TODD BLANCHE
Deputy Attorney General / Acting Attorney General
Confirmed March 2025 — Acting AG April 2, 2026
All individuals listed deny wrongdoing. These charge sheets represent reported conduct mapped to applicable federal statutes for the purposes of political commentary and satire, based on news reporting, court filings, inspector general reports, and congressional testimony from 2025–2026. No charges have been filed against any individual listed. This document does not constitute legal advice or a legal determination of guilt. The President of the United States has not been charged with any offenses listed herein; under longstanding Department of Justice policy, a sitting president cannot be indicted while in office.
COUNT 1 — OBSTRUCTION OF A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION
18 U.S.C. § 1505 — Obstruction of Proceedings Before Departments, Agencies, and Committees
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden revealed in March 2026 that Deputy Attorney General Blanche personally intervened to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from releasing an unclassified document related to a long-secret investigation into drug trafficking and prostitution by Jeffrey Epstein and several associates. Wyden accused Blanche of "covering up for pedophiles and obstructing my investigation into the financing of Epstein's criminal sex trafficking organization." Although Congress had passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act requiring full disclosure, Blanche withheld the document from Congress without asserting any valid legal privilege. Upon being elevated to acting attorney general on April 2, 2026, Blanche stated the DOJ should "move on" from the Epstein files entirely.
- Senate Finance Committee: "Wyden Sounds Alarm as DAG Blanche Intervenes to Conceal Details of Mystery Epstein Investigation" (March 18, 2026)
- The Hill: "Todd Blanche Urges DOJ to Move On From Jeffrey Epstein Files" (April 2026)
- NBC News: "From Trump's Attorney to the Epstein Files: Todd Blanche's Rise to Attorney General" (April 2026)
COUNT 2 — CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES
18 U.S.C. § 371 — Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
Blanche personally signed the court filings advocating for the dismissal of the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The dismissal was widely understood as a quid pro quo: Adams had agreed to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement in exchange for the charges being dropped. The presiding judge, Dale Ho, called the DOJ's stated rationale "not just thin but pretextual" and dismissed the case with prejudice — meaning charges could never be refiled — specifically to prevent their continued use as political leverage over Adams. The move triggered the largest mass resignation of senior federal prosecutors in decades. Coordinating the corrupt use of prosecutorial power to extract political favors constitutes a conspiracy to impair the honest and impartial functioning of the Department of Justice.
COUNT 3 — ACTS AFFECTING A PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTEREST / FAILURE TO RECUSE
18 U.S.C. § 208 — Acts Affecting a Personal Financial Interest; 28 C.F.R. § 45.2 — DOJ Impartiality Regulations
Before joining the DOJ, Blanche served as President Trump's personal criminal defense attorney — representing him in the Manhattan hush-money trial, the federal classified documents case, and the federal election obstruction case. Upon confirmation as deputy attorney general, Blanche repeatedly refused to commit to recusing himself from any DOJ matters related to Trump, despite what CNN legal analyst Elie Honig called "the easiest recusal decision in Department of Justice history." Blanche then oversaw a department that dropped active investigations of Trump, pursued prosecutions of Trump's political enemies, and took actions directly benefiting his former client — all without formal recusal. DOJ regulations require recusal when a reasonable person would question an official's impartiality, and federal law prohibits officials from participating in matters affecting their personal financial interests.
- Senate Judiciary Committee: Durbin questions Blanche on recusal during confirmation hearing (February 12, 2025)
- CNN: "Legal Expert Calls on Todd Blanche to Recuse From $230 Million Trump Case: 'Easiest Recusal Decision in DOJ History'" (2025)
- ABC News: "From Trump's Criminal Defense Lawyer to Acting AG — Who Is Todd Blanche?" (April 2026)
COUNT 4 — USURPATION OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH AUTHORITY
U.S. Constitution, Art. I (Separation of Powers); 2 U.S.C. § 136 — Librarian of Congress
In May 2025, Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and appointed Blanche — already serving as deputy attorney general — as acting Librarian of Congress. The Library of Congress is a legislative branch institution; the Librarian is appointed by the president but confirmed by the Senate, and the position has historically been understood as independent of the executive branch. Library staff and Principal Deputy Librarian Robert Newlen refused to recognize Blanche's authority. When two DOJ officials — Associate Deputy AG Paul Perkins and Deputy Chief of Staff Brian Nieves — attempted to physically enter the Library's James Madison Memorial Building to seize control of the U.S. Copyright Office, Library staff called the Capitol Police and turned them away. The dispute reached the Supreme Court, which deferred ruling on whether Trump had the authority to make the appointment. The attempted executive branch takeover of a legislative institution, enforced by DOJ personnel, represented an extraordinary breach of the constitutional separation of powers.
- NPR: "Trump Names Todd Blanche Acting Librarian of Congress" (May 12, 2025)
- The Daily Beast: "Library of Congress Staff Turn Away New MAGA Bosses" (May 2025)
- Publishers Weekly: "U.S. Executive and Legislative Branches Battle at the Library of Congress" (2025)
- SCOTUSblog: "Supreme Court Defers Decision on Whether Trump Can Fire Head of U.S. Copyright Office" (November 2025)