Geoff Bennett:
Welcome to the “News Hour.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for more than five hours of testimony on his nomination to serve permanently in the role.
As justice correspondent Ali Rogin reports, Blanche faced pointed questions about his record as President Trump’s personal lawyer, the fate of a proposed settlement fund for people who claim they were targeted by the Justice Department, and his handling of the Epstein files.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA):
Do you swear or affirm…
Ali Rogin:
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche took tough questions from both sides of the aisle…
Todd Blanche:
: I’m here today to earn your trust once more.
Ali Rogin:
… on his three-month record in the acting role.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ):
This isn’t a confirmation hearing. This is more of a performance review.
Ali Rogin:
Up for review, a short-lived settlement of a suit President Trump brought against the IRS in which people claiming politicized prosecutions could apply for part of a so-called anti-weaponization fund. Blanche has said the fund is dead, but has declined to put it in writing.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX):
Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?
Todd Blanche:
No, the settlement fund is just not moving forward. There’s no modification. It just never started. No money went from the Treasury to any other account. There’s no commissioners. It’s not moving forward.
Sen. John Cornyn:
But just to be clear, the president of the United States, who’s a plaintiff in this lawsuit, has not agreed in writing to delete the weaponization fund.
Ali Rogin:
Blanche also took questions about a rebuke of the fund by a federal judge in Florida, who said the case was brought in bad faith. She shared her order with the New York State Bar for possible disciplinary action.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI):
Do you intend to appeal, the Department of Justice?
Todd Blanche:
We weren’t really even part of that decision. So, to the extent there’s something that we can appeal, I very vigorously will encourage the department to do so.
Ali Rogin:
In the hearing room today, a handful of survivors of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some of them appeared in a video earlier this week urging senators not to confirm Blanche over his handling of the Epstein files as deputy attorney general.
Woman:
Todd Blanche failed us.
Woman:
He failed victims everywhere.
Woman:
We deserve better.
Ali Rogin:
Those survivors criticized Blanche and the Department of Justice for redaction errors that revealed their personal information, which they say led to re-traumatization and fears for their safety.
Blanche acknowledged those errors.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT):
Will you apologize to them for the mishandling and mistakes that were made by the United States Department of Justice?
Todd Blanche:
I will — I will absolutely say that any mistake that we made should not have been made.
Ali Rogin:
While praising the work of the attorneys who reviewed the files.
Todd Blanche:
Whenever we learned that any victim’s name had been improperly not redacted, we immediately took the document down.
Ali Rogin:
Several lawmakers repeated claims by survivors that the DOJ purposely redacted names of powerful people connected to Epstein.
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL):
Your explanation — quote — “It isn’t a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.”
Mr. Blanche, these survivors deserve much better.
Ali Rogin:
And urged Blanche to meet with the survivors in the room, which Blanche said he could not do directly.
Sen. Richard Durbin:
Will you meet with these 10 survivors? I’m asking you on the record.
Todd Blanche:
If they have lawyers, as you know, I’m prohibited from meeting directly with them. I have met with counsel for survivors, as has many people in the Department of Justice, over 30. But if they are represented by counsel, we will work with their counsel.
Ali Rogin:
There were revealing exchanges on many issues before the Department of Justice, but it may be a quick, apparently flubbed response that remains Blanche’s most memorable answer.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA):
Are you and President Trump friends?
Todd Blanche:
I’m his lawyer, was his lawyer, and now I’m the deputy attorney general.
Ali Rogin:
Blanche led Trump’s defense team on several cases between his presidential terms, which critics have called a conflict of interest since he joined this DOJ. One of the cases was special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021, riots. Blanche said he has recused himself from January 6 cases, but he did move this year to vacate the convictions of 12 of the riot’s leaders.
Blanche defended his involvement.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA):
These people were convicted the January 6 investigation, which also involved the president, who you represented. You were involved in dismissing those cases, were you not?
Todd Blanche:
I was — I’m the acting attorney general. So, yes, my department moved a dismiss. I was…
Sen. Adam Schiff:
So you didn’t recuse yourself from that matter. You were willing.
Todd Blanche:
There’s no reason to — from the Proud Boys matter?
Sen. Adam Schiff:
Yes, it was.
Todd Blanche:
You know the rules. There are rules that say when I have to recuse. And that’s not one of them.
Sen. Adam Schiff:
Yes, there are rules.
Ali Rogin:
Blanche needs the support of all committee Republicans in order to make it to a full Senate vote. Two of them, Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, lost their primaries and were viewed as wild cards going into the hearing. Cornyn told reporters he still has concerns, but Tillis seemed supportive.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC):
Thank you, Mr. Blanche. You have done a great job today.
Ali Rogin:
The committee reconvenes tomorrow for a second day, where they will hear from Blanche’s supporters and critics.
Sen. Charles Grassley:
Meeting adjourned.
Todd Blanche:
Thank you, Senator.
Ali Rogin:
For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Ali Rogin.
