1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

The Department of Justice's (DOJ’s) own governing policies require that all legal judgments be "impartial and insulated from political influence" and investigatory and prosecutorial powers must be "exercised free from partisan consideration." (Justice Manual § 1-8.100). The Supreme Court established the corollary in Berger v. United States: the federal government attorney represents the public interest, not the personal interests of any single government official. Blanche has explicitly rejected that principle. While Attorneys General of both parties, including Jeff Sessions, William Barr, and Pamela Bondi, have affirmed before the Senate that the Department must operate free from political interference, Blanche has stated publicly that Americans should be "happy" the president is "deeply involved" in DOJ decisions, and dismissed White House independence from the DOJ as "the most false statement I have ever heard." These positions are disqualifying. His conflicts compound the problem. Blanche served as Donald Trump's personal criminal defense attorney, including in the federal classified documents case and matters stemming from January 6. DOJ’s top career ethics lawyer advised Blanche to recuse himself from any matters relating to Trump in his personal capacity. That ethics lawyer subsequently was fired, the DOJ offices handling ethics and professional responsibility have been gutted, and there is no evidence of any independent mechanism to manage Blanche’s conflict. The consequences are already visible. Under Blanche, the Department has launched criminal inquiries against the president's perceived political opponents; sued D.C.’s attorney disciplinary authorities over their disbarment recommendations; filed motions to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of those who attacked the Capitol on January 6; settled President Trump’s own $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for $1.776 billion in taxpayer funds directed to presidential appointee-controlled fund with no independent oversight; and approved an agreement barring the IRS from pursuing tax claims against his former client, his family, and his businesses. Attorney General Robert Jackson warned in 1940 that the most dangerous prosecutorial power is that a prosecutor "will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted." Under Blanche, that warning has become not just a description but a prescription - and the corruption runs in both directions: the same Department that pursues the president's perceived enemies shields him from legal accountability. This is not a partisan concern. Senators of both parties have long demanded DOJ independence as a condition of confirmation. As Alexander Hamilton wrote, the Senate’s advice and consent authority exists to ensure that offices of public trust are not given to those who would subordinate them inappropriately. (The Federalist No. 76). I call on every Senator to honor that tradition and oppose Todd Blanche's service as Attorney General.