Emails Reveal Todd Blanche’s Role in Trump Retribution Campaign
Newly uncovered internal Justice Department emails reveal that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche created and tightly controlled a “weaponization working group” tasked with identifying, investigating, and punishing President Donald Trump’s political enemies, according to documents obtained by the government watchdog group American Oversight and provided to The New York Times. The revelations come just one day before Blanche faces a high-stakes confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for the position of Attorney General of the United States.
The Weaponization Working Group
The 352 pages of internal DOJ emails, obtained by American Oversight through litigation, paint a detailed picture of Blanche’s central role in what critics describe as the politicization of the Justice Department. According to The New York Times, Blanche created an organizational plan for the weaponization group that assigned key investigative lanes to his own deputies, ensuring tight control over demands from Trump and his supporters to target those who had once pursued them.
“The multifaceted portrait of Mr. Blanche that emerges from 352 pages of documents obtained by American Oversight is of a Trump loyalist who is committed to executing the president’s agenda,” the Times reported, citing the internal emails.
Blanche has served as acting attorney general since April 2026, when Trump fired Pam Bondi. He previously served as deputy attorney general after being confirmed in March 2025. Before joining the administration, Blanche was Trump’s personal defense lawyer in three of his four criminal cases, including the hush money trial where Trump was convicted on 34 counts.
A Narrow Confirmation Path
Blanche’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday comes at a precarious moment. The death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has left the Senate Judiciary Committee with an 11-10 Republican majority. Blanche needs support from all 11 Republicans on the panel to advance his nomination, assuming all Democrats vote against him.
Two key Republicans — Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — remain undecided, according to Roll Call. Neither faces voters this fall: Cornyn lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, and Tillis is retiring. Their votes could determine the outcome of the nomination.
Tillis has said he will question Blanche about his involvement in the controversial $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and his stance on Jan. 6 defendants. “If there’s even a whiff of a lack of independence, then that could influence my vote,” Tillis told CNN.
The $1.776 Billion Fund Controversy
The proposed fund, which emerged from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion IRS lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns, would have compensated individuals who claimed they were victims of “weaponization” by previous administrations — including Jan. 6 defendants. The fund faced immediate bipartisan backlash, with Republicans and Democrats alike expressing outrage.
Blanche later told a House panel that “we are not moving forward with the fund, period,” as the Associated Press reported. However, the DOJ continues to fight a court order blocking its implementation, raising questions about Blanche’s credibility on the issue.
Epstein Files and Other Controversies
Blanche is also expected to face scrutiny over the Justice Department’s botched handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. As deputy attorney general, Blanche was the department’s point person on the release of Epstein investigation documents, a process marred by redaction errors that exposed nude photos of potential victims. He also made an unusual trip to interview Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, after which she was transferred to a minimum-security facility.
On Jan. 6, Blanche has attempted to walk a fine line. During his confirmation hearing for deputy attorney general last year, he said that people who commit violence against law enforcement “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Yet at the Conservative Political Action Conference in May 2026, he touted the Jan. 6 pardons as an accomplishment, telling the crowd that “by 5 p.m. on Jan. 20, every one of them was either pardoned or had their sentence commuted.”
What’s at Stake
Democrats have vowed to fight Blanche’s confirmation aggressively. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Democrats are going to fight this confirmation with everything we have, and if Republicans have any respect for the rule of law, they’ll do the same.”
More than 1,000 former Justice Department employees signed a letter opposing Blanche’s elevation, accusing him of “corruption and abuses” that include weaponizing the department against the president’s political foes.
Former Attorney General William Barr, however, has argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that Blanche is not a “toady” of the president and that “no one has a better chance” of pushing back on Trump’s worst instincts.
The two-day hearing begins Wednesday with Blanche’s testimony, followed by outside witnesses on Thursday. If confirmed, Blanche would lead a Justice Department increasingly seen as an arm of the White House. If rejected, it would represent a significant rebuke of Trump by his own party and could set the stage for an even more contentious confirmation battle for a replacement.