For months, Todd Blanche has been portrayed by Donald Trump’s allies as the calm, steady figure inside the Justice Department, the person who could keep the administration’s most aggressive impulses under control.
A new batch of leaked emails paints a very different picture.
According to a report from The New York Times, Blanche, Trump’s former defense lawyer and acting attorney general, is not merely watching from the sidelines as the administration pursued investigations into Trump’s perceived enemies. He is personally involved in directing the effort from inside the DOJ.
The emails, obtained by government watchdog group American Oversight through Freedom of Information Act requests, show Blanche played a central role in carrying out Trump’s so-called “anti-weaponization” agenda—a push critics have described as an effort to use the Justice Department to target people who previously investigated or challenged the president.
The revelations come as Blanche prepares for his Senate confirmation hearing to become Trump’s permanent attorney general.
Blanche’s role reportedly began last year, when he served as the top deputy to former Attorney General Pam Bondi, and continued after Bondi’s departure.
In May 2025, Blanche reassigned senior lawyers from his office to the DOJ’s anti-weaponization group, giving him direct influence over investigations involving some of Trump’s biggest political targets.
Among the matters tied to Blanche’s team:
One Blanche aide was assigned to examine special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump over allegations involving classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Another aide was tasked with looking into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office secured Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
A third aide was assigned to investigate Tina Peters, the former Colorado election clerk convicted after attempting to access voting equipment while pursuing false claims of election fraud.
The emails also show Blanche allowed former DOJ official Ed Martin to oversee investigations into two issues Trump has repeatedly focused on: the prosecution of January 6 defendants and an investigation into President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen.
But Blanche reportedly had concerns about Martin’s experience and effectiveness and later removed him from the anti-weaponization role.
Despite that change, the DOJ’s investigations targeting Trump’s political opponents continued to expand.
Blanche has also been involved in several of the administration’s most controversial moves.
He signed off on the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey after Comey posted an image of seashells arranged to spell “86 47” on a beach. Critics of the post claimed it was a reference to removing Trump, the 47th president, though Comey denied that interpretation.
Blanche also approved a proposed $1.77 billion taxpayer-funded settlement connected to January 6 defendants and supported an agreement that would have granted Trump and his family broad protections from tax investigations. Both moves later faced major legal challenges.
The revelations have intensified criticism from former Justice Department officials who argue Blanche has helped erode the department’s independence.
More than 1,200 former DOJ officials recently urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Blanche’s nomination, accusing him of overseeing a period defined by “corruption and abuses” and arguing that he has damaged the department’s nonpartisan career workforce.
Blanche’s defenders have presented him as a stabilizing influence inside Trump’s Justice Department.
But the leaked emails suggest a different picture: a top DOJ official deeply involved in an effort to pursue investigations against many of Trump’s longtime adversaries.
