NEWS: Sen. Schiff Launches Inquiry into Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s Disregard of Ethics Directive to Recuse from Himself from Trump-Related Cases

Reports indicate Todd Blanche, a former Trump defense lawyer, was advised in first weeks of DOJ tenure to recuse from legal cases involving Trump in his personal capacity.

Washington, D.C. - Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is leading a new inquiry into reports that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was advised by government ethics lawyers at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to recuse himself from cases related to the personal capacity of his former client, President Donald Trump.

Schiff and fellow members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking details from the DOJ on the advice Blanche was given by DOJ and other ethics officials, and Blanche's involvement with Trump's lawsuits against government agencies seeking personal payouts.

"Mr. Blanche appears to have ignored ethics and legal advice. This misconduct would be considered extreme on its own and is even more offensive given President Trump's unprecedented efforts to seek vast personal financial compensation from taxpayer money and use the Department to exact vengeance against his political enemies," the Senators said to Assistant Attorney General Jolene Lauria.

The inquiry highlights testimony Blanche gave Schiff under oath during his confirmation hearing, directly in response to questions about recusal.

"I will follow the rules as told to me by the experts, career prosecutors in the department, if it comes to ever recusing," Blanche said in March 2025 at his confirmation hearing.

The inquiry to DOJ also seeks to understand whether to former Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove recused himself from matters in which he held a conflict of interest as the president's former personal attorney, given he was also involved in Trump-driven DOJ projects like the "Weaponization Working Group" prior to his confirmation as a federal appeals court judge.

The letter to the DOJ was co-signed by Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

The inquiry can be found here and below.

Dear Assistant Attorney General Lauria:

We are writing to seek information regarding recent reports indicating that potentially serious ethical violations have taken place at the highest levels of the Department of Justice (DOJ). As the Designated Agency Ethics Official and most senior career official at the Department, you have a unique and important role in defending the Department's integrity. Specifically, we are seeking prompt clarification regarding Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's potential failure to recuse himself from matters involving his former private client, President Donald Trump, even after he was advised to recuse himself by ethics officials. Furthermore, we request that you personally ensure the preservation of all existing and future records, communications, and materials related toethics advice provided by Department or external ethics officials to senior political DOJ appointees - including previous officials who have left the Department.

In a stark diversion from institutional norms, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche - as well as others appointed to lead the Justice Department - previously served as President Trump's personal attorney. Recent public reporting revealed that in March 2025, less than two weeks after assuming the role of Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Blanche was explicitly and formally advised by the Department's top career ethics lawyer that his recusal from legal cases involving President Trump in his personal capacity was necessary.

At Mr. Blanche's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 12, 2025, he committed to recusing himself from cases when advised to by government ethics officials. When Sen. Schiff asked Mr. Blanche about potential conflicts of interest he may face as Deputy Attorney General stemming from his private representation of President Trump in federal criminal matters, he stated under oath, "I will follow the rules as told to me by the experts, career prosecutors in the department, if it comes to ever recusing."The unmistakable understanding from this testimony is that Mr. Blanche would recuse himself from matters where he was advised to do so by an ethics official.

Upon his confirmation as Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Blanche signed an ethics pledge - addressed to you - stating that, pursuant to the department's impartiality regulation, he would not participate "personally and substantially in any particular matter" involving parties in which a former client - such as President Trump - is a party for a period of one year after he last provided service to that client or until the client satisfies any outstanding bill, whichever is later. Furthermore, Department regulations strictly prohibit his participation in any criminal investigation or prosecution in which he holds a relationship - including a "close personal relationship," as an attorney, or otherwise - with anyone involved in the matter.

Instead, Mr. Blanche appears to have ignored ethics and legal advice. This misconduct would be considered extreme on its own and is even more offensive given President Trump's unprecedented efforts to seek vast personal financial compensation from taxpayer money and use the Department to exact vengeance against his political enemies.

Beyond the well-known fact of Mr. Blanche's legal representation of Donald Trump, Mr. Blanche emphasized his close and partial relationship with Trump during his first press conference as Acting Attorney General in which he stated, "I love you, sir." Thus, Mr. Blanche's involvement in decision making regarding any investigations or cases involving President Trump in his personal capacity threatens to fundamentally subvert the Department's core mandate to dispense impartial justice.

These apparent ethical failures were not isolated to Mr. Blanche. His then-top deputy, Emil Bove, was similarly given an in-depth presentation on ethics guidelines and warned that he may also hold a conflict of interest related to his role overseeing efforts to target and purge Department employees who had worked on prosecutions of President Trump. Because Mr. Bove had previously served as a prosecutor investigating January 6 Capitol riot defendants, a top career lawyer and ethics expert warned in a memo to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi his leadership of the administration's "Weaponization Working Group" violated foundational DOJ impartiality standards. Rather than heeding this guidance, the administration swiftly pushed out the career ethics attorney who authored the memo and Mr. Bove continued to oversee the "Weaponization Working Group."

Though Mr. Bove left the Department last year to assume a lifetime appointment as a federal appellate judge, the gravity of his subversion of agency ethics standards while at the Department presents a pressing question as to whether his misconduct creates a "widespread lowering of public confidence in the courts"- making it a necessary subject of scrutiny for both congressional oversight and the Judicial Council under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.

The concerns several Senate Judiciary Committee Members raised during Mr. Blanche's confirmation hearing and in subsequent inquiries are reflective of the broad disregard this Administration has shown for the ethical boundaries that have long safeguarded the independence of the Department of Justice. Since last year, the Department has systematically dismantled the agency's internal guardrails, gutting both the career ethics staff and the Office of Professional Responsibility. The agency even went so far as to assign political appointees to senior agency roles responsible for making final determinations on "adverse personnel actions and bar referral matters," ethics recusals and waivers, nominee financial disclosures, and other matters concerning ethics and employee discipline.

To better inform the Senate's legislative and oversight responsibilities, and ensure necessary transparency of DOJ activities, please respond to the following no later than May 29, 2026:

1. What is the last date that Mr. Blanche provided personal legal advice to Donald Trump or served as his personal attorney?
2. Have any DOJ officials sought your advice since January 2025 regarding Mr. Blanche's responsibility to recuse himself from any past or ongoing investigations and matters?
3. When was the last time Mr. Blanche sought ethics guidance from your office or otherwise?
4. Did you or any senior DOJ officials consult with the Office of Government Ethics regarding any investigations or matters from which Mr. Blanche should recuse himself? Please preserve and provide all DOJ records and correspondence - internally or seeking external ethics guidance - on the matter.
5. Has Mr. Blanche recused himself from any lawsuits filed by President Trump against the administration? If not, did Mr. Blanche seek or receive any ethics advice on whether he could participate in lawsuits where President Trump is seeking personal financial compensation from taxpayers?
6. Please provide a detailed and complete list of all past or ongoing investigations and matters from which Mr. Blanche is currently recused.
7. Please provide the specific legal justification, if any, allowing Mr. Blanche's continued work on any past or ongoing investigations and matters involving his former client, President Trump, from which he did not recuse himself.
8. Please preserve and provide all existing records, communications, and materials involving DOJ personnel regarding the scope, execution, or modification of Mr. Blanche's recusal obligations.
9. In his capacity as Acting Deputy Attorney General, did Mr. Bove continue to direct personnel decisions, including any firings, or prosecutorial decisions within the "Weaponization Working Group" after receiving formal notification of his potential conflict of interest?
10. Did you or any senior DOJ officials consult with the Office of Government Ethics regarding any investigations or matters from which Mr. Bove should recuse himself? Please preserve and provide all DOJ records and correspondence - internally or seeking external ethics guidance - on the matter.
11. Please preserve and provide a copy of the early 2025 memorandum concerning Mr. Bove's potential conflicts of interest, as well as all records relating to an administrative or legal justification for removing the career ethics attorney who authored it.
12. Please preserve and provide all existing records, communications, and materials involving DOJ personnel regarding the scope, execution, or modification of Mr. Bove's recusal obligations.

We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

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