Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has been personally leading President Donald Trump’s revenge campaign against his perceived enemies, according to a bombshell new report released in the lead-up to his Senate confirmation hearing.
Supporters of Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s defense attorney, claim he has served as an important check on retribution crusades launched by the president’s most provocative attack dogs, including the DOJ’s Ed Martin and acting director of national intelligence Bill Pulte.
But just a day before Blanche’s confirmation hearing to serve as Trump’s permanent attorney general, The New York Times revealed that rather than being a calming influence on the administration, Blanche has been spearheading the president’s retribution effort within the DOJ.
That work began last year, when he served as his predecessor Pam Bondi’s top deputy, and continued after Bondi’s ousting in April, according to emails obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight and shared with the Times.
In particular, Blanche has been tasked with enacting Trump’s executive order purporting to end the “weaponization” of the U.S. government, part of a major drive to punish members of prior administrations who tried to hold Trump legally accountable.
In May 2025, Blanche diverted top lawyers from his office to the DOJ “anti-weaponization” group responsible for investigating Trump’s enemies, giving him tight control over the cases, the emails reveal.
One of Blanche’s aides was responsible for digging into the actions of special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents and attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Another longtime Blanche aide was assigned to investigate Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who secured convictions against Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records over his payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
A third Blanche aide led a team focused solely on Tina Peters, the Colorado elections clerk who served four years out of a nine-year sentence for violating state election laws in a bid to uncover “proof” of nonexistent fraud during the 2020 election.
Blanche also allowed Martin to personally oversee investigations into two of Trump’s pet causes: the prosecutions of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters—some of whom Martin had represented in court—and a probe into former President Joe Biden’s autopen use.
But in May, Blanche removed Martin from his role with the anti-weaponization group. He had been concerned all along that Martin wasn’t experienced or effective enough to do the job, the emails—which were handed over under the Freedom of Information Act—reveal.
Since then, the anti-weaponization group has ramped up its investigations and reports, even as regional U.S. attorneys’ offices have begun trying to build a massive yet flimsy conspiracy case against Biden and other Trump adversaries, the Times reported.
In the meantime, Blanche has also been busy securing an indictment against Trump foe and former FBI director James Comey after he posted a photo of seashells that appeared to spell “86 47” on the beach.
In slang, the number 86 can mean tossing something out or getting rid of it; it’s commonly used in restaurant kitchens to mean something was removed from the menu. Critics of Comey’s post took it to mean he thinks the president should be killed, given that he is the 47th president.
Blanche also signed off on a $1.77 billion taxpayer slush fund to compensate Jan. 6 rioters and agreed to give the Trump family immunity from tax investigations.
The slush fund was abandoned following political and legal challenges, and the immunity agreement has been blocked in court.
Last week, a group of 1,205 Justice Department alums urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Blanche’s nomination, writing that “corruption and abuses… have defined” his tenure, and that he has “degraded” the DOJ’s apolitical career workforce.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
