Todd Blanche, the man who once led Donald Trump’s criminal defence team, faced a tense bipartisan grilling on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as he seeks a permanent appointment as US attorney general. Senators from both parties demanded answers over his relationship with the president, the handling of the Epstein files, and a controversial settlement that a federal judge quashed the day before the hearing.
Blanche took over the justice department after Trump dismissed Pam Bondi amid a political firestorm over the release of the Epstein files. The acting attorney general now faces questions about whether he can operate independently from Trump, who has vowed “retribution” against his political enemies in his second term. Trump has pressured the department to pursue prosecutions of several critics, including former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James.
“Todd Blanche faces bipartisan grilling over Epstein files, Trump ties, and quashed $1.7bn fund.”
Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who broadly supports the administration, asked Blanche directly if he was “friends” with Trump. “I’m his lawyer – was his lawyer,” Blanche replied. “And now I’m the deputy attorney general.” He added: “I met him as his criminal defence attorney, I’m not sure there’s very many people who have ever had a criminal defence attorney who calls that person their friend.” Blanche served as Trump’s personal attorney in three of the four major criminal cases he faced ahead of the 2024 election, most notably leading his defence in the New York criminal trial.
But the most explosive exchanges centred on a settlement between Trump, his business and family, and the Internal Revenue Service. The deal, which a federal judge nullified on Tuesday, included immunity from future audits and the creation of a $1.7bn (£1.2bn) “anti-weaponisation fund” for people who believed they were unfairly targeted by the government. The settlement had sparked bipartisan outrage, and senators from both parties pressed Blanche on the issue.
“You have no reason to believe that the so-called weaponisation fund will continue because of the settlement, agreement, is that correct?” asked Senator Mike Lee, a Republican. “I am confident it will not,” Blanche responded. Another Republican, Senator Thom Tillis, pressed for “an agreed to piece of text, coming from the administration, that just renders this thing dead, gone.”
Blanche’s fate now rests with a Senate that appears deeply sceptical of his independence. His performance on Wednesday may determine whether he secures the top job – or becomes another casualty of the Epstein files controversy.