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.
