A new tool to punish political enemies: Stop Blanche’s DOJ power grab

A new tool to punish political enemies: Stop Blanche’s DOJ power grab Senator, please urge members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Todd Blanche’s nomination and investigate his DOJ power grab hidden inside the Bureau of Prisons change to Program Statement 5100.08. This is no routine BOP update. The new language appears to let the Attorney General exercise authority to designate or redesignate where a prisoner is imprisoned, a significant break from the longstanding framework under which BOP made individualized placement decisions. This is not just a prison policy change — it’s a transfer of power to DOJ leadership, including Todd Blanche and any future Attorney General. That should alarm both parties. Power like this can be weaponized by this administration against perceived enemies, and by future administrations against anyone else. No party should normalize giving DOJ political leadership more direct control over who is transferred, where people are held, and under what restrictions with little transparency or public accountability. Blanche is the wrong person to trust with that power. He is Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, not an independent steward of the rule of law. He is also tied to a DOJ already under scrutiny for a controversial fund created after Trump dropped his $10 billion IRS lawsuit, and he has led DOJ’s handling of Epstein-related files, deepening concerns about his political loyalty overriding an AG’s public duty. Reject Blanche. Demand hearings. Force him, DOJ, and BOP to explain exactly what authority was claimed, who can use it, and what safeguards exist — before this becomes a bipartisan blueprint for abuse.