WASHINGTON, D.C. — Todd Blanche was sworn in as Attorney General on August 10, capping a confirmation fight that drew opposition from conservative legal voices, more than 1,200 former DOJ employees, retired judges, and the Epstein survivors he was supposed to protect. Six days later, he refused to pledge the Justice Department’s independence from the White House, confirming on national television exactly what his critics warned during that fight: Trump’s personal agenda will shape who gets prosecuted.
In the three weeks since, Blanche has proven his critics right on nearly every front they warned about: the Epstein files, the courts’ collapsing trust in DOJ’s word, the prosecutions of the president’s perceived enemies, and DOJ’s willingness to bend the rules for the people and projects Trump cares about most.
Here are 10 lowlights of Blanche’s Justice Department’s first month:
1. BLANCHE’S DOJ IS STONEWALLING A JUDGE ON EPSTEIN WHILE SEX-TRAFFICKING PROSECUTIONS COLLAPSE ELSEWHERE.
A federal judge overseeing DOJ’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act pressed government attorneys on their failure to explain redactions or provide a release timeline. Rather than comply, DOJ appealed a related ruling. Meanwhile, New Mexico sued DOJ, alleging the department blocked the state’s investigation into Epstein. And a Reuters investigation found that sex-trafficking prosecutions have dropped to their slowest pace since 2010 under Blanche, as agents and funding get pulled toward immigration enforcement.
2. FEDERAL JUDGES SAY THEY CAN NO LONGER TRUST WHAT DOJ TELLS THEM.
A ProPublica review found more than 40 recent cases in which judges, including Trump appointees, have questioned whether DOJ lawyers can be trusted to tell the truth in court. That erosion tracks with what’s happening inside: DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility has lost nearly half its staff under the administration. New misconduct investigations have fallen to a 20-year low even as complaints against DOJ lawyers soar.
3. BLANCHE IS FIGHTING TO KEEP A “TAINTED” PROSECUTION ALIVE.
A Tennessee judge threw out the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia after finding it was a vindictive prosecution driven in part by Blanche’s own actions. Rather than accepting the ruling, DOJ is asking a federal appeals court to declare that no prosecution should ever be found “presumptively vindictive.”
4. DOJ IS DEPLOYING A RECORD NUMBER OF ELECTION MONITORS.
DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is deploying roughly 1,000 election monitors in November, a record for a Republican administration. This comes one day after Blanche floated taking DOJ’s fight for state voter roll data to the Supreme Court. Even a Republican governor has raised concerns about DOJ’s aggressive monitoring push.
5. DOJ SETTLED AN ANTITRUST CASE AFTER TRUMP STEPPED IN FOR A DONOR.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump personally directed DOJ to settle its antitrust case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster after meeting with the company’s CEO in the Oval Office days before trial. The settlement let the company off far easier than the trial evidence warranted, according to critics.
6. A WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS DOJ MANUFACTURED CASES AGAINST UNIVERSITIES TO SETTLE FOR CASH.
A former DOJ civil rights attorney who spent nearly a decade at the department came forward alleging the administration’s antisemitism investigations into Columbia, Harvard, and Brown were politically motivated from the start. According to the whistleblower, these investigations had predetermined outcomes designed to extract hundreds of millions in settlements and funding concessions regardless of the facts.
7. DOJ IS STILL PROTECTING TRUMP’S FAMILY FROM TAX SCRUTINY.
Weeks after Blanche’s nomination nearly collapsed over a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that could have paid out to January 6th defendants, reporting revealed the underlying IRS settlement and audit-immunity arrangement for Trump’s family remains in place.
8. BLANCHE PRIVATELY PROMISED ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVISTS A CRACKDOWN HE DIDN’T DISCLOSE TO THE SENATE.
During a private call hosted by the White House Faith Office, Blanche assured religious leaders that DOJ is working to make the Dobbs decision “permanent in every single state.” He also signaled new restrictions on mailing abortion medication, going beyond what he told the Senate Judiciary Committee during confirmation.
9. DOJ FINALIZED A RULE THAT COULD HAND GUNS BACK TO CONVICTED DOMESTIC ABUSERS.
In one of his first actions, Blanche launched a new process to restore firearm rights to people convicted of felonies. The revived program has already restored gun rights to at least one prominent Trump supporter convicted of domestic battery. Critics warn its case-by-case design leaves the door open for similar outcomes.
10. DOJ IS DOING LEGAL WORK ON TRUMP’S PERSONAL PROJECTS INSTEAD OF LETTING THEM GO.
DOJ lawyers spent nearly two hours in court this month defending the Kennedy Center board’s renewed push to inscribe Trump’s name on the building’s facade, months after a judge ruled the move unlawful and DOJ also warned that the Center could face demolition if it doesn’t comply. Separately, prosecutors admitted their case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing Trump’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation was built on bad evidence. Despite this, the White House asked DOJ to explore reviving charges against him, and DOJ is now fighting in court to keep the door open to recharge him later.