Senate Republicans voted today to advance the nomination of Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Todd Blanche to be the next Attorney General of the United States.
As deputy Attorney General and throughout his confirmation process, Blanche proved himself unfit to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official: Blanche referred to himself as Trump’s personal lawyer; stood by the administration’s botched handling of the Epstein files; and defended Trump’s blanket pardon of January 6th rioters.
Republican senators capitulated to Trump after initially expressing skepticism about Blanche and his involvement in Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for Trump’s allies and loyalists. After seeking assurances from Blanche, Republican senators voted for him even though the agreement they reached still grants Trump, his sons, and their businesses broad immunity from past tax audits (worth up to $100 million), and it is unclear if the alleged concessions from Trump and Blanche are even enforceable.
In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:
“Senate Republicans have once again bent the knee to Donald Trump and moved to install his former personal lawyer as the top law enforcement official in the country. Todd Blanche has worked tirelessly to advance Trump’s personal and political agenda, shield Trump and his family from legal consequences, and deny justice and accountability for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes — and his confirmation process did nothing to prove otherwise. Despite whatever ‘assurances’ Republicans say they got, Blanche has an established record as a yes-man for Trump who will put the rich and powerful above everyday Americans.”
Under Blanche’s leadership, the DOJ has covered up Trump’s alleged involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and failed to comply with the law requiring the release of all the files — leaving approximately 2.5 million files hidden from the public. Blanche has dismissed any possibility of renewed investigations into Epstein’s crimes, saying earlier this year, “To the extent the Epstein Files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward.” Survivors of Epstein’s crimes have denounced Blanche’s nomination and called his testimony “beyond insulting.”
Blanche also defended Trump’s blanket pardon of January 6th rioters convicted of assaulting law enforcement officials, and earlier this year, Blanche personally lobbied Republican senators to approve Trump’s taxpayer-funded $1.8 billion slush fund, which would have given payouts to January 6th rioters.
