyer" for her, how he's "comfortable with lying," oversaw career prosecutors marched out of offices "as if they were criminals," negotiated Trump's IRS immunity, and led cases dismissed for vindictive prosecutions.

The "old Todd Blanche" that Rocah knew "would not have met with this person" who he is now, she said.

"There are people who worked with him who are very surprised at a minimum, and many of them, really disgusted by some of the actions that have been taken," Rocah said.

"It's fascinating," Rocah continued. "It's a question people are fascinated by, including me and many of my other former colleagues, of how someone transforms from a person that I could have liked, respected, trusted into someone who is doing things like what is happening now."

Next Week, Todd Blanche Has His Confirmation Hearing. Mimi Rocah Has Some Thoughts About That. by Joyce Vance

A recording of our live video

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Nightmare questions about to crash on Todd Blanche over Trump's 'consigliere': expert

A legal analyst expects Todd Blanche to be confronted with tough questions about President Donald Trump's fixer during his upcoming confirmation hearing.

During an episode of Legal AF, national trial lawyer and strategist Michael Popok said that aside from questions about Blanche's handling of the Epstein files, Trump's pick for attorney general will have to answer for his ties to Trump's personal lawyer and "consigliere," Boris Epshteyn.

"There's a shadowy figure that controls all of Donald Trump's private lawyers and law firms, his battalion of lawyers going after his political enemies in courts, suing baselessly for defamation and even going after his sex abuse victims like E. Jean Carroll," Popok said. "All of those lawyers, whether they're located in Miami or in New York or in Chicago or D.C., are controlled by one person, an advisor to Donald Trump named Boris Epshteyn."

Blanche was Trump's personal defense lawyer before Trump appointed him as acting attorney general. Blanche faces a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15 to stay on as the nation's top prosecutor.

Popok pointed out that Epshteyn has found himself in the spotlight after the American Bar Association asked a federal judge to release communications involving Steve Bannon and Epshteyn tied to Trump's attacks on law firms.

According to Popok, Epshteyn is "very close" to Blanche. Emil Bove, a Trump-appointed Third Circuit Court of Appeals judge, and Blanche "were recruited by Boris Epshteyn to be the lawyers for Donald Trump" and were assembled into what Popok called a "virtual law firm" that operated as Trump's criminal defense in his New York and federal cases.

"You also have to look at the shadowy figures that are pulling the levers of power behind the scenes," Popok said. "What I'm hoping is much of this information ends up in the briefing books for the U.S. Senators on the [Senate] Judiciary Committee as they go after and cross-examine Todd Blanche."

Trump DOJ stumbles in Epstein files case with 'embarrassing' excuse: legal expert

The Trump Justice Department stumbled in an Jeffrey Epstein files case with an "embarrassing" excuse flagged by a legal expert on Saturday.

In a recent episode of the Legal AF podcast, analyst Michael Popok discussed the DOJ's response to an injunction requiring it to translate foreign-language documents in the Epstein files. The injunction stems from journalist Katie Phang's lawsuit demanding translation and a published redaction log, which has seen early success, Popok noted.

"It's not like the World Cup. It's not like there's 48 different countries of languages," Popok said. "What is it? Four or five languages. We know who was involved in the Epstein scandal. Maybe French, maybe Italian, certainly English, not a foreign language, but you know the way the Brits speak."

Even though the DOJ responded to a judge's injunction "in the nick of time," it refused to translate parts of the Epstein files, saying reviewers "could not translate it on the fly," according to Popok.

"They could use an app, an AI app, that would do the initial cut of translation," Popok said. "It's embarrassing that they think they can get away with this."

Popok summed up the DOJ's response as "you're not getting it, judge. We're not translating it." However, Popok added that the judge in the case, Emmet Sullivan, "doesn't suffer fools" and predicted that he'll be "p----- off" with the DOJ's excuse for not complying with the injunction.

"You're gonna see it in his next order," Popok said. "Remember we're talking about Epstein survivors and sexual abuse victims, many of them who were girls at the time."

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'Ingratitude!' Hegseth lashes out at 'ingrates' burying Trump's top officials in boos

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was furious as demonstrators overpowered Trump administration officials speaking to a crowd of National Guard members on Thursday.

Hegseth, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Steven Nordhaus were speaking to the group of about 200 guard members ahead of the Fourth of July at Meridian Hill Park when the sounds of booing and sirens started to drown out the speeches.

"This background noise this morning is perfect," Hegseth said. "It's the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can't see law and order and common sense in front of them."

Pete Hegseth: "This background noise is perfect. It's the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can't see law and order and common sense in front of them." pic.twitter.com/aWt5ciuRG3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 2, 2026

Jeers and sirens drown out Stephen Miller during his DC National Guard speech

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was booed and disrupted by protesters while speaking to National Guard members in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Miller was speaking with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Nordhaus at Meridian Hill Park, where they were hosting a DC Safe & Beautiful Task Force Ceremony with about 200 National Guardsmen, according to CNN Pentagon reporter Haley Britzky.

Video footage captured Miller trying to speak over the sound of chanting and sirens.

The internet mocked Miller for the embarrassing moment.

"Incredible how this white supremacist is the worst possible example of white supremacy," writer and podcaster Hemant Mehta posted on X.

"Ha! Stephen Miller deserves it!" Political commentator Lucas Sanders wrote on X.

"I love this for Stephen Miller," journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X.

"Temu Goebbels is at it again, this time in front of a DC public he swears are leftist criminals," political commentator Anna Baxter wrote on Bluesky.

i love this for Stephen Miller pic.twitter.com/yD2KmstPjg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 2, 2026

DOJ whistleblower urges Senate to probe whether Todd Blanche dodged records laws

A Department of Justice whistleblower is pressing the Senate to investigate Trump's nominee for Attorney General.

In a Wednesday piece, fired DOJ attorney Liz Oyer shared a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee where she sounded the alarm about absent records related to her termination. She urged the Senate to probe Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is waiting for confirmation to take the role full-time.

"I respectfully suggest that this Committee should probe whether Mr. Blanche has complied with the Federal Records Act or is using forms of communication that evade oversight," Oyer wrote in a letter that detailed how she can't find documents she says should exist per federal law.

Oyer was fired after refusing to skip a vetting process to reinstate actor Mel Gibson's right to own a gun, which was stripped after his domestic violence conviction. She sought documents related to her firing through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that is now in litigation, but she warned the Senate committee that the DOJ denied that they exist.

"The Department has claimed that Mr. Blanche's office has no documents—none—related to my firing despite the fact that Mr. Blanche himself dismissed me," Oyer wrote. "DOJ FOIA staff claim that they searched Mr. Blanche's files and found nothing—not a single page. They didn't even find the memo he signed firing me in his files."

She wrote, "This raises serious questions about what channels of communications Mr. Blanche is using to conduct official DOJ business; where (or whether) he is preserving records required by federal law; and whether he is telling the truth about documents in his possession, custody or control."

Oyer also noted that former Attorney General Pam Bondi "rarely" used her official DOJ email, and cited reporting by the New York Times and The Atlantic about how senior officials used auto-deleting Signal chats.

Todd Blanche faces 'unusual' and 'unique' complaint that may actually stick: ex-prosecutor

One hundred and one former judges have asked the New York State Bar to investigate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for ethics violations — and legal experts say this complaint is different from the ones that went nowhere against his predecessors.

The complaint, filed by Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy, targets Blanche on three fronts: his role in the Trump v. IRS settlement, his use of DOJ authority to pursue political enemies of his former client Donald Trump, and his handling of the Epstein files release, including a Ghislaine Maxwell interview that raised conflict-of-interest concerns.

Bar complaints against sitting attorneys general are not new. Similar referrals against Eric Holder, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, and Pam Bondi all fizzled. But legal analyst Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney, argues the Blanche complaint is different in two key ways: the allegations are unusually serious, and the complaint comes before he has even been confirmed to the position.

"The American public deserves an Attorney General who serves the interests of the Nation, and not those of a single man," the complaint states.

Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund told Vance that Blanche "has fallen short again and again with the most serious consequences for vulnerable individuals and our nation."

Adding urgency is the fact that the DOJ earlier this year proposed a rule that would let the attorney general suspend state bar proceedings against current or former DOJ lawyers if an internal investigation is open. Critics called it a naked attempt to shield DOJ attorneys from outside accountability. The internal watchdog system at DOJ, they note, has effectively been dismantled under Trump.

Meanwhile, CNN reported this week that Trump handed Blanche a stack of printed news articles with the word "Treason" written in Sharpie, personally pushing him to subpoena journalists at the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. DOJ later withdrew those subpoenas.

Blanche still faces a Senate confirmation hearing, where accountability could also come — but the New York bar may get there first.

Ex-insider warns of 'dictatorial dementia' as Trump copes with his 'impending mortality'

A GOP analyst and former White House insider revealed that as President Donald Trump has shown signs of "dictatorial dementia," energetic "young henchmen" around him are in a hurry to reshape the government — even rushing to conduct mass firings.

Bill Kristol, the editor at large for The Bulwark and a former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, described how 80-year-old Trump has surrounded himself with young men. Acting director of national intelligence Bill Pulte is 38 years old, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is 40, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and FBI Director Kash Patel are all 46 years old. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is 51, and Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought is 50.

"A sense of impending mortality seems to be making our president even more unhinged than ever," Kristol wrote.

Kristol described how Trump might not have "the patience to carry out a thoroughgoing subversion of the rule of law, of our political and civil liberties, or of our elections," or the ability to enact a full authoritarian takeover.

"On the other hand, there’s no doubt he would like to see such a takeover," Kristol wrote.

"And he does have young men with a lean and hungry look in positions of authority and power in the executive branch who are committed to making his dream of power without limits a reality," Kristol wrote.

These men have something in common, Kristol explained.

"They’re young, but they’re as determined as the old man they work for not to hand their positions over to anyone other than fellow loyalists after their terms in office, if they intend to leave office at all," Kristol wrote. "They’re as determined as the old man they work for not to step aside from their powers and allow political opponents to look into what they have done. And like the old man they work for, they aren’t committed to the peaceful and democratic transfer of power after an election, or to the political norms or lawful procedures of a liberal democracy."

"None of these men should be in a position of power and authority in the government of the United States," Kristol added. "Yet here they are, hiring and firing at will, abusing their authority and politicizing their agencies in unprecedented ways."

DOJ new slush fund move amounts to telling federal judge 'to go pound sand': legal expert

The Department of Justice is refusing to swear that the Trump slush fund is dead in a new court filing flagged by a legal analyst.

Last week, federal judge Leonie Brinkema indefinitely blocked the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, which critics worried would have paid Trump allies, and gave the DOJ until June 19th to file a declaration swearing it wouldn't move forward with the fund under penalty of perjury.

DOJ lawyer Andrew Block submitted a new court filing on June 19th, but "not the one the judge instructed, not the one that she wanted," Legal AF host Michael Popok said in an update.

Instead, the DOJ "created a new piece of paper to effectively go tell the judge to go pound sand," Popok said, also describing it as a "Go F yourself submission."

Brinkema wanted the signatures of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward on that declaration, "the three people who created the anti-weaponization fund," Popok noted.

According to the filing, a declaration not to move forward with the slush fund is "unnecessary and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns."

It goes on to argue, "The Acting Attorney General has testified before Congress that the Fund is 'not going forward, period.'"

"That should be enough, right?" Popok joked. "Judge Brinkema said a version of, yeah, we're in a courtroom. You need to bring in evidence. We operate on evidence and testimony, not on statements made outside the courtroom."

Trump Squeals and Has AG Blanche Refuse to Testify to Federal Judge! by Legal AF

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