Who Is Todd Blanche—and Why Should the Senate Reject Him?

Todd Blanche is not simply another Justice Department official. Before joining the Trump administration, he served as Donald Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer in three criminal prosecutions: the New York business-records case, the federal classified-documents case, and the federal case accusing Trump of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Blanche was a lead defense lawyer in the New York trial. A jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Trump subsequently appointed Blanche Deputy Attorney General. Blanche later became Acting Attorney General, and on June 8, 2026, Trump formally nominated him to serve as Attorney General.

Representing a criminal defendant does not by itself disqualify a lawyer from public service. The concern is the direct transition from defending Trump's personal interests to leading the Department of Justice, which is expected to enforce federal law independently and impartially.

The New York City Bar Association has urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Blanche's nomination. Its July 2026 report concluded that his record as Deputy and Acting Attorney General demonstrates a lack of commitment to the integrity, independence, and impartiality required of the office. It raised concerns about politically motivated prosecutions, constitutional rights, loyalty to the president, the weakening of the Justice Department, and professional ethics.

The Attorney General represents the United States—not the president personally. The country needs an Attorney General whose loyalty is to the Constitution, equal justice, and the rule of law.

Todd Blanche's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files provides an important test of whether he should be entrusted to lead the Justice Department.

As Deputy Attorney General and later Acting Attorney General, Blanche oversaw the Department's review and release of Epstein-related records. In a February 2026 court filing, Blanche acknowledged that several thousand documents and media files may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information and had been removed. Epstein survivor Dani Bensky later testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the release exposed identifying information belonging to more than 100 victims. She separately testified that more than 1,000 women and girls were harmed by the Epstein-Maxwell network. Those are different figures: more than 100 allegedly had identifying information exposed; more than 1,000 were harmed by the network.

Attorney and journalist Katie Phang filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Blanche and the Justice Department failed to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. On June 25, 2026, Judge Emmet Sullivan granted Phang a preliminary injunction and found that she was likely to succeed on the Administrative Procedure Act claims involved in her motion.

The court required the Department to remove or legally justify specified redactions involving email participants and potential co-conspirators; produce or justify withholding underlying FBI interview notes, with protections for victims; begin reviewing and producing responsive foreign-language records; and publish and update the redaction explanations required by law. This was an interim ruling, not a final judgment resolving the lawsuit.

Blanche also personally interviewed convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell on July 24 and 25, 2025. One week later, Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security federal prison camp. The timing does not prove that an agreement occurred, but it prompted members of Congress to demand records and an explanation.

After Blanche met with Epstein survivors in July 2026, two dozen survivors sent an open letter urging Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn to oppose his confirmation. They called the meeting a "box-checking exercise" and said Blanche showed no remorse for the release of materials exposing survivors' identities and images. Blanche described the meeting as productive, acknowledged their frustration and the redaction errors, and denied that records were withheld to protect Epstein associates.

The Epstein files are not merely a political controversy. They involve survivors who have waited decades for truth, accountability, privacy, and justice. Blanche's record raises serious questions about whether he should be entrusted with that responsibility as Attorney General.