Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general of the United States, has wasted no time in demonstrating his commitment to advancing Donald Trump’s agenda of political retribution. In just a few weeks since taking over the top job at the Justice Department on an interim basis, Blanche has aggressively deployed departmental resources to satisfy the president, leaving little doubt about how Trump’s former personal attorney would further politicize US law enforcement if his position becomes permanent.
Blanche’s Rapid Moves to Please Trump
Blanche was named acting attorney general earlier this month after Trump fired Pam Bondi, reportedly due to frustration over the lack of progress in prosecuting the president’s political enemies. According to Fox News, Blanche told Trump he wanted the job permanently, and the president instructed him to treat his interim tenure as an audition. Blanche has indeed acted swiftly.
Less than two weeks into his role, four career prosecutors were dismissed, and a widely criticized report accused them of unfairly punishing anti-abortion protesters. Blanche also appointed Trump ally Joe diGenova, an 81-year-old former US attorney, to oversee the investigation into John Brennan, the former CIA director, and others. This probe is rooted in their assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump. DiGenova previously represented the Trump campaign in its efforts to overturn the 2020 election and called for Chris Krebs, a Department of Homeland Security official who deemed the 2020 election secure, to be “drawn and quartered” and “taken out at dawn and shot.”
DiGenova takes over the case from a career prosecutor who had recently expressed reservations about it.
Internal Pressure and Criticism
A Justice Department official familiar with Blanche’s actions noted increased internal pressure on matters involving Trump’s enemies since Blanche took over. “Doesn’t mean he’ll be any more successful than [Bondi], but he, via his surrogates, is definitely demanding results,” the official said.
A Justice Department spokesperson defended Blanche, stating: “Blanche – a former federal prosecutor with decades of experience enforcing our laws impartially – has made clear that the department’s mission is to apply the law equally to all persons. He remains committed to upholding the rule of law, advancing President Trump’s agenda, and ending the weaponization of government. These actions are long overdue and sought by the American people.”
Under Blanche, the Justice Department has also sought to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for crimes committed during the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Watchdog Concerns
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, a watchdog group that has filed numerous lawsuits against the administration, described the current era as an “unprecedented era of politicization” that Blanche appears poised to push further. “I do think what we’ve seen over the past few weeks is definitely a sharper focus on the president’s retaliation agenda,” she said. “If the administration wants an attorney general that’s going to prevail in court, they’re not going to be able to find one. It doesn’t matter who it is because the administration’s conduct is so lawless.”
Harry Litman, a former Justice Department lawyer, noted that Blanche has not only “replicated” Bondi’s “Trump-pleasing moves” but also “taken her one better or worse in several instances where the cases or actions he’s brought go beyond anything she did.”
Mike Davis, a Trump ally leading the Article III Project, praised Blanche’s start as “fantastic.” “Todd is making bold and fearless moves to bring much-needed accountability. No one is above the law,” he said.
Indictment Against SPLC
On Tuesday, the Justice Department unveiled an 11-count criminal indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a prominent civil rights organization. The SPLC had long used paid informants to monitor extremist groups and share information with law enforcement, though its CEO stated it no longer does so. The indictment’s novel argument that the organization defrauded donors by funneling money to groups it sought to combat has been criticized as flimsy by legal experts.
Vanita Gupta, a civil rights lawyer at NYU and former number three official at the Justice Department under Biden, said: “The shoddiness of the indictment speaks for itself.” She added that the indictment ignores the SPLC’s history of sharing information with law enforcement across administrations, calling it “another kind of salvo in the administration’s attacks on non-profit organizations and trying to quell dissent.”
Hurdles Ahead
Blanche faces several challenges. His handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files continues to haunt the agency, with Congress and the inspector general investigating. Blanche has sought to move past the issue, stating on Fox News: “I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this justice department, it should not be a part of anything going forward.”
On Friday, the Justice Department dropped a politically motivated criminal inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding renovations to the central bank’s headquarters. Powell’s term expires on May 15, and a key Senate Republican had vowed to block his replacement while the investigation continued.
Blanche also faces skepticism from some Trump allies who question his conservative credentials. He was a registered Democrat but switched parties after leaving a partnership at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to become Trump’s personal defense lawyer.
Peter Ticktin, a Florida lawyer and Trump friend who is vying for the attorney general position, criticized Blanche’s tactics: “He’s attempting to show that with Pam Bondi gone, things are going to start happening. And that’s a lowlife tactic. Pam Bondi is not here to defend herself and he’s basically casting aspersions against her.” He called the SPLC case “stupid” and “really pathetic.”
