{"id":139196,"date":"2026-07-15T09:47:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T15:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/the-latest-todd-blanche-faces-us-senate-for-doj-confirmation-hearing\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T09:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T15:50:16","slug":"the-latest-todd-blanche-faces-us-senate-for-doj-confirmation-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/the-latest-todd-blanche-faces-us-senate-for-doj-confirmation-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Latest: Todd Blanche faces US Senate for DOJ confirmation hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Acting
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche<\/a> is set to confront questions about his brief but turbulent tenure<\/a> atop the Justice Department during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that will test President Donald Trump\u2019s grip on Republican lawmakers whose support the nominee will need for the job.<\/p>\n

Blanche, according to prepared remarks released before the hearing, is expected to tell lawmakers that he and his team are \u201crestoring trust\u201d in the Justice Department. It\u2019s a nod toward complaints from Democrats that he has weaponized the law enforcement institution by pursuing criminal investigations into Trump\u2019s perceived adversaries.<\/p>\n

Blanche, Trump\u2019s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April. During that time, he has accelerated investigations<\/a> into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund<\/a> meant to compensate the Republican president\u2019s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit<\/a> of news media leaks.<\/p>\n

Here’s the latest:<\/p>\n

Blanche says he hasn\u2019t been \u2018celebrating\u2019 Trump\u2019s mass pardons for Capitol rioters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, told Blanche that it was a \u201cshameful slap in the face\u201d for Trump to pardon supporters who assaulted police officers during a mob\u2019s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n

Coons asked Blanche if he was proud of Trump\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t celebrating it,\u201d Blanche said. But he added that he believes it was \u201cvery generous\u201d for Trump to issue the blanket pardons to Capitol rioters.<\/p>\n

Coons asked Blanche if he knew why Trump fired his predecessor, Pam Bondi, in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea,\u201d Blanche said. \u201cWe all serve at the pleasure of President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coons also asked Blanche whether he would resign if the president asked him to do something unethical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would never happen, but yes: If it were to happen, I\u2019m not going to violate my oath to the Constitution,\u201d Blanche replied.<\/p>\n

Whitehouse asks how long Blanche will \u2018put up with that Kash Patel character\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Enumerating criticism of Director Kash Patel<\/a> \u2019s use of the FBI plane and his global travel, blurring professional responsibilities with leisure activities<\/a>, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked if the trips were \u201ca pretext for activities like snorkeling and girlfriends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche called the question \u201cextraordinarily obnoxious,\u201d going on to say he has \u201cfull faith\u201d in Patel.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat, you get to own that,\u201d Whitehouse quipped.<\/p>\n

According to government emails obtained by The Associated Press<\/a>, the FBI took pains to note Patel wasn\u2019t on vacation when he visited Hawaii last summer, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau\u2019s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Left out of the FBI\u2019s releases was an excursion Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a \u201cVIP snorkel\u201d around the USS Arizona<\/a>, an outing coordinated by the military.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m his lawy<\/strong><\/p>\n

er,\u2019 Blanche says of Trump, before correcting himself<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, asked Blanche a string of questions about the nature of his relationship with Trump, including whether he considered the president a friend. Blanche represented Trump in multiple cases, including the election fraud case in Washington, before joining the Justice Department under Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n

Blanche referred to himself as Trump\u2019s attorney in the present tense, saying, \u201cI\u2019m his lawyer\u201d before correcting himself to say that he \u201cwas his lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy also asked Blanche if the president had ever asked him to do something illegal. Blanche said Trump had not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you do it if he asked you?\u201d Kennedy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d Blanche said.<\/p>\n

Questioned by Cornyn, Blanche says $1.8B weaponization \u2018fund is dead\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

That came during an exchange with Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is among the Republicans concerned about Blanche\u2019s nomination and who asked about the status of the settlement fund<\/a> set up by the Trump administration for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never started. No money went from the Treasury to any other account,\u201d Blanche said. \u201cThere\u2019s no commissioners. It\u2019s not moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, a federal judge agreed to extend a court-ordered block on the fund indefinitely. Blanche previously told Congress the government was scrapping its plans in the face of fierce bipartisan backlash.<\/p>\n

But plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys haven\u2019t been satisfied with Blanche\u2019s assurances that the fund won\u2019t move forward.<\/p>\n

As Cornyn questioned that the agreement notes it remains \u201cenforceable,\u201d Blanche said he had discussed with Cornyn and others \u201cabout potentially codifying, so there\u2019s no weaponization fund, which is certainly something that could be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche: \u2018I don\u2019t question President Trump\u2019s authority\u2019 on Jan. 6 pardons<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blanche didn\u2019t endorse Trump\u2019s move specifically, but said the U.S. Constitution gives presidents \u201cthe authority to pardon anybody for any federal crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just hours after returning to the White House last year, Trump pardoned<\/a>, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the riot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Durbin took issue with the decision, saying that \u201csomeone should have grabbed him by the arm and said, \u2018Stop, you can\u2019t release all of those rioters.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the president to give a blanket pardon to these individuals is something that I don\u2019t think you can explain to the American people,\u201d Durbin added.<\/p>\n

Blanche defends the settlement that granted Trump immunity from tax audits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Durbin pressed Blanche over a deal to end Trump\u2019s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service<\/a> over his leaked tax returns. The Justice Department has faced intense scrutiny over part of the settlement that granted the president immunity from tax audits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Blanche said such an agreement is \u201ctypical\u201d in settlements like that one.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody is above the law,\u201d Blanche told Durbin. \u201cAnd when we enter the settlements like that \u2026 It doesn\u2019t make any of those individuals above the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche says his heart \u2018breaks\u2019 for Epstein\u2019s victims<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who is ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, repeatedly pressed Blanche about whether he would commit to meeting with Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s victims.<\/p>\n

Durbin noted that 10 victims of Epstein were in the room for Blanche\u2019s confirmation hearing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate them being here today,\u201d Blanche said. \u201cI have never said I wouldn\u2019t meet with survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you would do it immediately, or we\u2019re going to hold you to it,\u201d Durbin said.<\/p>\n

Blanche said he would be willing to prosecute \u201canyone who did any harm to any of these victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart breaks for every survivor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Blanche defends DOJ\u2019s handling of the Epstein files<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under questioning from the committee\u2019s Republican chair, Blanche acknowledged that the Justice Department made redaction mistakes when reviewing and releasing millions of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.<\/p>\n

Blanche said he takes responsibility for the mistakes that were made, but also said department lawyers who reviewed the documents took pains to protect victims and quickly fixed any errors.<\/p>\n

The fallout over the department\u2019s handling of the Epstein files continues to plague the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Blanche said the administration has been \u201cextraordinarily transparent\u201d in releasing the files, despite the department agreeing to release more records only after Congress passed a law forcing it to do so.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are restoring trust\u2019 in the Justice Department, Blanche says<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blanche, Trump\u2019s former personal lawyer, alluded in his opening statement to the criminal cases brought against Trump in the last administration.<\/p>\n

Blanche said that \u201cin recent years, Americans watched the Justice Department turn against many of you and a former president, and it damaged the public\u2019s faith in justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe are fixing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Trump administration has said it is determined to end the \u201cweaponization\u201d of law enforcement that it said occurred under the Biden administration, critics argue it has instead turned the agency into a tool of retribution against Trump\u2019s political opponents.<\/p>\n

The department under Trump has opened investigations or brought prosecutions against numerous foes of the president, including former FBI Director James Comey.<\/p>\n

Blanche highlights the Justice Department\u2019s shifting priorities under Trump<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his opening statement, Blanche touted the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to lower violent crime, stem the flow of illicit drugs, prosecute dangerous cartels and take down fraudsters taking advantage of American taxpayers.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department under Trump has moved aggressively to prioritize immigration enforcement and turn up the pressure on cartels. It also created a new division dedicated to tackling fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.<\/p>\n

Florida senator highlights Blanche\u2019s pre-Trump career<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a counter to Democrats\u2019 narrative portraying Blanche as loyal only to Trump, Sen. Ashley Moody reminded the committee that the acting attorney general began his career at the Department of Justice as a paralegal.<\/p>\n

Moody also detailed Blanche\u2019s years with the Southern District of New York, where she said, \u201cHe prosecuted drug traffickers and violent criminals.\u201d She also detailed various awards and commendations he received while in that role.<\/p>\n

Watch these 2 Republicans on the committee<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stakes are high for Blanche, who needs the support of every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee for his nomination to advance.<\/p>\n

Two of those Republicans \u2014 Sen. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn \u2014 haven\u2019t committed to supporting him.<\/p>\n

Tillis has been an outspoken critic of a $1.776 billion fund<\/a> that the Trump administration created to compensate people who feel unjustly persecuted by the criminal justice system and then quickly withdrew.<\/p>\n

Tillis and Cornyn are expected to grill Blanche over a separate element<\/a> of the settlement that afforded Trump and members of his family protection from tax audits.<\/p>\n

Durbin says Blanche still acts like Trump\u2019s personal attorney<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his opening statement, Sen. Dick Durbin railed against actions taken by the Justice Department under Blanche\u2019s watch, including a move to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the president.<\/p>\n

The top Democrat on the committee also condemned the purging of Justice Department employees deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump and the department\u2019s handling of millions of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s sex trafficking investigation.<\/p>\n

Durbin accused Blanche of still acting like Trump\u2019s personal lawyer, pursuing investigations against the president\u2019s foes while taking steps to aid his allies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn less than 18 months at the Department of Justice, you\u2019ve shown you\u2019re still President Trump\u2019s personal attorney,\u201d Durbin said.<\/p>\n

Attorney general confirmation hearing getting underway<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blanche is expected to face bipartisan scrutiny as he seeks the chance to serve out the duration of Trump\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

Blanche, Trump\u2019s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April, when Pam Bondi was fired after struggling to bring successful cases against Trump\u2019s political foes.<\/p>\n

Since taking the reins at the Justice Department, Blanche has accelerated investigations<\/a> into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund<\/a> meant to compensate the president\u2019s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit<\/a> of news media leaks.<\/p>\n

Blanche faces Senate scrutiny, with Republican support key to his confirmation as attorney general<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche<\/a> will confront questions Wednesday about his brief but turbulent tenure atop the Justice Department during a Senate confirmation hearing that will test President Donald Trump\u2019s grip on Republican lawmakers whose support the nominee will need for the job.<\/p>\n

Blanche, Trump\u2019s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April, during which time he\u2019s accelerated investigations<\/a> into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund<\/a> meant to compensate the Republican president\u2019s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit<\/a> of news media leaks.<\/p>\n

Those actions will receive fresh scrutiny at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing as Blanche testifies for the opportunity to serve out the duration of Trump\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Acting
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is sworn in as he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)(AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein) WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to confront questions about his brief but turbulent tenure atop the Justice Department during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5734],"tags":[],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-139196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-associated-press"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139196"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139216,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139196\/revisions\/139216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139196"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=139196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}