Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced two days of Senate Judiciary scrutiny on his nomination as he defended DOJ handling of Epstein files, a canceled $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and questions about conflicts tied to crypto holdings.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday told the Senate Judiciary Committee he has “full faith” in FBI Director Kash Patel, pressing back after sharp questioning about Patel’s conduct and travel. Blanche is seeking confirmation as the permanent U.S. attorney general in a two-day hearing that has focused on the Justice Department’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related files, a proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund that Blanche later canceled, and potential conflicts tied to Blanche’s cryptocurrency holdings.
Hearing highlights
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) repeatedly pressed Blanche about Patel, asking whether Blanche would “put up with” Patel’s conduct, travel on the FBI director’s plane and alleged alcohol use. Whitehouse asked whether Blanche could vouch for Patel’s honesty and whether Patel lied to the committee.
Blanche replied, “That’s an extraordinarily obnoxious question, Senator,” and added, “And I have full faith in Director Patel and the work that he’s doing every day.”
Whitehouse countered, “Great, you get to own that,” underscoring the political stakes of Blanche’s endorsement.
Why It Matters
Patel has been criticized for using the FBI director’s jet for personal travel, including a trip to Milan to watch the U.S. men’s hockey team at the Olympics and travel tied to appearances by his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins. Patel is also suing The Atlantic for $250 million over an article alleging alcohol abuse. Because the attorney general oversees the Justice Department — which includes the FBI — senators view Blanche’s willingness to defend Patel as a pointer to future DOJ-FBI dynamics under his confirmation.
Epstein files and redaction errors
Blanche defended the department’s handling of millions of documents tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after Congress passed a law last fall requiring the DOJ to publish material it held related to Epstein. Blanche said the department undertook a “Herculean task” to review “millions and millions of potentially responsive files.”
He repeated that some material withheld was not responsive to the law — including documents tied to other matters or different people named Epstein — and that some withheld documents fell under legal privileges or duplicated records. On the issue of redaction errors, Blanche acknowledged mistakes, saying roughly 1% of redactions had to be corrected after release. “Whenever we learned that any victim’s name had been improperly not redacted, we immediately took the document down and fixed it as soon as we could,” he said, taking responsibility for the errors while describing the review teams as “qualified, experienced attorneys within the department and the FBI.”
Victims’ groups this week urged senators to block Blanche’s confirmation after sensitive personal information about victims was published before being corrected.
Ghislaine Maxwell interview and transfer
Blanche testified that he interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell at a Florida federal prison last summer and denied discussing a presidential pardon or clemency for her. He said Maxwell’s subsequent transfer to a lower-security Texas prison was done because of threats to her safety.
The canceled $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund
Blanche fielded questions about his decision to establish a roughly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund intended to compensate those allegedly harmed by prosecutorial overreach — a proposal tied to an out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit by former President Trump against the IRS over leaked tax records. Blanche said he canceled the fund after bipartisan criticism. Senators pressed him on whether he would take further steps to make that cancellation permanent; Blanche told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) he would work with Congress on possible codification.
Cryptocurrency holdings and potential conflicts
Sen. Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, raised concerns about Blanche’s cryptocurrency holdings and timing. Durbin told reporters he met privately with Blanche and said Blanche disclosed roughly $160,000 in cryptocurrency last year and was advised to divest. Durbin linked those holdings to Blanche’s prior actions at the DOJ — including issuing an order that dismantled the department’s crypto enforcement team — and said the pattern raised potential conflicts because Blanche was transferring assets within his family while DOJ policy toward crypto enforcement changed.
Blanche has not yet fully answered Durbin’s criticisms during the public hearing, although a Durbin aide said Blanche told the senator he had consulted the Office of Legal Counsel and ethics officials.
Other oversight topics
Senators also questioned Blanche about federal prosecutions overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia last fall — cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James — both of which were dismissed by a judge after finding the interim U.S. attorney who filed them was invalidly appointed. Blanche defended the work of DOJ attorneys broadly when Chair Chuck Grassley asked about the Epstein files, saying, “We worked hard, hardworking lawyers within the department, to do the right thing, and we will continue to do so.”
Political backing and opposition
Former President Trump, who nominated Blanche, posted praise on Truth Social urging Senate Republicans to confirm Blanche “ASAP,” calling him “a great lawyer, always very fair.” Meanwhile, Democrats including Durbin have voiced sustained opposition, pointing to perceived conflicts of interest and questions about the fund and Epstein document releases.
What’s next
The Senate Judiciary Committee is conducting a two-day confirmation hearing. Blanche’s nomination will remain under scrutiny for answers on redaction errors, the canceled compensation fund, his stance on FBI leadership conduct, and whether his personal financial holdings present conflicts tied to Justice Department policy decisions.
Key quotes
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: “How long do you intend to put up with that Kash Patel character?”
- Todd Blanche: “That’s an extraordinarily obnoxious question, Senator. And I have full faith in Director Patel and the work that he’s doing every day.”
- Todd Blanche on redactions: “There were mistakes that were made, and so approximately 1% of the redactions had to be fixed after we released the Epstein files.”
Bottom line for traders
While Blanche’s confirmation is primarily a political and legal story, market-sensitive implications include oversight of federal prosecutions, DOJ enforcement priorities (notably crypto enforcement), and leadership stability at the FBI. Investors and policy watchers will monitor confirmation outcomes because changes in DOJ priorities can influence regulatory risk, litigation frequency, and enforcement in sectors — including financial services and cryptocurrency — that face federal scrutiny.
