Todd Blanche spent years as Donald Trump’s personal criminal defense attorney, striking deals and attempting to minimize Trump’s legal trouble. Now, Todd Blanche has been nominated by the President to become the next Attorney General. As your constituents, we urge you to oppose this nomination.

Blanche, who currently serves as acting Attorney General, is running the Justice Department in the service of the President rather than the people. Not only does he continue to act as Trump’s personal defense attorney, but Blanche continues to weaponize the agency to go after his perceived enemies.

One of the most egregious examples of corruption within this department is Blanche’s decision to direct the DOJ to investigate the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC is one of the country’s oldest and most highly regarded civil rights organizations, and it has never been accused of wrongdoing, nor has it been shown that the SPLC engaged in any illegal activity.

Furthermore, Blanche ordered a DOJ investigation into ActBlue, the Democrats' small-dollar fundraising platform, despite no evidence of lawbreaking. These two organizations share little in common except a record of opposing the President. Using the mighty arm of the Justice Department to entangle the opposition in investigations sends a loud message that if you challenge this administration, expect to be investigated.

According to the recent testimony of Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche was responsible for “the process and the entire release of the Epstein files.” This included managing all redaction efforts. Blanche’s attempt to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act was riddled with errors, most notably the mishandling of sensitive information, including the publication of victims’ information.

Most recently, Blanche’s Justice Department reached a settlement with the President that not only created a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund but also included an agreement that the IRS is “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing any audits of Trump, his family, and his businesses. The fund, which would have used taxpayer money to compensate January 6th rioters, was quickly abandoned after significant backlash from both parties. However, Blanche has refused to rescind the account’s creation in writing, which signals that he and Trump may move forward with the settlement when attention is elsewhere.

This is not how the Justice Department is supposed to work. The Attorney General is meant to serve the people and impartially uphold the rule of law. Todd Blanche would use this position to investigate the President’s perceived enemies and further embroil the country in costly, short-sighted political combat.

Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed marked concern over the nomination of Todd Blanche for Attorney General. Stand with us in urging the Senate to vote NO on the confirmation of Todd Blanche. As your constituents, we demand an Attorney General who answers to the Constitution, not to one man. Reject this nomination.