Todd Blanche
person
Todd Blanche is the Acting U.S. Attorney General, having previously served as Deputy Attorney General under Pamela Bondi. Before joining the administration he was Trump's personal criminal defense attorney during the New York hush-money trial and federal prosecutions. He assumed the acting AG role following Bondi's departure in mid-2025.
Entries involving this actor (18)
DOJ shut down criminal Clean Water Act probe of Sen. Jim Justice's coal companies
ProPublica reported that the Justice Department's Office of the Deputy Attorney General, then headed by now–Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, shut down a career-initiated federal criminal investigation into potential Clean Water Act violations by the coal empire of Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV), a close Trump ally. Prosecutors with the EPA, DOJ's Environmental Crimes Section, and the Western District of Virginia believed they had a strong case and were litigating subpoenas when they were told "pencils down." DOJ said the case was not consistent with the administration's priorities and should be resolved civilly; former prosecutors called top-level intervention to quash an early-stage criminal case highly unusual.
Judge dismisses DOJ human-smuggling case against Abrego Garcia as vindictive prosecution
On May 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw of the Middle District of Tennessee dismissed the federal human-smuggling indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, granting his motion to dismiss for selective or vindictive prosecution. The judge found the Justice Department failed to rebut the "presumption of vindictiveness," writing that the evidence "sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power" and that, absent Abrego Garcia's successful court challenge to his wrongful deportation to El Salvador, the government would not have brought the case. The Justice Department said the ruling was "wrong and dangerous" and that it will appeal.
DOJ order bars IRS from auditing Trump, his family, and their businesses for prior tax returns
On May 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a one-page order, signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and not co-signed by the IRS, declaring the federal government "forever barred and precluded" from pursuing tax examinations of President Donald Trump, his relatives, trusts, and businesses for returns filed before the underlying settlement's effective date. The order expanded the previously announced $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" settlement — under which Trump and his adult sons dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS — and effectively forecloses a long-running audit that, per earlier reporting, could have produced an IRS bill exceeding $100 million. The DOJ later said the bar applies only to existing audits, not to returns Trump files in the future.
Federal judge quashes DOJ subpoena for trans youth medical records at Rhode Island Hospital, finding it issued in 'bad faith' for an 'improper purpose'
On May 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy of the District of Rhode Island quashed a July 2025 Justice Department subpoena that had demanded roughly six years of records — identities, addresses, diagnoses, treatments, and parents' names — of every minor treated for gender dysphoria at Rhode Island Hospital, holding it was "a drastic overreach," "lacks a congressionally authorized purpose," and was "issued in bad faith for an improper purpose." McElroy tied the subpoena to a broader White House policy direction, writing that the administration "has publicly characterized gender-affirming care for minors as abuse, directed the DOJ to bring its practice to an end, and celebrated when hospitals curtailed such programs as a result of this subpoena campaign." The DOJ has appealed to the First Circuit; the Rhode Island subpoena is one strand of a nationwide DOJ campaign targeting more than 20 providers, with at least seven other federal courts having previously quashed or limited similar subpoenas.
DOJ subpoenas Wall Street Journal reporters' records over Iran-war leaks after Trump hands acting AG Blanche stack of articles marked 'Treason'
On May 11, 2026, The Wall Street Journal publicly disclosed that the Justice Department had issued grand jury subpoenas for its reporters' records, tied to a February 23, 2026 WSJ article — five days before the Iran war began — that reported on Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and other Pentagon officials warning President Trump about the risks of an extended military campaign against Iran. CNN reported the same day that Trump personally pushed the DOJ to issue the subpoenas, delivering the directive to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at a White House meeting in the form of a stack of printed articles topped by a sticky note reading "Treason" in Sharpie. CNN further reported that other news outlets have also received DOJ subpoenas in recent months.
CNN reveals DOJ shakeup of Brennan probe: career prosecutors warned case was too weak, told 'that's not good enough'
On May 8, 2026, CNN published an investigation detailing how the Justice Department restructured the criminal probe of former CIA Director John Brennan after career prosecutors told leadership the evidence did not support charges. At a Washington meeting earlier in 2026 attended by Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones, lead prosecutor Maria Medetis Long told acting Deputy Attorney General Colin McDonald and his top deputy Trent McCotter the case against Brennan was too weak to bring; the reply, per two people briefed on the meeting, was "that's not good enough." Medetis Long was removed days later. CNN reports that with Trump ally Joe diGenova installed in Fort Pierce, Florida, the investigation has been "essentially reset" into a broader conspiracy probe, more than 150 subpoenas have been issued, and another round of subpoenas targeting officials close to Brennan is expected. CBS News corroborates that DOJ veterans fear the probe is being staffed with Trump loyalists.
Federal grand jury indicts ex-FBI Director James Comey a second time over '86 47' post
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted former FBI Director James Comey on April 28, 2026, on two counts arising from a May 2025 Instagram post of seashells arranged to read "86 47," which the Justice Department casts as a death threat against President Trump. The charges follow the 2025 collapse of an earlier DOJ case against Comey and the dismissal weeks earlier of Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom Trump faulted for not pursuing his agenda aggressively enough.
DOJ directs the Federal Bureau of Prisons to expand federal execution protocol to include the firing squad
On April 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced — in a same-day press release from the Office of Public Affairs paired with the Office of Legal Policy report "Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty" — that it had directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to expand the federal execution protocol to include the firing squad alongside other methods, and to reinstate the pentobarbital lethal-injection protocol used during the first Trump administration. The DOJ also directed BOP to consider relocating or expanding federal death row or constructing an additional execution facility to accommodate the added methods. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the action; the underlying report's preparation had been directed by former Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
DOJ announces forthcoming rule to narrow federal habeas review of state capital convictions under Chapter 154
On April 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced — in a same-day press release from the Office of Public Affairs paired with the Office of Legal Policy report "Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty" — that it planned to publish a proposed rule that would "empower states to streamline federal habeas review of capital cases" under Chapter 154 of Title 28, with DOJ saying the rule "will reduce by years the period between conviction and execution in state capital cases." Federal habeas review of state convictions has been the principal vehicle for federal-court oversight of state capital cases since 1867; an administrative rule that materially narrows that review would curtail a long-standing federal check on state criminal-justice systems without legislative action.
DOJ announces forthcoming rule barring federal capital inmates from filing clemency petitions until direct appeals and first collateral attack are final
On April 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced — in a same-day press release from the Office of Public Affairs paired with the Office of Legal Policy report "Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty" — that it planned to publish a proposed rule prohibiting capital inmates from submitting clemency petitions, and the Office of the Pardon Attorney from considering them, until the inmate's direct appeal and first collateral attack are final. The rule, within DOJ's claimed rulemaking authority, would for the first time foreclose for years at a time a clemency remedy that historically has run in parallel with — not after — judicial review.
DOJ refers 384 naturalized Americans for denaturalization in record-volume push
On April 23, 2026, The New York Times first reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had identified 384 foreign-born, naturalized U.S. citizens as a "first wave" of denaturalization targets, with cases being distributed to federal prosecutors in 39 U.S. Attorney's offices across the country. A DOJ spokesperson, citing the leadership of President Trump and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, called it "the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history." The push follows a June 2025 directive from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate ordering the Civil Division to "prioritize and maximally pursue" denaturalization, with an internal cadence of roughly 100–200 referrals per month — against a 1990–2017 baseline of about 11 cases per year and a total of 120 cases attempted between 2017 and the end of 2025.
DOJ indicts Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts of fraud over $3M informant payments
On April 21, 2026, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama returned an 11-count indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, charging the 55-year-old civil-rights organization with wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering over a covert program in which the SPLC says it paid confidential sources to infiltrate violent extremist groups. The indictment came after the FBI under Director Kash Patel had severed its long-running relationship with the SPLC, and amid publicly expressed presidential pressure on the Justice Department to pursue prosecutions of political opponents. SPLC interim CEO Bryan Fair said the organization was "targeted" by the administration and that its informant work "saved lives."
DOJ installs Trump legal ally Joe diGenova as Counselor to the Attorney General assigned to the Brennan probe in Fort Pierce
On April 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice installed Joseph diGenova — a longtime Washington attorney, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and a Trump legal-team adviser during the Mueller investigation who has publicly backed efforts to overturn the 2020 election — as Counselor to the Attorney General in the Southern District of Florida, assigned to the federal criminal investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan. The appointment came one day after the Justice Department removed career national-security prosecutor Maria Medetis Long from the Brennan probe after she resisted bringing charges career prosecutors judged unsupported by the evidence. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, seeking to retain the job after President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in April over dissatisfaction at the pace of cases against Trump's political adversaries, drove the appointment.
DOJ removes career federal prosecutor leading the Brennan investigation after she resisted bringing charges career staff judged unsupported
On April 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice removed Maria Medetis Long — the career federal prosecutor heading the national-security section at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami and leading the federal criminal investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan — after she resisted pressure from senior DOJ leadership to file charges career prosecutors had told the Department the evidence did not support. U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones had earlier told DOJ leadership that charges could still be months away. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, seeking to retain the job after President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in April over dissatisfaction at the slow pace of cases against Trump's political adversaries, has been pressing to deliver indictments on the president's priority targets.
Deputy AG Blanche boasts every DOJ and FBI employee who investigated Trump is gone
At a CPAC fireside chat on March 26, 2026, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declared that every Justice Department and FBI employee who worked on the criminal investigations into President Trump had been fired, resigned, or taken early retirement — "not a single man or woman" remained — putting the DOJ figure at "over 200." His public confirmation marked the completion of a systematic purge of the career personnel who had investigated the president, with termination letters citing employees' prosecution work as the reason they could not be "trusted."
DOJ agrees to pay Trump ally Michael Flynn $1.25M to settle malicious-prosecution suit
On March 25, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department agreed to pay $1.25 million to retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, to settle his lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution over his 2017 criminal case. Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was later pardoned by Trump; he originally sued for $50 million in 2023 and revived the case after Trump returned to office. The settlement was reached under DOJ leadership Flynn publicly thanked by name.
DOJ rescinds 2021 no-knock entry limits, broadening when agents can enter homes unannounced
On March 2, 2026, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a Justice Department memo rescinding the 2021 policy that restricted federal agents' use of "no-knock" entries to situations where they feared imminent physical danger. Under the new memo, no-knock entries are also permissible whenever there is a risk that evidence could be destroyed — a condition former prosecutors warned can be asserted in nearly any search. The change was made by internal memo without public rulemaking and was reported on the eve of the sixth anniversary of Breonna Taylor's death in a botched no-knock raid.
Trump demanded DOJ pay him $230 million in compensation for federal investigations; claim routed to his former defense attorney
On October 22, 2025, President Donald Trump formally demanded that the Department of Justice pay him approximately $230 million through an administrative claims process, citing federal investigations including the Russia probe and the classified documents case. The claim required approval from DOJ officials, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal defense attorney in the classified documents prosecution. Representatives Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia announced an investigation into the demand over self-dealing concerns.