Blanche to face grilling on DOJ controversies as he seeks confirmation as AG

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to be grilled by the Senate Judiciary CommitteeWednesday over a series of controversies from his time with the Justice Department as he seeks confirmation to secure his role on a permanent basis.

Formerly President Donald Trump's defense attorney, Blanche faced a relatively smooth glide path to confirmationwith unanimous Republican support last yearwhen hewas nominated to serve as the department's number two official.

Since Trump's ouster of Pam Bondi as attorney general in April, Blanche has served in the position in an acting role and Trump formally nominated him in June.

Blanche'sroad to confirmation is further complicated by the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a veteran of the Judiciary Committeewhowas expected to be a strong advocate for Blanchewith his GOP colleagues. Blanchewill likely need the support of every Republican on the committee in order for his nomination to advance to the Senate floor, as all Democrats are expected to oppose him.

In recent months, multiple Republicans have voiced concernswith actions taken by the Justice Department under Blanche's leadership -- most notably the now-defunct "Anti-Weaponization Fund" thatwas propped up under the guise of a settlement after Trump's personal attorneys sued the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns. One day after that settlementwas announced, Blanche signed an additional document that purported to give Trump and his family immunity from IRS investigations of all of their past tax returns.

The announced settlement drewbipartisan condemnation that led to an extraordinary behind-closed-doors standoff between Blanche and Senate Republicanswho demanded the administration drop the proposed fund that could have been used to award Trump allieswho claimed to have beenwrongful targets of the Biden administration -- including those convicted of attacking police during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

While Blanche later said the administrationwas dropping the fund, the department has so far refused to commit to doing so inwriting, and the DOJ has also not rescinded Blanche's separate order regarding immunity from IRS probes for Trump and his family.

On Monday, a federal judge in Florida issued an extraordinary orderthat lambasted Trump and the Justice Department for misusing her court to legitimize a "settlement" that she sayswould never have survived judicial review.

U.S. District Judge KathleenWilliams,who had previously been assigned to oversee Trump's IRS lawsuit, referred Trump's attorneys for potential sanctions and separately sent her ruling to the State Bar of NewYork for consideration in potential disciplinary proceedings for Blanche --whoWilliams said had potentially given "misleading" testimony to Congress about howthe settlementwas executed.

The Justice Department has yet to respond publicly toWilliams' order.

Cornyn: Ruling raises more questions

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a key vote on the Judiciary Committeewho has said he remains undecided on Blanche's nomination, told reporters Monday thatWilliams' ruling raised more questions for Blanche to answer in his hearing.

Sen. Thom Tillis, another closelywatched Republican on the committee, said Tuesday that the fund needs to be "certainly and completely ended" before he can vote for Blanche to be sworn in as attorney general.

Both Cornyn and Tillis are serving out the end of their terms -- Cornyn was defeated in Texas' GOP primary by Trump-backed state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Tillis decided against running again after Trump threatened to put up a candidate to challenge him in North Carolina's Republican primary.

Blanche's handling of the "anti-weaponization fund" is just one among a series of controversies from his time atop the Justice Department that Democratswill seek to seize on to cast Blanche as an eager henchman to execute Trump's campaign of vengeance against his political enemies.

"While deploying the Justice Department as a shield for the President and his cronies, Blanche has also used our top law-enforcement agency as a sword against Trump's political opponents," ranking Judiciary Committee Democrat Dick Durbin said in a statement following Blanche's nomination.

Democrats are expected to highlight DOJ's now-dismissed cases that targeted former FBI Director James Comey and NewYork Attorney General Letitia James -- in addition to a newindictment targeting Comey in North Carolina over an image of seashells reading '8647' that prosecutors argue amounts to a death threat targeting Trump. Comey has pleaded not guilty to those charges and his attorneys are set to argue for the case to be dismissed on the grounds he's being vindictively targeted by the administration.

Committee Democratswill also likely press Blanche over a series of other probes that judges across the country have labeled as politically driven, dismissing subpoenas thattargeted Fulton County electionworkers,Minnesota state officialsover their refusal to cooperate on immigration enforcement, anda criminal probe of former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powellthat a judge saidwas based on zero evidence.

Questions about ICE tactics and more

Blanchewill also likely face questions over the two fatal shootings by ICE agents over the pastweek and the administration's ongoing investigations into the separate shootings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis earlier this year.

In recent months the administration has also mounted a more aggressive push targeting reporters to root out their sources,with theNewYork Times lastweek disclosingthat several of its journalistswere subpoenaed to testify in federal court in Manhattan at the same time Blanchewill be appearing before the Senate panel.

Blanche also played a central role in the administration's botched handling of the release of files stemming from its investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and sat for a two-day interviewwith Epstein's convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in federal prison while he was assistant AG. Democrats have accused Blanche of later arranging for Maxwell's transfer to a less restrictive prison facility in Texas,which he has repeatedly denied.

In the lead up to his hearing, Blanche has been seen making frequent jaunts to Capitol Hill meetingwith senators to rally support for his confirmation. In recentweeks, he has held sessions preparing answers on some of the more controversial subjects he's likely to be pressed on -- including his loyalties to Trump, his position on monetary awards for Jan. 6 defendants and Trump's demands that the Justice Department aggressively investigate his 2020 election loss and potentially intervene in the upcoming midterms.

It's not immediately clearwhen the full Senatewould move for a vote on Blanche's nomination if passed by the committee, though administration officials have said their goalwould be for him to be confirmed before the August recess.