1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to vote NO on confirming Todd Blanche as Attorney General. The leader of the Department of Justice must defend the United States Constitution, including First Amendment protections for a free and independent press. During his confirmation hearing this week, Mr. Blanche openly defended weaponizing federal subpoena power against investigative journalists. An Attorney General who treats reporters as criminal targets threatens the core checks and balances of our democracy for three major reasons: He directly attacked First Amendment press freedoms: Under questioning from Sen. Peter Welch, Mr. Blanche confirmed he personally authorized subpoenas against New York Times reporters over their coverage of security concerns with the Qatari-donated Air Force One. Press freedom advocates note the subpoenas were issued within two days of the story, in apparent violation of DOJ's own policy requiring investigators to exhaust other options before subpoenaing journalists. He treated reporters like criminal suspects: When pressed on whether he supported forcing reporters to disclose confidential sources, Mr. Blanche said the reporters "are material witnesses, just like a reporter would be a material witness to a car crash." Treating investigative journalists like crime scene witnesses erodes decades of DOJ policy designed to protect newsgathering. He has built a pattern, not a one-off: The Times subpoenas are the latest in a string of press actions under Mr. Blanche, including subpoenas against Wall Street Journal reporters, subpoenas against Washington Post reporters that were withdrawn only after public backlash, and an FBI search warrant executed at a Post reporter's home that resulted in her equipment being seized. This month, Blanche stood up a joint task force with the Defense Department specifically to speed up leak investigations targeting journalists. The First Amendment exists to ensure the American public knows what their government is doing. An Attorney General who views a free press as an obstacle to be controlled cannot be trusted to uphold our constitutional rights. Please stand up for the Constitution, protect free speech, and vote NO on Todd Blanche.