Senators Launch Probe into Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Any Role in Trump Legal Settlement
Inquiry Begins a Day After Controversial Announcement of $1.776 Billion Taxpayer-funded Payoff to Convicted Criminals
Senators will launch a probe today into whether acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche was advised to recuse himself from any deliberations over President Trump’s lawsuits against the government. The investigation begins one day after the Department of Justice announced a viciously controversial plan to set aside $1.776 billion in taxpayer money for a fund to pay damages to convicted allies of Trump, potentially including violent January 6th rioters who beat police officers.
Several Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking information from the Justice Department about any advice Blanche was given by ethics officials at the agency, including about Blanche’s involvement with Trump’s lawsuits against government agencies seeking personal payouts.
In a memo to the Justice Department, the Democrats said, “Since last year, the Department has systematically dismantled the agency’s internal guardrails, gutting both the career ethics staff and the Office of Professional Responsibility, and has refused to provide any answers to Congress about these egregious actions.”
The inquiry, which is directed to Assistant Attorney General for Administration Jolene Lauria, asks a series of questions, including whether Blanche has recused himself from the lawsuits filed by Trump. The letter also asks, if Blanche has received ethics advice about the matter and “What is the last date that Mr. Blanche provided personal legal advice to Donald Trump or served as his personal attorney?”
The probe also asks Lauria to “provide a detailed and complete list of all past or ongoing investigations and matters from which Mr. Blanche is currently recused.”
Their letter to Lauria said, “Recent public reporting revealed that in March 2025, less than two weeks after assuming the role of Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Blanche was explicitly and formally advised by the Department’s top career ethics lawyer that his recusal from legal cases involving President Trump in his personal capacity was necessary.”
Blanche had served as Trump’s personal defense lawyer prior to the President’s re-election. Blanche testifies in front of a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday morning about his agency’s funding.
In the matter of Trump’s $10 billion civil lawsuit against his own Internal Revenue Service, Blanche’s Department of Justice announced the resolution of the case, including the establishment of the fund.
In their formal letter to the Justice Department, Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, cited Blanche’s testimony to Schiff at Blanche’s March 2025 Senate confirmation hearing. “I will follow the rules as told to me by the experts, career prosecutors in the department, if it comes to ever recusing,” Blanche said in the hearing.
The Democrats said their probe is also reviewing whether former Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove recused himself from matters in which he held a conflict of interest as the president’s former personal attorney. The inquiry said Bove was also involved in Trump-driven DOJ projects like the “Weaponization Working Group” prior to his confirmation as a federal appeals court judge.
Former top Justice Department spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa posted a similar question on social media Monday. Hinojosa, who served in the department during the January 6th prosecutions, noted the potential conflict. She wrote, “How is Blanche not recused from a settlement agreement involving his previous client Donald J. Trump? Especially since the allegations are from when Trump was his client.”
A Justice Department spokesperson told Meidas Touch Network that Blanche is recused “In any cases that are still ongoing where he previously represented someone.” The spokesperson added: To the extent DOJ is investigating something related to the President for which Todd was previously representing him, then hypothetically yes, he would recuse.
Am anxiously waiting for my response from my Senator Charles Grassley who heads the Senate Judiciary committee to explain when both the Senate Judiciary committee and Congress approved this 1.8 billion dollar taxpayer funded fund.
The office that would normally chase this bullshit is the office Blanche runs, and it's spent the past year purging the career staff who would have flagged any of this. Without subpoena power Durbin and Schiff's letter is just an archival flourish. I'm glad they're trying, but once again the MAGAs will get away with it. They're getting more comfortable with their newfound superpower... having absolutely no shame whatsoever, repugnant scoundrels in broad daylight.