My letter to Senators Grassley and Durbin Opposing Todd Blanche’s Confirmation
Electronic Submission
July 14, 2026
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley
Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Dick Durbin
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Re: Opposition to the Confirmation of Todd Blanche as Attorney General
Dear Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin, and Members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary:
I write to urge you to reject the nomination of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as Attorney General of the United States.
As an attorney who has practiced law for more than forty years and who has served as a judge pro tempore, I have spent my career believing that the rule of law depends upon lawyers who honor their oaths, respect the courts, and exercise the extraordinary power of government with integrity. The Attorney General occupies one of the most important positions in our constitutional system. The person who holds that office must command the confidence of the courts, the legal profession, and the American people.
The record surrounding Todd Blanche establishes he has not met that standard.
Only days before his confirmation hearing, in President Donald J. Trump, et al., v IRS, et al, a federal judge concluded that litigation supported by the Justice Department had been filed in bad faith and lacked any basis in law or fact. The court found that the case had been used to advance an extraordinary proposed settlement designed to serve the President’s personal interests. Furthermore, the court referred Mr. Blanche, along with other involved attorneys, to their respective State Bar Associations for disciplinary review. It’s clear that Mr. Blanche’s reported role in directing or approving this settlement demands searching examination by this Committee. See https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.106.0.pdf
This was not an isolated event.
In the Kilmar Abrego Garcia matter, a federal judge dismissed the criminal case after finding presumptive vindictiveness in the government’s decision to reopen a previously closed investigation following Abrego Garcia’s successful challenge to his unlawful removal. The court concluded that Mr. Blanche’s public statements contributed to the retaliatory taint surrounding the investigation and prosecution.
In a separate matter involving Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia issued grand jury subpoenas that a federal judge later quashed. The court found essentially no evidence supporting suspicion of a crime and abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant purpose was to harass or pressure Powell. Available reporting indicates that Mr. Blanche did not personally authorize their issuance. The episode still raises serious questions about control, supervision, and respect for prosecutorial limits within the Department of Justice he now leads.
On July 8, a federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump quashed a Justice Department subpoena seeking the names and personal contact information of Fulton County’s 2020 election workers. The judge described the subpoena’s scope as staggering, found it unreasonable, questioned its legitimate law enforcement value, and observed that any relevant criminal charges would be barred by statutes of limitation.
The Justice Department also pursued a criminal investigation and issued subpoenas to the offices of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other state and local officials. A federal judge quashed those subpoenas after finding that the department had abused the grand jury process for retaliatory and coercive purposes and had offered an untenable theory of criminal liability.
These examples represent only a portion of the serious judicial criticism directed at Justice Department actions during Mr. Blanche’s leadership. His handling of matters involving Jeffrey Epstein also warrants close scrutiny. Mr. Blanche personally interviewed convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, supervised the department’s release of millions of pages of Epstein related records and the non-release of millions more. He defended a process that exposed identifying information concerning victims, forced the withdrawal of thousands of documents, and produced continuing disputes over whether the department complied fully with federal disclosure law.
Serious questions also arose after the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two United States citizens killed in separate shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. Federal authorities withheld evidence from Minnesota investigators for approximately six months, forcing state and local officials to file suit for access. The federal government finally transferred substantial evidence on July 13. Mr. Blanche also announced a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death. The Committee should examine his personal role in the federal government’s extended refusal to cooperate with state investigators, the basis for that refusal, and whether political considerations interfered with the impartial pursuit of accountability.
The pattern has become impossible to dismiss. Federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties have repeatedly issued severe rulings questioning the purpose, legal foundation, evidentiary basis, and good faith of Justice Department actions during Mr. Blanche’s tenure. Those decisions arose from separate cases, different courts, and distinct areas of law. Together, they present a profound warning about the exercise of federal prosecutorial power.
Lawyers occupy a privileged position in our society. Every attorney accepts an oath to uphold the Constitution, respect the courts, and pursue justice with honesty. Those duties carry even greater weight when a lawyer seeks to serve as Attorney General of the United States.
From my perspective as a lawyer, disappointing is far too mild a description. Good lawyers understand ethical boundaries. Good lawyers understand the enormous responsibility that accompanies the authority to investigate, prosecute, and represent the United States. Good lawyers know that public office is a public trust.
The Attorney General must serve the Constitution before serving any president. The Attorney General must protect the integrity of the Department of Justice before protecting political interests. The Attorney General must earn the confidence of the federal judiciary through professionalism, honesty, independence, and respect for the law.
The record before this Committee clearly shows that Todd Blanche does not possess those qualities.
Each member of this Committee now carries an extraordinary responsibility. Your vote will shape public confidence in the Department of Justice for years to come. History will record whether the Senate fulfilled its constitutional duty with independence, courage, and fidelity to the rule of law.
I respectfully urge you to reject Todd Blanche’s nomination as Attorney General of the United States.
Respectfully,
/s/ JON MITCHELL JACKSON
Jon Mitchell Jackson
Attorney at Law
Send Senator Grassley an email
Send Senator Dick Durbin an email
WHAT I wrote with the re-stack. Thank you, Sir.
"Again, comprehensive and readable. 🫣 Quite a poignant inventory of immorality. 🤢 Until the partisan madness set in with my erstwhile Party thwarting President Obama at every turn, Senator Grassley was an honest, decent man. 💔 He has a chance to redeem himself.🤞🏼"
The question is…will they listen?