Public Citizen Opposes Repealing or Weakening the Johnson Amendment
Public Comment on Rulemaking Proposal
By Craig Holman, Ph.D.
Religious Liberty Commission
Dan Patrick, Lt. Governor of Texas – Chair
Dr. Ben Carson – Vice Chair
Office of the Associate Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Public Citizen submits these comments on the recommendations of the Religious Liberty Commission as expressed in its report issued on June 26, 2026.
The Religious Liberty Commission was established by Executive Order 14291 on May 1, 2025, as a federal advisory entity within the Department of Justice. Its function is to advise the White House on religious policies.
The Commission released a report on June 26, 2026, providing 12 religious policy recommendations for the White House and Congress to consider. Some of the recommendations are reasonable steps to minimize religious intolerance. Others seek to chip away at the long-held principal of “separation of church and state.” One recommendation is an egregious proposal to politicize churches and other 501(c)(3) charity organizations by eliminating what is known as the “Johnson Amendment” (JA).
Public Citizen submits these comments in strong opposition to eliminating the Johnson Amendment.
The Johnson Amendment
In 1954, U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson (D-TX) proposed an amendment to the tax code that limits tax-exempt status to organizations that refrain from participating in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) candidates for public office, including endorsements or publishing campaign statements. The amendment was agreed to without debate and was included in the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The provision – known as the “Johnson Amendment” – was considered non-controversial at the time.
The amendment is not offered as a restriction on speech rights. Instead, it is provided as a condition for obtaining the benefit of tax-exempt status. A 501(c)(3) organization is tax exempt, and its donors may receive a tax deduction for their contributions. Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code describes organizations which may be exempt from federal income tax as follows:
“(3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
Churches are generally considered charitable institutions under the laws and regulations of Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, including the Johnson Amendment.
There have been few legal challenges to the Johnson Amendment, and the courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of the amendment largely based on the grounds that tax exemption under §501(c)(3) of the tax code is a privilege and not a right. Any organizations, including churches, wishing to participate in political campaigns may do so under a different tax status.
The most often cited case on this issue is Branch Ministries. This involved the sole case in which the IRS revoked the tax status of a church because of violating the Johnson Amendment. During the 1992 presidential election, Branch Ministries, a tax-exempt church, placed full-page advertisements in two national newspapers in which it urged Christians not to vote for then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton because of his positions on certain moral issues. “Bill Clinton is promoting policies that are in rebellion to God’s laws.” The ads also said, “Tax-deductible contributions for this advertisement gladly accepted.” The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of the church that paid for the ads. Branch Ministries v. Commissioner, 211 F.3d 137(D.C. Cir. 2000). See also Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Washington, 461 U.S. 540 (1983).
Generally, the IRS has been reluctant to enforce the Johnson Amendment, frequently turning a blind eye to blatant violations and exempting political activities by church leaders outside normal church proceedings. Though the IRS has revoked the tax status of a church because of political activities only once, the IRS has conducted numerous investigations of churches and other charities for potential violations of the Johnson Amendment.
Recent Challenges to the Johnson Amendment
On May 4, 2017, President Trump signed the “Presidential Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.” The executive order did not repeal the Johnson Amendment – a law cannot be repealed by executive order – but it did signal to the Department of Treasury and the IRS that enforcement of the law should not be enforced with respect to churches: “churches should not be found guilty of implied endorsements where secular organizations would not be.”
On August 28, 2024, four religious organizations – all evangelical – filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Johnson Amendment on behalf of all 501(c)(3) organizations, not just churches. The National Religious Broadcasters, First Baptist Church of Waskom, Sand Springs Church of Athens, Texas, and Intercessors for America were plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the IRS and its Commissioner Billy Long in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas. National Religious Broadcasters v. Billy Long, Docket no: 6:24-cv-00311-JCB (E.D. Texas) (2024).
On July 7, 2025, the two plaintiff churches and IRS Commissioner Billy Long, appointed to the position by Trump, filed a motion asking the court to render a consent decree stating that the Johnson Amendment does not apply to political activity by churches under certain conditions. The IRS proposal explicitly would have allowed endorsements of candidates from the pulpit under “customary channels of communication.” Customary channels of communication remained undefined but presumably would include broadcast media for churches that use such communications.
The consent decree proposed by the IRS read in part:
“When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither ‘participate[s]’ nor ‘intervene[s]’ in a ‘political campaign,’ within the ordinary meaning of those words. To ‘participate’ in a political campaign is ‘to take part’ in the political campaign, and to ‘intervene’ in a political campaign is ‘to interfere with the outcome or course’ of the political campaign. Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more than does a family discussion concerning candidates. Thus, communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted.”
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled that the court is barred from approving the IRS consent decree on March 31, 2026. The ruling asserted that the Tax Anti-Injunction Act barred the courts from any jurisdiction over any “suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax” and dismissed the case.
The Religious Liberty Commission then picked up the issue in its recent report and recommended that Congress repeal the Johnson Amendment altogether for all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, including churches. That is the issue currently under consideration.
An Unwanted Proposal
Even the original IRS consent decree to roll back the Johnson Amendment for churches was greeted largely with skepticism, including from the bulk of the religious community. According to a 2024 Lifeway Research poll, Americans, like pastors, are more likely to be opposed to in-church endorsements. Only three in 10 U.S. adults (29 percent) believe pastors publicly endorsing candidates for public office during a church service is appropriate. Three in five (60 percent) disagree, including 42 percent who strongly disagree, and 11 percent aren’t sure. The same survey found little political activity by pastors themselves. Few pastors endorsed candidates during a church service in recent elections (2 percent), and just 25 percent say they had endorsed a candidate for public office outside their church role. A different poll by PRRI found that opposition to church endorsement of candidates has remained the same over time. In 2023, three in four Americans (75 percent) opposed this idea, while only 20 percent favored it. These views closely mirror those from 2017, when 71 percent were in opposition and 22 percent were in favor. The trend is similar among church-going members.
The churches that sought greater political involvement have always been few and far between. Most churches and their congregations would rather focus on religion and morality, not politics. In the latest case of the proposed IRS consent decree, it was advocated by just a few Evangelical churches, mostly supportive of Donald Trump.
The National Council of Nonprofits a network of more than 25,000 nonprofit organizations, released a statement opposing the proposed repeal legislation. Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofits, foundations, and corporations has also stated their opposition to the proposal to repeal the Johnson Amendment. Numerous efforts to preserve the protections of the Johnson Amendment include a letter in support of nonprofit nonpartisanship signed by more than 5,500 organizations, a Faith Voices letter signed by more than 4,300 religious leaders, a letter that more than 100 denominations and major religious organizations signed, and a letter from the National Association of State Charity Officials.
There have also been concerns from clergy and lay Christians about the potential that a total repeal would cause churches to transform into partisan super PACs.
The Catholic Church does not allow church funds to be spent on campaigns or allow endorsements of candidates, regardless of the law. It is felt that repeal of the Johnson Amendment would result in dividing congregations. Certainly, the nonprofit community as a whole does not want the Johnson Amendment to be scaled back or eliminated.
Conclusion: Repeal of the Johnson Amendment Is Neither Prudent Nor Popular
Efforts to repeal the Johnson Amendment have been criticized for a number of reasons. One concern is that political campaign contributions funneled through 501(c)(3) organizations would be tax-deductible for donors and that such contributions would not be disclosed since 501(c)(3) charities are exempt from public reporting requirements. Under that critique, repeal would have the potential of creating a mechanism where political contributions could be made without regard to other campaign financing and disclosure laws.
Another reason is that taxpayer dollars would be used by politically active charities to promote or attack candidates. Given the lack of disclosure and the benefit of using taxpayer dollars, political operatives would come out of the woodwork to set up 501(c)(3) campaign organizations and non-profit super PACs.
The non-profit community, including churches, would likely lose a great deal of credibility and public support and become tainted by politics. Non-profit organizations in general, and churches in particular, realize the swamp in which they would find themselves once they venture into partisan politics. Most do not want to go there.
For these reasons and more, Public Citizen sternly opposes any effort to weaken or eliminate the Johnson Amendment.
Sincerely,
Robert Weissman
Co-President
Public Citizen
1600 20th Street NW
Washington DC 20009
(202) 588-1000
Lisa Gilbert
Co-President
Public Citizen
1600 20th Street NW
Washington DC 20009
(202) 588-1000
Craig Holman, Ph.D.
Government affairs lobbyist
Public Citizen
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Todd Blanche & The Epstein Files: A Timeline
By Douglas S. Pasternak
Todd Blanche represented Donald Trump as his personal criminal defense attorney starting in 2023 in three of Trump’s most consequential legal matters, including the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case, the classified documents case, and the election-obstruction case.[1] That unavoidable history created substantive and disturbing conflicts of interest for Todd Blanche when he became Deputy Attorney General – and now Acting Attorney General – of the United States.
Blanche’s sworn allegiance is supposed to be to the American public, the U.S. Constitution, and the United States of America, not the personal interests of Donald J. Trump. However, indisputably, those conflicts are unavoidable and irreconcilable given Donald Trump’s personal past, his well-documented ties to Jeffrey Epstein,[2] [3] and the fact that Todd Blanche was specifically hired by Donald Trump in cases brought against Trump by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which Todd Blanche now leads. As acknowledged by former Attorney General Pam Bondi, her then deputy Todd Blanche was the DOJ official in charge of the release of the Epstein files and oversaw the entire process.[4]
The timelines below highlight the arrest and death of Jeffrey Epstein, the conviction and sentencing of his sex trafficking accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell; Todd Blanche’s role as Donald Trump’s criminal defense attorney in private practice; and his role managing the Epstein file saga as a federal employee and now the highest–ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Todd Blanche is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15, 2026, for his confirmation hearing as U.S. Attorney General.
Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell: Brief Timeline
July 6, 2019: Jeffrey Epstein is arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy.[5]
August 10, 2019: Alleged sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is found dead, reportedly by suicide, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.[6]
December 29, 2021: A federal jury in the Southern District of New York convicts Ghislaine Maxwell on five counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual exploitation scheme.[7]
June 28, 2022: Judge Alison Nathan sentences Maxwell to 20 years (240 months) in prison with her release scheduled for July 17, 2037.[8]
July 25, 2022: The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) transfers Maxwell from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York where she had been held during pretrial and post-sentencing, to the Federal Corrections Institution (FCI) in Tallahassee, Florida, a federal prison.[9]
September 17, 2024: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Maxwell’s convictions and sentence.[10]
August 1, 2025: BOP transfers Maxwell to Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas after she meets with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal criminal defense attorney, and claims Trump “was a gentleman” every time she saw him.[11]
Todd Blanche’s Involvement as Donald Trump’s Criminal Defense Attorney: Timeline
March 30, 2023: In a sealed indictment, a New York grand jury indicts Donald Trump on 34-counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to the “Stormy Daniels” (Stephanie Clifford) “hush money” trial.[12] The indictment is unsealed on April 4, 2023.
April 2023: Todd Blanche leaves his job as a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.[13] While at Cadwalader, Blanche focused on white collar criminal defense work and represented key people in Donald Trump’s inner circle, including Paul Manafort, Igor Furman, and Boris Epshteyn.[14] Blanche establishes his own law firm, Blanche Law, the same month he leaves Cadwalader.[15] The law firm is established essentially to represent Donald Trump. Blanche’s law firm is paid approximately $10.2 million between April 2023 and January 2025 to represent Donald Trump in his various criminal defense cases by the Save America PAC,[16] which was created and is controlled by Donald Trump.[17]
April 4, 2023: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg publicly announces the 34-count felony indictment charging Donald Trump with falsifying business records in the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case.[18]
April 23, 2024: At the trial, Judge Juan Merchan asserts: “Mr. Blanche, you’re losing all credibility,” during a hearing examining whether Trump had violated a gag order restricting his public speech about jurors and potential witnesses.[19]
June 8, 2023: Federal prosecutors charge Donald Trump in the classified-documents case in the Southern District of Florida, and Blanche becomes part of Trump’s defense team in that case as well.[20]
August 1, 2023: Special Counsel Jack Smith charges Donald Trump in the election-obstruction case in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, and Blanche also appears as a Trump defense lawyer in this proceeding.[21]
May 30, 2024: Donald Trump is convicted on all 34 felony counts in the Stormy Daniels case.[22]
July 1, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the Trump v. United States case regarding the election-obstruction case, creating absolute immunity for core presidential acts, presumptive immunity for other official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts, a highly controversial decision.[23]
July 10, 2024: Todd Blanche, representing Donald J. Trump, files a motion with the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New York “to dismiss the Indictment [against Trump] and vacate the jury’s verdicts based on the Presidential immunity doctrine articulated by the Supreme Court of the United States in Trump v. United States, 2024 WL 3237603 (July 1, 2024) and the Supremacy Clause.”[24]
July 15, 2024: U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismisses the classified-documents indictment against Trump after accepting the defense argument that Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violated the Appointments Clause, a novel claim suggested by Clarence Thomas in the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and a claim contrary to how the special counsel regulations had been interpreted since 1999 after the expiration of the independent counsel statute.[25]
November 25, 2024: Judge Tanya Chutkan dismisses the federal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump in response to the unprecedented immunity ruling.[26]
Todd Blanche’s Involvement in the Epstein Files Controversy as Deputy Attorney General & Acting Attorney General: Timeline
November 14, 2024: Donald Trump picks his personal criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche to be the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, creating a serious conflict-of-interest with the American public.[27]
February 12, 2025: Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing as Deputy Attorney General. During the confirmation process, Blanche repeatedly dodges questions about whether he would recuse himself from matters related to Trump, saying he does not think the president would ask him to do anything illegal or immoral.[28]
In response to the Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Cory Booker, Blanche avoids a direct question about whether or not he will ‘recuse’ himself from cases that may conflict with his prior representation of Donald Trump but says: “In the event of any potential conflict of interest, I will consult with the appropriate Department of Justice ethics officials and act consistent with governing regulations.”[29]
In addition, in his written response to the QFRs Blanche seems to draw no distinction between his personal representation of Donald Trump in criminal defense work in the private sector and his duties and role as Deputy Attorney General of the United States representing the American public because, he claims, they share similar views on restoring “integrity” to the Justice Department and enforcing the “rule of law,” and he says it was an “honor” to represent Trump.[30]
February 21, 2025: During an interview with John Roberts on Fox News, Attorney General Bondi is asked: “The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients? Will that really happen?” Bondi responded: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump. I’m reviewing that,” Bondi said.[31] [Emphasis added.]
February 27, 2025: Attorney General Pam Bondi releases the “first phase” of the “declassified” Epstein Files.[32] The release is criticized since most of the information, including flight logs of Epstein’s aircraft, has already been in the public domain.[33]
March 5, 2025: The Senate confirms Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General on a 52–46 party-line vote.[34] As Deputy Attorney General, Blanche manages the Justice Department’s day-to-day operations.[35]
May/June 2025: At some point in May or June 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi informs President Trump that his name appears in the Epstein files. The timing is not exactly clear. The Wall Street Journal reported that the meeting took place in May[36] However, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reported that the same meeting took place in June and that it included Deputy AG Blanche. [37] In their story on this meeting, they also say that Blanche assured Trump: “We’ve gone through the files. There’s not a lot there. A lot of child pornography – obviously we can’t put any of that out. There are some mentions of you, but nothing substantive.” [38]
July 7, 2025: A two-page DOJ/FBI memo is released saying DOJ found “no incriminating ‘client list’” for Epstein, which seems contradictory to Bondi’s February statement. The memo says DOJ turned up more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence. “Consistent with prior disclosures,” the memo says, “this review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials. This includes specific details such as victim names and likenesses, physical descriptions, places of birth, associates, and employment history.” However, it concludes that it has already provided the public with “maximum information regarding Epstein” and that “it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” In addition, the memo said that its “systematic review revealed no incriminating “client list,” which seems contradictory to AG Bondi’s earlier statement and ignited a backlash that included staunch Trump supporters, fueling demands for transparency that ultimately led Congress to act.[39] [Emphasis added.]
July 9, 2025: FBI Director Kash Patel and his then Deputy, Dan Bongino, are both reportedly summoned to a meeting in the White House Situation Room, according Haberman and Swan’s reporting in the New York Times Magazine; White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, her deputy, Taylor Budowich, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, were also in attendance.[40] According to the reporting, Wiles accused Bongino of leaking a sensitive story about Epstein and Trump to ABC News. Bongino adamantly denied the accusations, voiced his frustrations with how the White House was handling the Epstein affair, stormed out of the room, and reportedly remained in his position rather than resigning ‘for Trump’s sake,’ according to the reporting. Haberman and Swan wrote that Bongino believed Bondi was to blame for the Epstein public relations disaster and reportedly told a confidant, “This is going to be President Trump’s Iran-Contra.”[41]
July 15, 2025: Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Rohit (“Ro”) Khanna (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Importantly, the law, which was later signed into law by President Trump on November 19, 2025, said, in part: “No record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”[42]
July 17, 2025: Deputy AG Todd Blanche, and several other senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, meet in the White House Situation Room at around 6:00 p.m. to discuss a damage control strategy surrounding the Epstein Files, according to Reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.[43] In this particular meeting, there were nine people in the room and Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel joined on speakerphone, according to Haberman and Swan. The discussion reportedly focused on the coming release of a Wall Street Journal article about Trump’s relationship with Epstein. Vice President Vance allegedly suggested enlisting Tucker Carlson to interview Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, hoping that she would say she had not witnessed Trump involved in any “wrongdoing” with Epstein.
For his part, Haberman and Swan wrote that AG Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, laid out two options. Petition the Federal District Courts in both Florida and New York to unseal the grand jury testimonies. “If the courts refused to unseal them – as Blanche predicted – they could shift the blame for withholding the Epstein material away from the Trump administration and onto the judges,” wrote Haberman and Swan. “Blanche’s suggestion would make it appear that the White House wanted the materials released, when it was almost certain not to happen,” they wrote. Reportedly, those in the meeting thought this was a good idea.
According to the report, Blanche suggested that option two would be to have a DOJ attorney question Maxwell and release the transcript of the interview publicly, and Blanche offered to conduct the interview himself. However, “Blanche raised the possibility that Maxwell’s lawyer might expect something in return for her candor,” the two reporters wrote. Several in the room strongly disapproved of offering Maxwell a pardon or reduction in her sentence.
In the midst of this meeting, based on the extraordinary reporting from Haberman and Swan, the Wall Street Journal article they were fretting about was published online, with the headline: “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.”[44] A birthday card attributed to Trump “depicted a nude woman, hand-drawn and inscribed with an imagined dialogue between the two men about a ‘wonderful secret,’” wrote Haberman and Swan. “The drawing was signed with what appeared to be Trump’s distinctive jagged Sharpie signature in place of the woman’s public hair,” they wrote.
Within three hours of the crisis management team reportedly assembling in the White House Situation Room to strategize about how to deal with the Epstein saga, Donald Trump took the team’s advice and posted on Truth Social at 9:07 p.m.[45] The post is pasted below:
July 22, 2025: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posts on X that he has communicated with Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney about potentially speaking with DOJ prosecutors. “This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead,” wrote Blanche on his social media post.[46]
July 24, 2025: Deputy AG Blanche personally interviews Ghislaine Maxwell — who was serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking — for roughly six hours at the U.S. Attorney’s Office inside the federal courthouse in downtown Tallahassee, Florida,[47] an incredibly unusual and unprecedented step for a senior DOJ official.[48] [49] Such interviews are routinely conducted by an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or a line prosecutor at the Department of Justice. DOJ also grants Maxwell ‘limited immunity’ to discuss the Epstein matter.[50] [51] Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus describes the interview as “very productive” [52] and ABC News reports that Maxwell initiated the meeting.[53]
Blanche announced the session on X, writing: “Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow.”[54] [55]
July 25, 2025: Deputy AG Blanche conducts a second day of interviews with Maxwell at the same courthouse, bringing the total interview time to approximately nine hours over two days.[56] Also present were Diego Pestana, the acting associate deputy attorney general, FBI Special Agent Spencer Horn, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Mark Beard.[57] Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said she was asked about roughly one hundred different people and answered every question without holding back.[58] The Justice Department later publishes a redacted transcript and audio recordings of both days of Maxwell’s interviews with Deputy AG Blanche.[59]
July 28, 2025: Following two days of interviews with Deputy AG Todd Blanche and being granted ‘limited immunity,’ Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, files a new petition with the Supreme Court seeking to overturn her 2021 sexual trafficking conviction.[60] [61] The court later rejects the appeal.[62]
July 28, 2025: Senators Durbin and Whitehouse write to Deputy AG Blanche requesting he provide details about his meeting with Maxwell, why DOJ concluded there was no Epstein “client list,” related information, and a commitment not to pardon or commute the sentence of Ms. Maxwell.[63]
Late July 2025: Haberman and Swan reported that another Epstein focused meeting was held in the White House Situation Room in late July 2025.[64] The meeting reportedly included the same basic participants as the previous meetings, including Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and others; this meeting focused on congressional pressure to fully release the Epstein files, and Todd Blanche, who had personally reviewed many of the files provided his assessment of the material and they discussed how the records should be released. Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair said they would aim to cooperate fully with a reported forthcoming House subpoena, “but that the priority was to release information that demonstrated Trump was not involved in Epstein’s crimes,” wrote Haberman and Swan. There was also discussion of Deputy AG Blanche appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast “to promote the transparency from the White House,” Haberman and Swan wrote.
August 1, 2025: A federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) official confirms to USA Today that Ghislaine Maxwell has been unexpectedly transferred to a lower security prison, the Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, from the Federal Corrections Institution (FCI) Tallahassee where she was held in Florida after two days of meetings with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.[65] [66] The unusual move required BOP officials to issue a waiver because of her offense category as a violent sexual trafficker.[67] The Bryan prison camp is described as a “Real Housewives prison” with a country club atmosphere.[68] The Department of Justice denied that Maxwell received special treatment and said the transfer was due to credible security threats against her.[69] Former Bureau of Prisons officials expressed outrage, saying Maxwell appeared to be receiving preferential treatment.[70]
August 5, 2025: Asked whether he approved the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump said: “I didn’t know about it at all, no. I read about it just like you did. It’s not a very uncommon thing,” said Trump. At the same time, he also said that anything Deputy AG Blanche discussed with Maxwell would be “totally above board.”[71]
August 7, 2025: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, wrote to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, William K. Marshall III, demanding records on the transfer and Todd Blanche’s role. He also wrote that the meeting between Blanche and Maxwell “was doubly unusual because of Mr. Blanche’s former role as President Trump’s personal criminal attorney and the ongoing political scandal resulting from the Wall Street Journal’s report that Ms. Maxwell assembled a birthday book for Epstein that included a personal note from President Trump.”[72]
August 13, 2025: The White House Epstein crisis management team meets again at 6:00 p.m. for two hours, according to reporting by Haberman and Swan, to refine their Epstein defense strategy, and Vice President JD Vance pushed to release as much Epstein material as possible. Haberman and Swan also report that VP Vance had just spoken with Joe Rogan prior to the meeting and later told others that Rogan said he would take VP Vance on his show, but not Deputy AG Blanche.
According to the reporting, during the meeting the 2015 defamation case brought by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, which was settled in 2017, came up. Giuffre met Epstein when she was working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago hotel as a spa attendant and she died by suicide in April 2025. Her defamation suit included emails from Sarah Ransome, also an Epstein victim, who claimed she knew a girl trafficked by Epstein who claimed to have had sex with Trump, according to Haberman and Swan’s recap of the case. Ransome’s own credibility, however, had issues. She had once reportedly made a claim that she had video footage of men in Epstein’s orbit having sex with young girls only later to retract this claim, saying she was fearful to proceed, according to Haberman and Swan.
In this August White House meeting, Haberman and Swan wrote: “Blanche argued that in context, the Ransome document – and Ransome’s disavowal of some of her other claims – would make clear why the allegations related to Trump had never been pursued for prosecution. Besides, these allegations were already available online because of what had been unsealed, so there was no reason to leave them off the Justice Department website,” Blanche reportedly said, according to Haberman and Swan.[73]
August 22, 2025: Acting AG Todd Blanche posts on X that the Department of Justice has released the redacted transcripts and audio of his two days of interviews with Maxwell.[74] [75]
September 3, 2025: Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and all 18 other Democratic members on the Committee send a 5-page letter to DOJ’s Acting IG William Blier requesting an investigation of the circumstances surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer days after she spent two full days in an interview with Deputy AG Todd Blanche.[76] [77]
November 9, 2025: Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary sends a letter to President Trump requesting that he make Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche available for a public hearing regarding Ghislaine Maxwell, her treatment by the Bureau of Prisons, and her reported efforts to file a “commutation application” with the Trump Administration.[78]
November 13, 2025: Blanche publicly defends his Maxwell interview amid multiple excoriating social media posts that question why he met with Maxwell.[79] One social media post on X by George Conway questioned Blanche’s intentions for the interview.[80]
November 18, 2025: The House passes the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a vote of 427–1 and the Senate passed it by unanimous consent the same evening.[81]
November 19, 2025: President Trump signs the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, giving the Department of Justice 30 days — until December 19, 2025 — to release all records related to Epstein and Maxwell, with narrow exceptions such as protecting victims’ identities. [82] [83] Months later Attorney General Pam Bondi confirms under oath in congressional testimony that Deputy AG Blanche managed release of the Epstein files and compliance with the enacted law.[84]
December 19, 2025: The Epstein Files Transparency Act deadline for the Department of Justice to release all records related to Jeffrey Epstein.[85] Deputy AG Blanche sends a letter to “Members of Congress” asserting that DOJ “is producing hundreds of thousands of pages of responsive materials in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act” describing the release as President Trump and AG Bondi’s “commitment to following the law, being transparent, and protecting victims.”[86] The letter describes the DOJ review process, summarizes the latest production, says DOJ “has worked diligently to meet the [Epstein] Act’s deadline,” but that due to the volume of material DOJ must review prior to release they will not meet the Act’s deadline, but will produce records on a rolling basis over the coming weeks.[87] [88] [89] Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican co-sponsor of the Epstein Act, said Bondi and Blanche had grossly failed to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law, and Senate Judiciary Democrats likewise said the DOJ had failed to comply with the Act.[90]
That same day, Deputy Attorney General Blanche tells Fox News that DOJ would only release “several hundred thousand” documents by the deadline (Friday, December 19, 2025) “and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” he says. “Just so everybody appreciates, President Trump has said for years that he wants full transparency and he wants the Department of Justice to release everything that we can with respect to this investigation and cases,” Blanche said.[91]
December 20, 2025: The Department of Justice posts on X saying it “is not redacting the names of any politicians” and refers to comments made by Deputy AG Todd Blanche.[92]
December 21, 2025 — Asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether he took congressional impeachment and contempt threats seriously regarding his handling of the Epstein files, Blanche replied: “Not even a little bit. Bring it on.”[93] [94]
Blanche also defended DOJ’s actions, saying: “We are in every way, shape and form complying with the statute, which, by the way, is what President Trump has been asking us to do since before he was elected. There is nothing that he has to hide in the Epstein files, there never was.”
Blanche defended not releasing some photos of women that may have included Trump. He responded to a question about pulling down a photo, saying: “It has nothing to do with President Trump. There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr. Epstein. He has said that in the 90s and early 2000s he socialized with him. … So, the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo because President Trump was in it is laughable.”[95] Blanche said the only redactions being applied to the Epstein files were those required by law and denied that DOJ was redacting politicians’ names, after Democrats alleged that some posted files — including a photo of Trump — had disappeared from the DOJ’s public webpage.[96]
Blanche told NBC’s Welker: “We are not redacting information around President Trump, around any other individual involved with Mr. Epstein.” …. “Let me just make sure everybody understands something. To the extent that he is quote in the Epstein files it’s not because he had anything to do with the horrific crimes. Full stop. But yes, if President Trump is mentioned, if there’s photographs that we have of President Trump or anybody else they of course will be released with the exception of any victims or survivors that we have identified….”[97]
December 22, 2025: Tens of thousands of documents from the Epstein files are briefly posted on the DOJ’s website before being taken down.[98] On that same day Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) criticizes this temporary release in a post on X:
December 23, 2026: The Department of Justice posts on X that it released nearly 30,000 pages of new Epstein records.[99]
December 24, 2025: The DOJ discloses that more than one million additional potentially responsive records have been discovered, further slowing the release process by a “few more weeks.”[100] The same day, a bipartisan group of one dozen U.S. Senators led by Richard Blumenthal and Lisa Murkowski formally ask the DOJ Inspector General to review DOJ’s conduct regarding the Epstein files it has released, the delays in releasing files it has not yet released or are refusing to release, as well as its process for redacting records.[101] CNBC also reports that Reps. Massie and Ro Khanna have threatened to hold Bondi and Blanche in inherent contempt, and that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to force a vote on suing the DOJ for the full release.[102]
January 4, 2026: The Office of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche produces an unsigned memorandum titled: “Attorney Review Protocol for Epstein Files.”[103] The memo provides background on the criminal charges against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the records required to be released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the process used to de-duplicate records, how to “tag” relevant records, permitted withholdings and redactions, particularly victims’ names, photographs and related information, and various privilege claims.
January 30, 2026: Deputy AG Blanche holds a news conference outlining DOJ’s redaction protocols and procedures to protect victims’ identities and announces that DOJ is releasing more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related records, including more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, bringing the administration’s total production to roughly 3.5 million pages.[104] [105] He says that more than 500 lawyers and other personnel spent 75 days, including weekends and holidays, reviewing more than 6 million collected pages — which he described as “two Eiffel Towers of pages” — to decide what could be released.[106]
Blanche asserts that DOJ has now fulfilled its obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, while disclosing that approximately 200,000 pages had been redacted or withheld on the basis of various claimed privileges.[107] At the press conference, Blanche states, “The categories of documents withheld include those permitted under the act to be withheld, files that contain personally identifying information of victims or victim’s personal and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Any depiction of CSAM [Child Sexual Abuse Material] or child pornography was obviously excluded. Anything that would jeopardize an active federal investigation. And finally, anything that depicts or contain images of death, physical abuse, or injury, also not produced.”[108] [Emphasis Added]. However, DOJ announces no charges against anyone related to child porn, murder, sexual abuse, or physical abuse.
The released files include a “rape claim” against Donald Trump that he has long denied, according to CNN.[109] Blanche says DOJ has completed its review, that no more documents will be released, that the White House had “no oversight” of the process, and he says members of Congress can make arrangements with DOJ to view unredacted portions of records not publicly released.[110] He acknowledged that “mistakes are inevitable” in a production of that size and directed anyone spotting problems to a DOJ tip-line email address.[111]
Reporters reviewing the files found that they included unredacted names and photographs of Epstein victims, despite the law’s explicit victim-privacy requirements.[112] Epstein survivors and lawmakers from both parties blasted the release as incomplete, noting the gap between the 6 million pages collected and the roughly 3.5 million produced.[113]
January 31, 2026: Rep. Raskin, Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee writes to Deputy AG Blanche demanding swift access to the unredacted files and calling it strange that DOJ claims to be in full compliance with the Epstein Act after releasing only about half of the more than 6 million potentially responsive pages it had identified.[114]
February 3, 2026: Fox News’ Laura Ingraham takes to X to defend Blanche and the controversy surrounding the release of the Epstein files.[115]
February 11, 2026: Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Committee on the Judiciary and is grilled about the Epstein files.[116] [117] During the hearing a reporter notices that AG Bondi has records that appear to be the search history of Members of Congress who reviewed unredacted Epstein files at the Department of Justice and the DOJ acknowledges this remarkable revelation which explodes in the coming days.[118]
February 12, 2026: Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson joins democrats in condemning the DOJ monitoring of congressional members’ search of the Epstein files.[119]
February 14, 2026: Deputy AG Blanche signs a six-page letter on letterhead from his office to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees from AG Pam Bondi that outlines DOJ’s justification for redactions made in the Epstein files and includes a list of scores of “all government officials and politically exposed persons” named in the files, including Donald, Ivanka, and Melania Trump.[120] The letter is covered by multiple media outlets, including The Hill, Reuters, and other news organizations.[121] [122]
February 15, 2026: The Justice Department states that all files required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act have been released, following the major tranches of December 2025 and January 2026.[123] Members of Congress nonetheless continued to accuse the DOJ of mishandling the release — including failing to protect survivors’ names and images, omitting the identities of some prominent figures, and monitoring lawmakers’ search activity in the files.[124]
March 17, 2026: Deputy AG Blanche defends DOJ’s Epstein record in a 55-minute podcast interview with Katie Miller, Stephen Miller’s wife, who opened her show by telling Blanche that mothers concerned about protecting children felt he had failed them and asking Blanche whether he had failed the kids.[125] [126] That same day, Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government issues a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a deposition on the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein investigation and compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.[127]
April 1, 2026: Donald Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi as public and congressional pressure regarding DOJ’s mishandling of the release of the Epstein files rises.[128]
April 2, 2026: President Trump appoints his long-time criminal defense attorney, Todd Blanche, as the Acting U.S. Attorney, elevating and exasperating the conflicts of interest that already existed with Todd Blanche as the Deputy Attorney General.[129] [130] In an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters[131] that evening, his first as acting attorney general, Blanche insists that Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files played no role in her firing.[132] In the same appearance, Blanche argues that the Epstein saga “should not be part of anything going forward” at DOJ, denies that Epstein was a spy for a foreign government, and credits the Trump administration with transparency — prompting visible skepticism even from the friendly host.[133]
For fuller context, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche responding to questions about the Epstein files said:
“The Department of Justice has now released all of the files with respect to the Epstein saga. The attorney general and I appeared in front of Congress voluntarily a couple of weeks ago to answer any questions they had. And so, I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward.”[134] [Emphasis Added].
May 19, 2026: Acting AG Todd Blanche testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. During the hearing Blanche claims, “[T]he President did not have anything to do with my choice to go interview Ms. Maxwell.”[135] He also acknowledges that the DOJ “failed” in its rollout of the Epstein files by releasing victims’ identities and personal information.[136] Blanche also claims that the DOJ had not been legally permitted to release the documents before the Transparency Act became law — a claim analysts noted was absent from DOJ’s own July 2025 memo, which had instead cited victim-privacy concerns as reasons for withholding the files.[137]
Blanche’s exchange with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) regarding Blanche’s denial that Trump asked him to interview Ghislaine Maxwell is included below:
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:23): No, no. This is a person of extra special interest to the President of the United States. He’s known her. Why did he send you down to talk to her?
Todd Blanche (1:49:33): He didn’t send me. I went. What do you mean? You think President Trump called and asked me to go interview a witness in federal prison? Honestly?
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:40): Yes, I do, frankly. Because you know why?
Todd Blanche (1:49:42): Well, he didn’t. He didn’t.
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:45): The deal was in.
Todd Blanche (1:49:45 – talking over each other): I mean, you can say that, but you want the truth? You want the truth?
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:47): He needed somebody he could rely upon to talk to her and say, “What would she say if she was asked about Jeffrey Epstein?” And you were the perfect choice. And you went down there and suddenly shazam, she’s out of what is a more confining situation into a much more relaxed federal prison.
Todd Blanche (1:50:06): Every word that I asked her is recorded and available to you to review. If there’s criticisms of the question that I asked her, go ahead and make them. But the President did not have anything to do with my choice to go interview Ms. Maxwell. If I wouldn’t have went and a career would’ve went, you would’ve said, “Why didn’t you go yourself?” Just like you expect me to know whether she has access to her own shower. [Emphasis added].[138]
May 29, 2026: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in a closed-door, non-public, transcribed interview. Democratic members subsequently released the transcript of the interview. In the interview, former AG Bondi acknowledges that “redaction errors” were made in the release of the Epstein files but also says that Deputy AG Blanche was in charge of the Epstein files, not her. “As the head of a large department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort nor conduct that document review myself. I delegated that oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” said Bondi. At another point in the interview, she said Blanche “was in charge of the [redaction] process and the entire release of the Epstein files.”[139] [140] [141] [142] [143] [Emphasis added].
June 2, 2026: Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asks Chairman James Comer to request an interview with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to be conducted under oath and filmed for release to the public. Based on a June 10, 2026, letter from Rep. Garcia to Rep. Comer, Chairman Comer reportedly accepted this request.[144]
June 4, 2026: Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and other Republican members write to Acting AG Todd Blanche requesting that DOJ investigate sexual assault allegations made by Sarah Kellen during her transcribed interview with the committee on May 21, 2026, alleging sexual assault committed by Philip Levine, the former Mayor of Miami Beach from 2013 to 2017, and Frédéric Fekkai, a French celebrity hairstylist.[145]
June 8, 2026: Trump formally sends Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General to the U.S. Senate, sixty-seven days after he became acting attorney general.[146] Coverage of the nomination notes that Blanche faces an uphill confirmation battle, with senators having castigated him over the Epstein files release alongside other controversies, including prosecutions of Trump’s perceived political enemies and the attempt to establish a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization” settlement fund, ostensibly as a means to pay Trump’s political allies.[147]
June 10, 2026: The New York Times Magazine publishes an expose, authored by reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, on the White House’s efforts to allegedly coverup release of Epstein files that engulfed President Trump, and details Todd Blanche’s role in overseeing the release of the Epstein files.[148]
June 22, 2026: One hundred and one (101) judges file an ethics complaint against Todd Blanche with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, focusing on his conflicts of interest.[149] [150]
June 25, 2026: U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issues a 48-page Memorandum Opinion in a lawsuit requesting the release of remaining Epstein files. The lawsuit against Todd Blanche in his capacity as Acting Attorney General was filed by Katie Phang in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Sullivan orders DOJ to either release unredacted versions of the Epstein records or explain why it is unable to do so and gave DOJ a one-week deadline to comply by Thursday, July 2, 2026. Judge Sullivan noted that the Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the full release of these files and says, “The [Acting] Attorney General has conceded that he is in violation of the Act.”[151]
July 2, 2026: Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. responds to the court order to “show cause” or release additional Epstein documents by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia regarding the Katie Phang vs. Todd Blanche case. In response, Todd Blanche refused the court’s order to release additional records and offered various explanations as to the ‘cause’ of why they were adamantly still refusing to release certain files. The DOJ argued that the records sought included victims’ names but also suggested that some communications by victims would be taken out of context. “One of the complicating aspects of administering the EFTA (Epstein Files Transparency Act) is that many communications written by victims, without context, can appear disturbing on their face,” DOJ argued in its response. In addition, it argued that releasing handwritten notes of interviews conducted by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents have been “deemed duplicative of the typewritten reports memorializing the interviews,” and suggested that vetting handwritten notes for Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that could identify victims, for instance, was simply too difficult. Finally, it requested that if the Court orders DOJ to take further action that the “Court grant a stay of sixty days so that the Solicitor General has time to consider whether further appellate review is warranted.”
July 15, 2026: Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Committee on Judiciary for his confirmation hearing as U.S. Attorney General.
ENDNOTES:
[1] “The Trump Trials,” LAWFARE, https://www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-series/archived-projects/the-trump-trials
[2] Mike Crawley, “Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump: a timeline,” CANADIAN BROADCATING CORPORATION (CBC) NEWS (August 8, 2025), https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-epstein-timeline-1.7604277
[3] Rebecca Schneid, “Inside Trump and Epstein’s Long, Complicated Relationship,” TIME (November 12, 2025), https://time.com/7333365/trump-epstein-relationship-timeline/
[4] Testimony of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senate (May 19, 2026), https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2027-budget-request-for-the-department-of-justice
[5] Julie K. Brown, “Jeffrey Epstein arrested on sex trafficking charges,” MIAMI HERALD (Updated July 11, 2019), https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article232374872.html
[6] Epstein Files Memo, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ) and FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS (FBI), https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline
[7] “Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell,” PRSIONPEDIA, https://www.prisonpedia.com/wiki/Ghislaine_Maxwell
[8] “Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell,” PRSIONPEDIA, https://www.prisonpedia.com/wiki/Ghislaine_Maxwell
[9] Sheri Walsh, “Ghislaine Maxwell transferred to low-security prison in Florida” UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL (UPI), (July 25, 2022). https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/07/25/florida-Ghislaine-Maxwell-moved-to-Tallahassee-prison-serve-20-year-sentence-Jeffrey-Epstein-sex-trafficking-scheme/8391658789529
[10] United States of America vs. Ghislaine Maxwell, 22-1426-crUNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT, (Argued: March 12, 2024; Decided: September 17, 2024), https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/OPN/22-1426_opn.pdf
[11] Tanner Stening, “What is life actually like for Ghislaine Maxwell inside her Texas prison?” NORTHEASTERN GLOBAL NEWS, (November 18, 2025), https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/11/18/ghislaine-maxwell-club-fed-prison/
[12] “Trump Prosecuted in New York,” A Guide to Trump’s Trials, LAWFARE (March 30, 2023),
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-series/archived-projects/the-trump-trials
[13] Debra Cassens Weiss, “Cadwalader partner reportedly resigns to lead Trump’s representation in Manhattan DA’s criminal case,” ABA JOURNAL (April 3, 2023), https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cadwalader-partner-reportedly-resigns-to-lead-trumps-representation-in-manhattan-das-criminal-case
[14] “Lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial: Meet the attorneys and prosecutors battling it out in the Stormy Daniels case,” DAILY MAIL (April 15, 2024), https://www.dailymail.com/news/us-politics/article-13307955/trump-attorneys-manhattan-prosecutors-stormy-daniels-case.html
[15] Todd Blanche, LINKEDIN profile, https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddblanche/
[16] Response to Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Cory A. Booker to Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General Nominee, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 13, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-02-12_-_qfr_responses_-_blanche.pdf
[17] “Save America PAC,” BALLOTPEDIA, https://ballotpedia.org/Save_America
[18] “District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump,” MANHATTAND DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, (April 4, 2023), https://manhattanda.org/district-attorney-bragg-announces-34-count-felony-indictment-of-former-president-donald-j-trump/
[19] Luc Cohen and Andrew Goudsward, “Who is Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s lawyer in his Stormy Daniels trial?” REUTERS, (April 24, 2024), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-lawyer-todd-blanche-draws-judges-ire-historic-trial-gets-underway-2024-04-24/
[20] United States v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta, “Indictment,” No. 9:23-CR-80101, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA (June 8, 2023) https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump-Nauta_23-80101.pdf.
[21] United States v. Donald J. Trump, “Indictment,” No. 1:23-cr-00257-TSC, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (August 1, 2023), https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump_23_cr_257.pdf.
[22] “D.A. Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Trial Conviction of Donald J. Trump,” MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (May 30, 2024), https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-34-count-felony-trial-conviction-of-donald-j-trump/
[23] Supreme Court, Trump v. United States, No. 23-939 (July 1, 2024), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf.
[24] “Notice of President Donald J. Trump’s Post-Trial Presidential Immunity Motion,” The People of the State of New York vs. Donald J. Trump, Defendant, Index No. 71543-23, SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK (July 10, 2024), https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/DJT-Notice-Immunity-Motion-2024.07.10.pdf
[25] United States District Court, Order, United States v. Trump, No. 9:23-cr-80101 (S.D. Fla. July 15, 2024), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652.672.0.pdf.
[26] Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin and Peter Charalambous, “Judge dismisses federal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump” ABC NEWS (November 25, 2024), https://abc7ny.com/post/special-counsel-jack-smith-files-motion-dismiss-federal-election-interference-case-president-elect-trump/15586019/.
[27] Bart Jansen, “Donald Trump picks his criminal lawyer, Todd Blanche, as deputy attorney general,” USA TODAY (November 14, 2024), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/14/donald-trump-todd-blanche-deputy-attorney-general/76302898007/
[28] Nomination hearing of Todd Blanche to be Deputy Attorney General of the United States, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 12, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/hearings/02/12/2025/nominations
[29] Response to Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Cory A. Booker to Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General Nominee, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 13, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-02-12_-_qfr_responses_-_blanche.pdf
[30] Response to Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Dirck Durbin, Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, to Todd Wallace Blanche, Deputy Attorney General Nominee, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 13, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-02-12_-_qfr_responses_-_blanche.pdf
[31] Haley Chi-Sing, “Bondi says Epstein client list ‘sitting on my desk right now,’ and is reviewing JFK, MLK files,” FOX NEWS (February 21, 2025), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bondi-says-epstein-client-list-sitting-my-desk-right-now-reviewing-jfk-mlk-files
[32] “Attorney General Pamela Bondi Releases First Phase of Declassified Epstein Files,” Press Release with links to the files, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (February 27, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-pamela-bondi-releases-first-phase-declassified-epstein-files
[33] James Hill and Aaron Katersky, “DOJ releases ‘first phase’ of Epstein files, including an evidence list,” ABC NEWS (February 27, 2025), https://abcnews.com/US/doj-releases-phase-epstein-files-including-evidence-list/story?id=119274954
[34] Alanna Durkin Richer, “Senate confirms former Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general,” ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) (March 5, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/todd-blanche-trump-lawyer-deputy-attorney-general-5d526fd4c5919bc2e9522e4f7bfbf758
[35] Dareh Gregorian, Ryan J. Reilly and Katherine Doyle, “From Trump’s attorney to the Epstein files: Todd Blanche’s rise to attorney general,” NBC NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/todd-blanche-interim-attorney-general-pam-bondi-firing-what-know-rcna266451
[36] Jeff Mason, Andrew Goudsward and Joseph Ax, “Trump was told he is in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports,” REUTERS (July 23, 2025), https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-was-told-he-is-epstein-files-wall-street-journal-reports-2025-07-23/
[37] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[38] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[39] Kyle Stewart, Rebecca Shabad, Dareh Gregorian and Brennan Leach, “Pam Bondi tells lawmakers ‘redaction errors’ were made in Epstein files release,” NBC NEWS, (May 29, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pam-bondi-tells-lawmakers-redaction-errors-made-epstein-files-release-rcna347525
[40] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[41] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[42] H.R.4405 – Epstein Files Transparency Act, U.S. House of Representatives, CONGRESS.GOV, https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405/text?__cf_chl_f_tk=v2UUqJEiOFU0WyFjVLeK9ZpoeVLyxju04br_TQZ1Row-1782761308-1.0.1.1-ObCO4nvX_37p1TgV6hVJ5ZQ_rHb1GuOnMKNSKq2Zk3E
[43] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[44] Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump,” WALL STREET JOURNAL (July 17, 2025), https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter-we-have-certain-things-in-common-f918d796
[45] President Donald Trump post on Truth Social Regarding Epstein Grand Jury Records (July 17, 2025), https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114871557460531003
[46] Post on X by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche (July 22, 2025), https://x.com/TheJusticeDept/status/1947670804122001581
[47] Aaron Katersky, James Hill, Brandon Baur and Katherine Faulders, “Longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell initiated DOJ meeting: Sources,” ABC NEWS (via AOL) (July 24, 2025), https://www.aol.com/doj-meeting-ghislaine-maxwell-set-034338409.html
[48] Kaitlan Collins and Shania Shelton, “Top DOJ official says he will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell again Friday,” CNN (July 24, 2025), https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/24/politics/todd-blanche-ghislaine-maxwell-meeting
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[76] Letter led by Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member House committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to William Blier, Acting Inspector General, Department of Justice asking for investigation of the circumstances surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer and the role of Deputy AG Todd Blanche, COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM (September 3, 2025), https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-09-03.garcia-et-al-to-doj-oig-re-maxwell-transfer.pdf
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[82] Epstein Files Transparency Act – Public Law 119-38, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (November 19, 2025), https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ38/PLAW-119publ38.pdf
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[85] Epstein Files Transparency Act – Public Law 119-38, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (November 19, 2025), https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ38/PLAW-119publ38.pdf
[86] Letter from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed to Members of Congress, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Department of Justice (December 19, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1434851/dl?inline=
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[96] “US Justice Department Continues Release of Jeffrey Epstein Files,” NEWS ON AIR (December 21, 2025), https://www.newsonair.gov.in/us-justice-department-continues-release-of-jeffrey-epstein-files
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[108] Deputy AG Todd Blanche/DOJ Epstein Files Press Conference (February 1, 2026), https://www.rev.com/transcripts/doj-epstein-files-press-conference
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[114] Letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Department of Justice (January 31, 2026), https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-01-31-raskin-to-blanche-doj-re-epstein-files.pdf
[115] Laura Ingraham post on X defending Blanche and the redaction of Epstein files, (February 3, 2026), https://x.com/IngrahamAngle/status/2018506614852985237
[116] Testimony of Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, House Committee on the Judiciary (February 11, 2026), https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/oversight-us-department-justice-5
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[118] Sara Dorn, “DOJ Admits Tracking Lawmakers’ Epstein Files Search History—As ‘Spying’ Backlash Grows,” FORBES (February 12, 2026), https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/02/12/doj-admits-tracking-lawmakers-epstein-files-search-history-as-spying-backlash-grows/
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[120] Letter from Attorney General Pamela Bondi and signed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, titled “Re: Epstein Files Transparency Act – Section 3 Report to Congress,” OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Department of Justice (DOJ) (February 14, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1434856/dl?inline
[121] Sophie Brams, “DOJ sends letter to Congress with list of people named in Epstein files, including Trump,” THE HILL (February 14, 2026), https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5739338-justice-department-epstein-files/
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[123] Aliss Higham, “What New Acting AG Todd Blanche Has Said About Epstein Files,” NEWSWEEK, (April 3, 2026), https://www.newsweek.com/what-new-acting-ag-todd-blanche-has-said-about-epstein-files-11778993
[124] Erum Salam, “Trump formally nominates Todd Blanche as attorney general,” MS NOW (June 8, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/trump-formally-nominates-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general
[125] Interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, THE KATIE MILLER PODCAST (March 17, 2026), (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5SawTwuIu0
[126] Joe Sommerlad, “Todd Blanche grilled by Stephen Miller’s wife on Epstein’s death ahead of House testimony,” THE INDEPENDENT (via AOL) (March 18, 2026), https://www.aol.com/news/todd-blanche-grilled-stephen-miller-134215003.html
[127] Subpoena cover letter to Pamela J. Bondi, Attorney General, United States, from Rep. James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (March 17, 2026), https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/03.17.2026-Subpoena-Cover-Letter-Bondi-FINAL.pdf
[128] Ferando Cervantes Jr., “Who is Todd Blanche? What New Yorkers need to know about Trump’s new interim AG,” AOL (April 6, 2025), https://www.aol.com/news/todd-blanche-yorkers-know-trumps-182043436.html
[129] Jennifer Jacobs, Sarah N. Lynch, Nicole Sganga, Jacob Rosen, “Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general, installs Todd Blanche as acting AG,” CBS NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pam-bondi-attorney-general/
[130] “Dareh Gregorian, Ryan J. Reilly and Katherine Doyle, “From Trump’s attorney to the Epstein files: Todd Blanche’s rise to attorney general,” NBC NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/todd-blanche-interim-attorney-general-pam-bondi-firing-what-know-rcna266451
[131] Jesse Watters interview with Todd Blanche, “Interim Attorney General Todd Blanche rejects speculation surrounding Pam Bondi’s firing: ‘Simply not true,’” FOX NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392478701112
[132] Victor Nava, “Acting AG Todd Blanche defends…,” NEW YORK POST (via AOL) (April 2, 2026), https://www.aol.com/articles/acting-ag-todd-blanche-defends-005537685.html
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[135] Testimony of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senate (May 19, 2026), https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2027-budget-request-for-the-department-of-justice
[136] Lisa Rubin and Julianne McShane, “Blanche admits DOJ ‘failed’ to protect Epstein victims’ privacy,” MS NOW (May 19, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/news-analysis/blanche-admits-doj-failed-to-protect-epstein-victims-privacy
[137] Lisa Rubin and Julianne McShane, “Blanche admits DOJ ‘failed’ to protect Epstein victims’ privacy,” MS NOW (May 19, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/news-analysis/blanche-admits-doj-failed-to-protect-epstein-victims-privacy
[138] Testimony of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senate (May 19, 2026), https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2027-budget-request-for-the-department-of-justice
[139] Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, Paula Reid, Marshall Cohen, “Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of Epstein matter, Bondi told lawmakers, according to new transcript,” CNN (June 4, 2026), https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/04/politics/pam-bondi-epstein-testimony-todd-blanche-transcript
[140] Transcript of Interview of Pamela J. Bondi, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, U.S. House of Representatives (May 29, 2026), https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Final-Bondi-Transcript.pdf
[141] Hailey Fuchs, “Bondi punts blame for the Epstein files to Todd Blanche,” POLITICO (June 4, 2026), https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/04/todd-blanche-pam-bondi-epstein-files-00951134?__cf_chl_tk=ljij7.fc4aITunnBJx_VoG1ipymxCsKy1RxLGIPfkEU-1780660204-1.0.1.1-wtLbUuhz7MypYdpvQyBdYbyh55WQNKIIjvuABtNltbY&ref=consejomexicano.org
[142] Rebecca Beitsch and Emily Brooks, “Bondi points finger at Blanche in House interview on Epstein files,” THE HILL (May 29, 2026), https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5901582-bondi-blanche-oversight-interview-epstein/
[143] Kyle Stewart, Rebecca Shabad, Dareh Gregorian and Brennan Leach, “Pam Bondi tells lawmakers ‘redaction errors’ were made in Epstein files release,” NBC NEWS (May 29, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pam-bondi-tells-lawmakers-redaction-errors-made-epstein-files-release-rcna347525
[144] Letter from Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to Chairman James Comer, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (June 11, 2026), https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2026-06-11garciatocomerrewhcoverup.pdf
[145] Letter from Rep. James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to Todd W. Blanche, Acting Attorney General, Department of Justice, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (June 4, 2026), https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Letter-to-DOJ-06.04.2026.pdf
[146] Michael Macagnone and Ryan Tarinelli, “Blanche heads into attorney general confirmation clash,” ROLL CALL (June 8, 2026), https://rollcall.com/2026/06/08/blanche-heads-into-attorney-general-confirmation-clash/
[147] Erum Salam, “Trump formally nominates Todd Blanche as attorney general,” MS NOW (June 8, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/trump-formally-nominates-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general
[148] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[149] Isabella Gallo, “101 judges raise ethics complaint over Todd Blanche, Trump’s acting attorney general,” AMNY (June 25, 2026), https://www.amny.com/news/todd-blanche-judges-new-york-state-bar-complaint/
[150] Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers Defending American Democracy and 101 judges file ethics complaint against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche with the Grievance Committee of the Supreme Court of the State of New York (June 22, 2026), https://dea5edf3-e27d-4adc-a42a-b9c082bc3167.usrfiles.com/ugd/dea5ed_b024aad49d1049c1ab03f01e8f1aa7fc.pdf
[151] Katie Phang v. Todd Blanche, in his official capacity as Acting Attorney General of the United States, “Memorandum Opinion,” Civil Action No. 26-1217, Case 1:26-cv-01417-EGS, Document 16, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (June 25, 2025), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.291779/gov.uscourts.dcd.291779.16.0_1.pdf
Todd Blanche represented Donald Trump as his personal criminal defense attorney starting in 2023 in three of Trump’s most consequential legal matters, including the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case, the classified documents case, and the election-obstruction case.[1] That unavoidable history created substantive and disturbing conflicts of interest for Todd Blanche when he became Deputy Attorney General – and now Acting Attorney General – of the United States.
Blanche’s sworn allegiance is supposed to be to the American public, the U.S. Constitution, and the United States of America, not the personal interests of Donald J. Trump. However, indisputably, those conflicts are unavoidable and irreconcilable given Donald Trump’s personal past, his well-documented ties to Jeffrey Epstein,[2] [3] and the fact that Todd Blanche was specifically hired by Donald Trump in cases brought against Trump by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which Todd Blanche now leads. As acknowledged by former Attorney General Pam Bondi, her then deputy Todd Blanche was the DOJ official in charge of the release of the Epstein files and oversaw the entire process.[4]
The timelines below highlight the arrest and death of Jeffrey Epstein, the conviction and sentencing of his sex trafficking accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell; Todd Blanche’s role as Donald Trump’s criminal defense attorney in private practice; and his role managing the Epstein file saga as a federal employee and now the highest–ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Todd Blanche is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15, 2026, for his confirmation hearing as U.S. Attorney General.
Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell: Brief Timeline
July 6, 2019: Jeffrey Epstein is arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy.[5]
August 10, 2019: Alleged sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is found dead, reportedly by suicide, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.[6]
December 29, 2021: A federal jury in the Southern District of New York convicts Ghislaine Maxwell on five counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual exploitation scheme.[7]
June 28, 2022: Judge Alison Nathan sentences Maxwell to 20 years (240 months) in prison with her release scheduled for July 17, 2037.[8]
July 25, 2022: The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) transfers Maxwell from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York where she had been held during pretrial and post-sentencing, to the Federal Corrections Institution (FCI) in Tallahassee, Florida, a federal prison.[9]
September 17, 2024: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Maxwell’s convictions and sentence.[10]
August 1, 2025: BOP transfers Maxwell to Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas after she meets with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal criminal defense attorney, and claims Trump “was a gentleman” every time she saw him.[11]
Todd Blanche’s Involvement as Donald Trump’s Criminal Defense Attorney: Timeline
March 30, 2023: In a sealed indictment, a New York grand jury indicts Donald Trump on 34-counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to the “Stormy Daniels” (Stephanie Clifford) “hush money” trial.[12] The indictment is unsealed on April 4, 2023.
April 2023: Todd Blanche leaves his job as a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.[13] While at Cadwalader, Blanche focused on white collar criminal defense work and represented key people in Donald Trump’s inner circle, including Paul Manafort, Igor Furman, and Boris Epshteyn.[14] Blanche establishes his own law firm, Blanche Law, the same month he leaves Cadwalader.[15] The law firm is established essentially to represent Donald Trump. Blanche’s law firm is paid approximately $10.2 million between April 2023 and January 2025 to represent Donald Trump in his various criminal defense cases by the Save America PAC,[16] which was created and is controlled by Donald Trump.[17]
April 4, 2023: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg publicly announces the 34-count felony indictment charging Donald Trump with falsifying business records in the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case.[18]
April 23, 2024: At the trial, Judge Juan Merchan asserts: “Mr. Blanche, you’re losing all credibility,” during a hearing examining whether Trump had violated a gag order restricting his public speech about jurors and potential witnesses.[19]
June 8, 2023: Federal prosecutors charge Donald Trump in the classified-documents case in the Southern District of Florida, and Blanche becomes part of Trump’s defense team in that case as well.[20]
August 1, 2023: Special Counsel Jack Smith charges Donald Trump in the election-obstruction case in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, and Blanche also appears as a Trump defense lawyer in this proceeding.[21]
May 30, 2024: Donald Trump is convicted on all 34 felony counts in the Stormy Daniels case.[22]
July 1, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the Trump v. United States case regarding the election-obstruction case, creating absolute immunity for core presidential acts, presumptive immunity for other official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts, a highly controversial decision.[23]
July 10, 2024: Todd Blanche, representing Donald J. Trump, files a motion with the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New York “to dismiss the Indictment [against Trump] and vacate the jury’s verdicts based on the Presidential immunity doctrine articulated by the Supreme Court of the United States in Trump v. United States, 2024 WL 3237603 (July 1, 2024) and the Supremacy Clause.”[24]
July 15, 2024: U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismisses the classified-documents indictment against Trump after accepting the defense argument that Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violated the Appointments Clause, a novel claim suggested by Clarence Thomas in the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and a claim contrary to how the special counsel regulations had been interpreted since 1999 after the expiration of the independent counsel statute.[25]
November 25, 2024: Judge Tanya Chutkan dismisses the federal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump in response to the unprecedented immunity ruling.[26]
Todd Blanche’s Involvement in the Epstein Files Controversy as Deputy Attorney General & Acting Attorney General: Timeline
November 14, 2024: Donald Trump picks his personal criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche to be the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, creating a serious conflict-of-interest with the American public.[27]
February 12, 2025: Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing as Deputy Attorney General. During the confirmation process, Blanche repeatedly dodges questions about whether he would recuse himself from matters related to Trump, saying he does not think the president would ask him to do anything illegal or immoral.[28]
In response to the Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Cory Booker, Blanche avoids a direct question about whether or not he will ‘recuse’ himself from cases that may conflict with his prior representation of Donald Trump but says: “In the event of any potential conflict of interest, I will consult with the appropriate Department of Justice ethics officials and act consistent with governing regulations.”[29]
In addition, in his written response to the QFRs Blanche seems to draw no distinction between his personal representation of Donald Trump in criminal defense work in the private sector and his duties and role as Deputy Attorney General of the United States representing the American public because, he claims, they share similar views on restoring “integrity” to the Justice Department and enforcing the “rule of law,” and he says it was an “honor” to represent Trump.[30]
February 21, 2025: During an interview with John Roberts on Fox News, Attorney General Bondi is asked: “The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients? Will that really happen?” Bondi responded: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump. I’m reviewing that,” Bondi said.[31] [Emphasis added.]
February 27, 2025: Attorney General Pam Bondi releases the “first phase” of the “declassified” Epstein Files.[32] The release is criticized since most of the information, including flight logs of Epstein’s aircraft, has already been in the public domain.[33]
March 5, 2025: The Senate confirms Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General on a 52–46 party-line vote.[34] As Deputy Attorney General, Blanche manages the Justice Department’s day-to-day operations.[35]
May/June 2025: At some point in May or June 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi informs President Trump that his name appears in the Epstein files. The timing is not exactly clear. The Wall Street Journal reported that the meeting took place in May[36] However, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reported that the same meeting took place in June and that it included Deputy AG Blanche. [37] In their story on this meeting, they also say that Blanche assured Trump: “We’ve gone through the files. There’s not a lot there. A lot of child pornography – obviously we can’t put any of that out. There are some mentions of you, but nothing substantive.” [38]
July 7, 2025: A two-page DOJ/FBI memo is released saying DOJ found “no incriminating ‘client list’” for Epstein, which seems contradictory to Bondi’s February statement. The memo says DOJ turned up more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence. “Consistent with prior disclosures,” the memo says, “this review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials. This includes specific details such as victim names and likenesses, physical descriptions, places of birth, associates, and employment history.” However, it concludes that it has already provided the public with “maximum information regarding Epstein” and that “it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” In addition, the memo said that its “systematic review revealed no incriminating “client list,” which seems contradictory to AG Bondi’s earlier statement and ignited a backlash that included staunch Trump supporters, fueling demands for transparency that ultimately led Congress to act.[39] [Emphasis added.]
July 9, 2025: FBI Director Kash Patel and his then Deputy, Dan Bongino, are both reportedly summoned to a meeting in the White House Situation Room, according Haberman and Swan’s reporting in the New York Times Magazine; White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, her deputy, Taylor Budowich, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, were also in attendance.[40] According to the reporting, Wiles accused Bongino of leaking a sensitive story about Epstein and Trump to ABC News. Bongino adamantly denied the accusations, voiced his frustrations with how the White House was handling the Epstein affair, stormed out of the room, and reportedly remained in his position rather than resigning ‘for Trump’s sake,’ according to the reporting. Haberman and Swan wrote that Bongino believed Bondi was to blame for the Epstein public relations disaster and reportedly told a confidant, “This is going to be President Trump’s Iran-Contra.”[41]
July 15, 2025: Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Rohit (“Ro”) Khanna (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Importantly, the law, which was later signed into law by President Trump on November 19, 2025, said, in part: “No record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”[42]
July 17, 2025: Deputy AG Todd Blanche, and several other senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, meet in the White House Situation Room at around 6:00 p.m. to discuss a damage control strategy surrounding the Epstein Files, according to Reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.[43] In this particular meeting, there were nine people in the room and Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel joined on speakerphone, according to Haberman and Swan. The discussion reportedly focused on the coming release of a Wall Street Journal article about Trump’s relationship with Epstein. Vice President Vance allegedly suggested enlisting Tucker Carlson to interview Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, hoping that she would say she had not witnessed Trump involved in any “wrongdoing” with Epstein.
For his part, Haberman and Swan wrote that AG Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, laid out two options. Petition the Federal District Courts in both Florida and New York to unseal the grand jury testimonies. “If the courts refused to unseal them – as Blanche predicted – they could shift the blame for withholding the Epstein material away from the Trump administration and onto the judges,” wrote Haberman and Swan. “Blanche’s suggestion would make it appear that the White House wanted the materials released, when it was almost certain not to happen,” they wrote. Reportedly, those in the meeting thought this was a good idea.
According to the report, Blanche suggested that option two would be to have a DOJ attorney question Maxwell and release the transcript of the interview publicly, and Blanche offered to conduct the interview himself. However, “Blanche raised the possibility that Maxwell’s lawyer might expect something in return for her candor,” the two reporters wrote. Several in the room strongly disapproved of offering Maxwell a pardon or reduction in her sentence.
In the midst of this meeting, based on the extraordinary reporting from Haberman and Swan, the Wall Street Journal article they were fretting about was published online, with the headline: “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.”[44] A birthday card attributed to Trump “depicted a nude woman, hand-drawn and inscribed with an imagined dialogue between the two men about a ‘wonderful secret,’” wrote Haberman and Swan. “The drawing was signed with what appeared to be Trump’s distinctive jagged Sharpie signature in place of the woman’s public hair,” they wrote.
Within three hours of the crisis management team reportedly assembling in the White House Situation Room to strategize about how to deal with the Epstein saga, Donald Trump took the team’s advice and posted on Truth Social at 9:07 p.m.[45] The post is pasted below:
July 22, 2025: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posts on X that he has communicated with Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney about potentially speaking with DOJ prosecutors. “This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead,” wrote Blanche on his social media post.[46]
July 24, 2025: Deputy AG Blanche personally interviews Ghislaine Maxwell — who was serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking — for roughly six hours at the U.S. Attorney’s Office inside the federal courthouse in downtown Tallahassee, Florida,[47] an incredibly unusual and unprecedented step for a senior DOJ official.[48] [49] Such interviews are routinely conducted by an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or a line prosecutor at the Department of Justice. DOJ also grants Maxwell ‘limited immunity’ to discuss the Epstein matter.[50] [51] Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus describes the interview as “very productive” [52] and ABC News reports that Maxwell initiated the meeting.[53]
Blanche announced the session on X, writing: “Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow.”[54] [55]
July 25, 2025: Deputy AG Blanche conducts a second day of interviews with Maxwell at the same courthouse, bringing the total interview time to approximately nine hours over two days.[56] Also present were Diego Pestana, the acting associate deputy attorney general, FBI Special Agent Spencer Horn, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Mark Beard.[57] Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said she was asked about roughly one hundred different people and answered every question without holding back.[58] The Justice Department later publishes a redacted transcript and audio recordings of both days of Maxwell’s interviews with Deputy AG Blanche.[59]
July 28, 2025: Following two days of interviews with Deputy AG Todd Blanche and being granted ‘limited immunity,’ Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, files a new petition with the Supreme Court seeking to overturn her 2021 sexual trafficking conviction.[60] [61] The court later rejects the appeal.[62]
July 28, 2025: Senators Durbin and Whitehouse write to Deputy AG Blanche requesting he provide details about his meeting with Maxwell, why DOJ concluded there was no Epstein “client list,” related information, and a commitment not to pardon or commute the sentence of Ms. Maxwell.[63]
Late July 2025: Haberman and Swan reported that another Epstein focused meeting was held in the White House Situation Room in late July 2025.[64] The meeting reportedly included the same basic participants as the previous meetings, including Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and others; this meeting focused on congressional pressure to fully release the Epstein files, and Todd Blanche, who had personally reviewed many of the files provided his assessment of the material and they discussed how the records should be released. Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair said they would aim to cooperate fully with a reported forthcoming House subpoena, “but that the priority was to release information that demonstrated Trump was not involved in Epstein’s crimes,” wrote Haberman and Swan. There was also discussion of Deputy AG Blanche appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast “to promote the transparency from the White House,” Haberman and Swan wrote.
August 1, 2025: A federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) official confirms to USA Today that Ghislaine Maxwell has been unexpectedly transferred to a lower security prison, the Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, from the Federal Corrections Institution (FCI) Tallahassee where she was held in Florida after two days of meetings with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.[65] [66] The unusual move required BOP officials to issue a waiver because of her offense category as a violent sexual trafficker.[67] The Bryan prison camp is described as a “Real Housewives prison” with a country club atmosphere.[68] The Department of Justice denied that Maxwell received special treatment and said the transfer was due to credible security threats against her.[69] Former Bureau of Prisons officials expressed outrage, saying Maxwell appeared to be receiving preferential treatment.[70]
August 5, 2025: Asked whether he approved the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump said: “I didn’t know about it at all, no. I read about it just like you did. It’s not a very uncommon thing,” said Trump. At the same time, he also said that anything Deputy AG Blanche discussed with Maxwell would be “totally above board.”[71]
August 7, 2025: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, wrote to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, William K. Marshall III, demanding records on the transfer and Todd Blanche’s role. He also wrote that the meeting between Blanche and Maxwell “was doubly unusual because of Mr. Blanche’s former role as President Trump’s personal criminal attorney and the ongoing political scandal resulting from the Wall Street Journal’s report that Ms. Maxwell assembled a birthday book for Epstein that included a personal note from President Trump.”[72]
August 13, 2025: The White House Epstein crisis management team meets again at 6:00 p.m. for two hours, according to reporting by Haberman and Swan, to refine their Epstein defense strategy, and Vice President JD Vance pushed to release as much Epstein material as possible. Haberman and Swan also report that VP Vance had just spoken with Joe Rogan prior to the meeting and later told others that Rogan said he would take VP Vance on his show, but not Deputy AG Blanche.
According to the reporting, during the meeting the 2015 defamation case brought by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, which was settled in 2017, came up. Giuffre met Epstein when she was working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago hotel as a spa attendant and she died by suicide in April 2025. Her defamation suit included emails from Sarah Ransome, also an Epstein victim, who claimed she knew a girl trafficked by Epstein who claimed to have had sex with Trump, according to Haberman and Swan’s recap of the case. Ransome’s own credibility, however, had issues. She had once reportedly made a claim that she had video footage of men in Epstein’s orbit having sex with young girls only later to retract this claim, saying she was fearful to proceed, according to Haberman and Swan.
In this August White House meeting, Haberman and Swan wrote: “Blanche argued that in context, the Ransome document – and Ransome’s disavowal of some of her other claims – would make clear why the allegations related to Trump had never been pursued for prosecution. Besides, these allegations were already available online because of what had been unsealed, so there was no reason to leave them off the Justice Department website,” Blanche reportedly said, according to Haberman and Swan.[73]
August 22, 2025: Acting AG Todd Blanche posts on X that the Department of Justice has released the redacted transcripts and audio of his two days of interviews with Maxwell.[74] [75]
September 3, 2025: Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and all 18 other Democratic members on the Committee send a 5-page letter to DOJ’s Acting IG William Blier requesting an investigation of the circumstances surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer days after she spent two full days in an interview with Deputy AG Todd Blanche.[76] [77]
November 9, 2025: Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary sends a letter to President Trump requesting that he make Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche available for a public hearing regarding Ghislaine Maxwell, her treatment by the Bureau of Prisons, and her reported efforts to file a “commutation application” with the Trump Administration.[78]
November 13, 2025: Blanche publicly defends his Maxwell interview amid multiple excoriating social media posts that question why he met with Maxwell.[79] One social media post on X by George Conway questioned Blanche’s intentions for the interview.[80]
November 18, 2025: The House passes the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a vote of 427–1 and the Senate passed it by unanimous consent the same evening.[81]
November 19, 2025: President Trump signs the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, giving the Department of Justice 30 days — until December 19, 2025 — to release all records related to Epstein and Maxwell, with narrow exceptions such as protecting victims’ identities. [82] [83] Months later Attorney General Pam Bondi confirms under oath in congressional testimony that Deputy AG Blanche managed release of the Epstein files and compliance with the enacted law.[84]
December 19, 2025: The Epstein Files Transparency Act deadline for the Department of Justice to release all records related to Jeffrey Epstein.[85] Deputy AG Blanche sends a letter to “Members of Congress” asserting that DOJ “is producing hundreds of thousands of pages of responsive materials in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act” describing the release as President Trump and AG Bondi’s “commitment to following the law, being transparent, and protecting victims.”[86] The letter describes the DOJ review process, summarizes the latest production, says DOJ “has worked diligently to meet the [Epstein] Act’s deadline,” but that due to the volume of material DOJ must review prior to release they will not meet the Act’s deadline, but will produce records on a rolling basis over the coming weeks.[87] [88] [89] Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican co-sponsor of the Epstein Act, said Bondi and Blanche had grossly failed to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law, and Senate Judiciary Democrats likewise said the DOJ had failed to comply with the Act.[90]
That same day, Deputy Attorney General Blanche tells Fox News that DOJ would only release “several hundred thousand” documents by the deadline (Friday, December 19, 2025) “and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” he says. “Just so everybody appreciates, President Trump has said for years that he wants full transparency and he wants the Department of Justice to release everything that we can with respect to this investigation and cases,” Blanche said.[91]
December 20, 2025: The Department of Justice posts on X saying it “is not redacting the names of any politicians” and refers to comments made by Deputy AG Todd Blanche.[92]
December 21, 2025 — Asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether he took congressional impeachment and contempt threats seriously regarding his handling of the Epstein files, Blanche replied: “Not even a little bit. Bring it on.”[93] [94]
Blanche also defended DOJ’s actions, saying: “We are in every way, shape and form complying with the statute, which, by the way, is what President Trump has been asking us to do since before he was elected. There is nothing that he has to hide in the Epstein files, there never was.”
Blanche defended not releasing some photos of women that may have included Trump. He responded to a question about pulling down a photo, saying: “It has nothing to do with President Trump. There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr. Epstein. He has said that in the 90s and early 2000s he socialized with him. … So, the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo because President Trump was in it is laughable.”[95] Blanche said the only redactions being applied to the Epstein files were those required by law and denied that DOJ was redacting politicians’ names, after Democrats alleged that some posted files — including a photo of Trump — had disappeared from the DOJ’s public webpage.[96]
Blanche told NBC’s Welker: “We are not redacting information around President Trump, around any other individual involved with Mr. Epstein.” …. “Let me just make sure everybody understands something. To the extent that he is quote in the Epstein files it’s not because he had anything to do with the horrific crimes. Full stop. But yes, if President Trump is mentioned, if there’s photographs that we have of President Trump or anybody else they of course will be released with the exception of any victims or survivors that we have identified….”[97]
December 22, 2025: Tens of thousands of documents from the Epstein files are briefly posted on the DOJ’s website before being taken down.[98] On that same day Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) criticizes this temporary release in a post on X:
December 23, 2026: The Department of Justice posts on X that it released nearly 30,000 pages of new Epstein records.[99]
December 24, 2025: The DOJ discloses that more than one million additional potentially responsive records have been discovered, further slowing the release process by a “few more weeks.”[100] The same day, a bipartisan group of one dozen U.S. Senators led by Richard Blumenthal and Lisa Murkowski formally ask the DOJ Inspector General to review DOJ’s conduct regarding the Epstein files it has released, the delays in releasing files it has not yet released or are refusing to release, as well as its process for redacting records.[101] CNBC also reports that Reps. Massie and Ro Khanna have threatened to hold Bondi and Blanche in inherent contempt, and that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to force a vote on suing the DOJ for the full release.[102]
January 4, 2026: The Office of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche produces an unsigned memorandum titled: “Attorney Review Protocol for Epstein Files.”[103] The memo provides background on the criminal charges against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the records required to be released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the process used to de-duplicate records, how to “tag” relevant records, permitted withholdings and redactions, particularly victims’ names, photographs and related information, and various privilege claims.
January 30, 2026: Deputy AG Blanche holds a news conference outlining DOJ’s redaction protocols and procedures to protect victims’ identities and announces that DOJ is releasing more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related records, including more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, bringing the administration’s total production to roughly 3.5 million pages.[104] [105] He says that more than 500 lawyers and other personnel spent 75 days, including weekends and holidays, reviewing more than 6 million collected pages — which he described as “two Eiffel Towers of pages” — to decide what could be released.[106]
Blanche asserts that DOJ has now fulfilled its obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, while disclosing that approximately 200,000 pages had been redacted or withheld on the basis of various claimed privileges.[107] At the press conference, Blanche states, “The categories of documents withheld include those permitted under the act to be withheld, files that contain personally identifying information of victims or victim’s personal and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Any depiction of CSAM [Child Sexual Abuse Material] or child pornography was obviously excluded. Anything that would jeopardize an active federal investigation. And finally, anything that depicts or contain images of death, physical abuse, or injury, also not produced.”[108] [Emphasis Added]. However, DOJ announces no charges against anyone related to child porn, murder, sexual abuse, or physical abuse.
The released files include a “rape claim” against Donald Trump that he has long denied, according to CNN.[109] Blanche says DOJ has completed its review, that no more documents will be released, that the White House had “no oversight” of the process, and he says members of Congress can make arrangements with DOJ to view unredacted portions of records not publicly released.[110] He acknowledged that “mistakes are inevitable” in a production of that size and directed anyone spotting problems to a DOJ tip-line email address.[111]
Reporters reviewing the files found that they included unredacted names and photographs of Epstein victims, despite the law’s explicit victim-privacy requirements.[112] Epstein survivors and lawmakers from both parties blasted the release as incomplete, noting the gap between the 6 million pages collected and the roughly 3.5 million produced.[113]
January 31, 2026: Rep. Raskin, Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee writes to Deputy AG Blanche demanding swift access to the unredacted files and calling it strange that DOJ claims to be in full compliance with the Epstein Act after releasing only about half of the more than 6 million potentially responsive pages it had identified.[114]
February 3, 2026: Fox News’ Laura Ingraham takes to X to defend Blanche and the controversy surrounding the release of the Epstein files.[115]
February 11, 2026: Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Committee on the Judiciary and is grilled about the Epstein files.[116] [117] During the hearing a reporter notices that AG Bondi has records that appear to be the search history of Members of Congress who reviewed unredacted Epstein files at the Department of Justice and the DOJ acknowledges this remarkable revelation which explodes in the coming days.[118]
February 12, 2026: Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson joins democrats in condemning the DOJ monitoring of congressional members’ search of the Epstein files.[119]
February 14, 2026: Deputy AG Blanche signs a six-page letter on letterhead from his office to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees from AG Pam Bondi that outlines DOJ’s justification for redactions made in the Epstein files and includes a list of scores of “all government officials and politically exposed persons” named in the files, including Donald, Ivanka, and Melania Trump.[120] The letter is covered by multiple media outlets, including The Hill, Reuters, and other news organizations.[121] [122]
February 15, 2026: The Justice Department states that all files required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act have been released, following the major tranches of December 2025 and January 2026.[123] Members of Congress nonetheless continued to accuse the DOJ of mishandling the release — including failing to protect survivors’ names and images, omitting the identities of some prominent figures, and monitoring lawmakers’ search activity in the files.[124]
March 17, 2026: Deputy AG Blanche defends DOJ’s Epstein record in a 55-minute podcast interview with Katie Miller, Stephen Miller’s wife, who opened her show by telling Blanche that mothers concerned about protecting children felt he had failed them and asking Blanche whether he had failed the kids.[125] [126] That same day, Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government issues a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a deposition on the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein investigation and compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.[127]
April 1, 2026: Donald Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi as public and congressional pressure regarding DOJ’s mishandling of the release of the Epstein files rises.[128]
April 2, 2026: President Trump appoints his long-time criminal defense attorney, Todd Blanche, as the Acting U.S. Attorney, elevating and exasperating the conflicts of interest that already existed with Todd Blanche as the Deputy Attorney General.[129] [130] In an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters[131] that evening, his first as acting attorney general, Blanche insists that Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files played no role in her firing.[132] In the same appearance, Blanche argues that the Epstein saga “should not be part of anything going forward” at DOJ, denies that Epstein was a spy for a foreign government, and credits the Trump administration with transparency — prompting visible skepticism even from the friendly host.[133]
For fuller context, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche responding to questions about the Epstein files said:
“The Department of Justice has now released all of the files with respect to the Epstein saga. The attorney general and I appeared in front of Congress voluntarily a couple of weeks ago to answer any questions they had. And so, I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward.”[134] [Emphasis Added].
May 19, 2026: Acting AG Todd Blanche testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. During the hearing Blanche claims, “[T]he President did not have anything to do with my choice to go interview Ms. Maxwell.”[135] He also acknowledges that the DOJ “failed” in its rollout of the Epstein files by releasing victims’ identities and personal information.[136] Blanche also claims that the DOJ had not been legally permitted to release the documents before the Transparency Act became law — a claim analysts noted was absent from DOJ’s own July 2025 memo, which had instead cited victim-privacy concerns as reasons for withholding the files.[137]
Blanche’s exchange with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) regarding Blanche’s denial that Trump asked him to interview Ghislaine Maxwell is included below:
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:23): No, no. This is a person of extra special interest to the President of the United States. He’s known her. Why did he send you down to talk to her?
Todd Blanche (1:49:33): He didn’t send me. I went. What do you mean? You think President Trump called and asked me to go interview a witness in federal prison? Honestly?
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:40): Yes, I do, frankly. Because you know why?
Todd Blanche (1:49:42): Well, he didn’t. He didn’t.
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:45): The deal was in.
Todd Blanche (1:49:45 – talking over each other): I mean, you can say that, but you want the truth? You want the truth?
Sen. Jack Reed (1:49:47): He needed somebody he could rely upon to talk to her and say, “What would she say if she was asked about Jeffrey Epstein?” And you were the perfect choice. And you went down there and suddenly shazam, she’s out of what is a more confining situation into a much more relaxed federal prison.
Todd Blanche (1:50:06): Every word that I asked her is recorded and available to you to review. If there’s criticisms of the question that I asked her, go ahead and make them. But the President did not have anything to do with my choice to go interview Ms. Maxwell. If I wouldn’t have went and a career would’ve went, you would’ve said, “Why didn’t you go yourself?” Just like you expect me to know whether she has access to her own shower. [Emphasis added].[138]
May 29, 2026: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in a closed-door, non-public, transcribed interview. Democratic members subsequently released the transcript of the interview. In the interview, former AG Bondi acknowledges that “redaction errors” were made in the release of the Epstein files but also says that Deputy AG Blanche was in charge of the Epstein files, not her. “As the head of a large department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort nor conduct that document review myself. I delegated that oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” said Bondi. At another point in the interview, she said Blanche “was in charge of the [redaction] process and the entire release of the Epstein files.”[139] [140] [141] [142] [143] [Emphasis added].
June 2, 2026: Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asks Chairman James Comer to request an interview with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to be conducted under oath and filmed for release to the public. Based on a June 10, 2026, letter from Rep. Garcia to Rep. Comer, Chairman Comer reportedly accepted this request.[144]
June 4, 2026: Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and other Republican members write to Acting AG Todd Blanche requesting that DOJ investigate sexual assault allegations made by Sarah Kellen during her transcribed interview with the committee on May 21, 2026, alleging sexual assault committed by Philip Levine, the former Mayor of Miami Beach from 2013 to 2017, and Frédéric Fekkai, a French celebrity hairstylist.[145]
June 8, 2026: Trump formally sends Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General to the U.S. Senate, sixty-seven days after he became acting attorney general.[146] Coverage of the nomination notes that Blanche faces an uphill confirmation battle, with senators having castigated him over the Epstein files release alongside other controversies, including prosecutions of Trump’s perceived political enemies and the attempt to establish a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization” settlement fund, ostensibly as a means to pay Trump’s political allies.[147]
June 10, 2026: The New York Times Magazine publishes an expose, authored by reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, on the White House’s efforts to allegedly coverup release of Epstein files that engulfed President Trump, and details Todd Blanche’s role in overseeing the release of the Epstein files.[148]
June 22, 2026: One hundred and one (101) judges file an ethics complaint against Todd Blanche with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, focusing on his conflicts of interest.[149] [150]
June 25, 2026: U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issues a 48-page Memorandum Opinion in a lawsuit requesting the release of remaining Epstein files. The lawsuit against Todd Blanche in his capacity as Acting Attorney General was filed by Katie Phang in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Sullivan orders DOJ to either release unredacted versions of the Epstein records or explain why it is unable to do so and gave DOJ a one-week deadline to comply by Thursday, July 2, 2026. Judge Sullivan noted that the Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the full release of these files and says, “The [Acting] Attorney General has conceded that he is in violation of the Act.”[151]
July 15, 2026: Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Committee on Judiciary for his confirmation hearing as U.S. Attorney General.
ENDNOTES:
[1] “The Trump Trials,” LAWFARE, https://www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-series/archived-projects/the-trump-trials
[2] Mike Crawley, “Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump: a timeline,” CANADIAN BROADCATING CORPORATION (CBC) NEWS (August 8, 2025), https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-epstein-timeline-1.7604277
[3] Rebecca Schneid, “Inside Trump and Epstein’s Long, Complicated Relationship,” TIME (November 12, 2025), https://time.com/7333365/trump-epstein-relationship-timeline/
[4] Testimony of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senate (May 19, 2026), https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2027-budget-request-for-the-department-of-justice
[5] Julie K. Brown, “Jeffrey Epstein arrested on sex trafficking charges,” MIAMI HERALD (Updated July 11, 2019), https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article232374872.html
[6] Epstein Files Memo, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ) and FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS (FBI), https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline
[7] “Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell,” PRSIONPEDIA, https://www.prisonpedia.com/wiki/Ghislaine_Maxwell
[8] “Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell,” PRSIONPEDIA, https://www.prisonpedia.com/wiki/Ghislaine_Maxwell
[9] Sheri Walsh, “Ghislaine Maxwell transferred to low-security prison in Florida” UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL (UPI), (July 25, 2022). https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/07/25/florida-Ghislaine-Maxwell-moved-to-Tallahassee-prison-serve-20-year-sentence-Jeffrey-Epstein-sex-trafficking-scheme/8391658789529
[10] United States of America vs. Ghislaine Maxwell, 22-1426-crUNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT, (Argued: March 12, 2024; Decided: September 17, 2024), https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/OPN/22-1426_opn.pdf
[11] Tanner Stening, “What is life actually like for Ghislaine Maxwell inside her Texas prison?” NORTHEASTERN GLOBAL NEWS, (November 18, 2025), https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/11/18/ghislaine-maxwell-club-fed-prison/
[12] “Trump Prosecuted in New York,” A Guide to Trump’s Trials, LAWFARE (March 30, 2023),
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-series/archived-projects/the-trump-trials
[13] Debra Cassens Weiss, “Cadwalader partner reportedly resigns to lead Trump’s representation in Manhattan DA’s criminal case,” ABA JOURNAL (April 3, 2023), https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cadwalader-partner-reportedly-resigns-to-lead-trumps-representation-in-manhattan-das-criminal-case
[14] “Lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial: Meet the attorneys and prosecutors battling it out in the Stormy Daniels case,” DAILY MAIL (April 15, 2024), https://www.dailymail.com/news/us-politics/article-13307955/trump-attorneys-manhattan-prosecutors-stormy-daniels-case.html
[15] Todd Blanche, LINKEDIN profile, https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddblanche/
[16] Response to Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Cory A. Booker to Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General Nominee, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 13, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-02-12_-_qfr_responses_-_blanche.pdf
[17] “Save America PAC,” BALLOTPEDIA, https://ballotpedia.org/Save_America
[18] “District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump,” MANHATTAND DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, (April 4, 2023), https://manhattanda.org/district-attorney-bragg-announces-34-count-felony-indictment-of-former-president-donald-j-trump/
[19] Luc Cohen and Andrew Goudsward, “Who is Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s lawyer in his Stormy Daniels trial?” REUTERS, (April 24, 2024), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-lawyer-todd-blanche-draws-judges-ire-historic-trial-gets-underway-2024-04-24/
[20] United States v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta, “Indictment,” No. 9:23-CR-80101, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA (June 8, 2023) https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump-Nauta_23-80101.pdf.
[21] United States v. Donald J. Trump, “Indictment,” No. 1:23-cr-00257-TSC, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (August 1, 2023), https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump_23_cr_257.pdf.
[22] “D.A. Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Trial Conviction of Donald J. Trump,” MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (May 30, 2024), https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-34-count-felony-trial-conviction-of-donald-j-trump/
[23] Supreme Court, Trump v. United States, No. 23-939 (July 1, 2024), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf.
[24] “Notice of President Donald J. Trump’s Post-Trial Presidential Immunity Motion,” The People of the State of New York vs. Donald J. Trump, Defendant, Index No. 71543-23, SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK (July 10, 2024), https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/DJT-Notice-Immunity-Motion-2024.07.10.pdf
[25] United States District Court, Order, United States v. Trump, No. 9:23-cr-80101 (S.D. Fla. July 15, 2024), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652.672.0.pdf.
[26] Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin and Peter Charalambous, “Judge dismisses federal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump” ABC NEWS (November 25, 2024), https://abc7ny.com/post/special-counsel-jack-smith-files-motion-dismiss-federal-election-interference-case-president-elect-trump/15586019/.
[27] Bart Jansen, “Donald Trump picks his criminal lawyer, Todd Blanche, as deputy attorney general,” USA TODAY (November 14, 2024), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/14/donald-trump-todd-blanche-deputy-attorney-general/76302898007/
[28] Nomination hearing of Todd Blanche to be Deputy Attorney General of the United States, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 12, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/hearings/02/12/2025/nominations
[29] Response to Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Cory A. Booker to Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General Nominee, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 13, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-02-12_-_qfr_responses_-_blanche.pdf
[30] Response to Questions for the Record (QFRs) from Senator Dirck Durbin, Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, to Todd Wallace Blanche, Deputy Attorney General Nominee, U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (February 13, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-02-12_-_qfr_responses_-_blanche.pdf
[31] Haley Chi-Sing, “Bondi says Epstein client list ‘sitting on my desk right now,’ and is reviewing JFK, MLK files,” FOX NEWS (February 21, 2025), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bondi-says-epstein-client-list-sitting-my-desk-right-now-reviewing-jfk-mlk-files
[32] “Attorney General Pamela Bondi Releases First Phase of Declassified Epstein Files,” Press Release with links to the files, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (February 27, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-pamela-bondi-releases-first-phase-declassified-epstein-files
[33] James Hill and Aaron Katersky, “DOJ releases ‘first phase’ of Epstein files, including an evidence list,” ABC NEWS (February 27, 2025), https://abcnews.com/US/doj-releases-phase-epstein-files-including-evidence-list/story?id=119274954
[34] Alanna Durkin Richer, “Senate confirms former Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general,” ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) (March 5, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/todd-blanche-trump-lawyer-deputy-attorney-general-5d526fd4c5919bc2e9522e4f7bfbf758
[35] Dareh Gregorian, Ryan J. Reilly and Katherine Doyle, “From Trump’s attorney to the Epstein files: Todd Blanche’s rise to attorney general,” NBC NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/todd-blanche-interim-attorney-general-pam-bondi-firing-what-know-rcna266451
[36] Jeff Mason, Andrew Goudsward and Joseph Ax, “Trump was told he is in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports,” REUTERS (July 23, 2025), https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-was-told-he-is-epstein-files-wall-street-journal-reports-2025-07-23/
[37] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[38] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[39] Kyle Stewart, Rebecca Shabad, Dareh Gregorian and Brennan Leach, “Pam Bondi tells lawmakers ‘redaction errors’ were made in Epstein files release,” NBC NEWS, (May 29, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pam-bondi-tells-lawmakers-redaction-errors-made-epstein-files-release-rcna347525
[40] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[41] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[42] H.R.4405 – Epstein Files Transparency Act, U.S. House of Representatives, CONGRESS.GOV, https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405/text?__cf_chl_f_tk=v2UUqJEiOFU0WyFjVLeK9ZpoeVLyxju04br_TQZ1Row-1782761308-1.0.1.1-ObCO4nvX_37p1TgV6hVJ5ZQ_rHb1GuOnMKNSKq2Zk3E
[43] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[44] Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump,” WALL STREET JOURNAL (July 17, 2025), https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter-we-have-certain-things-in-common-f918d796
[45] President Donald Trump post on Truth Social Regarding Epstein Grand Jury Records (July 17, 2025), https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114871557460531003
[46] Post on X by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche (July 22, 2025), https://x.com/TheJusticeDept/status/1947670804122001581
[47] Aaron Katersky, James Hill, Brandon Baur and Katherine Faulders, “Longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell initiated DOJ meeting: Sources,” ABC NEWS (via AOL) (July 24, 2025), https://www.aol.com/doj-meeting-ghislaine-maxwell-set-034338409.html
[48] Kaitlan Collins and Shania Shelton, “Top DOJ official says he will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell again Friday,” CNN (July 24, 2025), https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/24/politics/todd-blanche-ghislaine-maxwell-meeting
[49] Ryan Lucas, “Todd Blanche’s past hangs over him as top DOJ official on Epstein case,” NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) (July 29, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/07/29/nx-s1-5484129/todd-blanche-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-trump
[50] Aaron Katersky, Katherine Faulders, Brandon Bauer, and Jon Haworth, “Ghislaine Maxwell received limited immunity during meetings with deputy attorney general: Sources,” ABC NEWS (July 25, 2025), https://abcnews.com/US/deputy-ag-blanche-set-meet-2nd-day-ghislaine/story?id=124064062
[51] Mike Bedigan, “Ghislaine Maxwell given ‘limited immunity’ in meetings with deputy attorney general: reports,” THE INDEPENDENT, (July 26, 2025), https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ghislaine-maxwell-limited-immunity-doj-epstein-b2796368.html
[52] Agustina Blanco, “’Very productive’: Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney on meeting with Todd Blanche,” VOZ (July 24, 2025), https://voz.us/en/politics/250725/27226/very-productive-ghislaine-maxwell-s-attorney-on-meeting-with-todd-blanche.html#google_vignette
[53] Aaron Katersky, James Hill, Brandon Baur and Katherine Faulders, “Longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell initiated DOJ meeting: Sources,” ABC NEWS (via AOL) (July 24, 2025), https://www.aol.com/doj-meeting-ghislaine-maxwell-set-034338409.html
[54] Post on X by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, (July 24, 2025), https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/1948519521071047090
[55] Kaitlan Collins and Shania Shelton, “Top DOJ official says he will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell again Friday,” CNN (July 24, 2025), https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/24/politics/todd-blanche-ghislaine-maxwell-meeting
[56] Matt Hoffmann, Jamiya Coleman, Sedrick Bolton III and Chasity Maynard, “‘Round two’: Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell meets Friday with DOJ in Tallahassee for second interview,” WCTV (Tallahassee) (July 25, 2025), https://www.wctv.tv/2025/07/25/round-two-epstein-accomplice-ghislaine-maxwell-meeting-with-doj-tallahassee-second-interview/
[57] Carrie Johnson, “Justice Department releases transcripts from its conversations with Ghislaine Maxwell,” NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) and KPBS (August 22, 2025), https://www.kpbs.org/news/politics/2025/08/22/justice-department-releases-transcripts-from-its-conversations-with-ghislaine-maxwell
[58] Katherine Faulders, James Hill and Aaron Katersky, “Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ Trump never did anything concerning around her: Sources,” ABC NEWS (August 6, 2025), https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-considers-releasing-transcripts-doj-interview-ghislaine/story?id=124383957
[59] Ghislaine Maxwell July 24 and July 25, 2025, Interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, https://www.justice.gov/maxwell-interview
[60] Gary Grumback, Tom Winter and Chloe Atkins, “Ghislaine Maxwell urges Supreme Court to hear her criminal appeal,” NBC NEWS (July 28, 2025), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/ghislaine-maxwell-urges-supreme-court-hear-criminal-appeal-rcna217150
[61] “Reply in Support of Petition for Writ of Certiorari,” Ghislaine Maxwell, AKA Sealed Defendant 1 (Petitioner) v. United States of America (Respondent), No. 24-1073, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES (July 28, 2025), https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1073/368155/20250728111721067_24-1073ReplyInSupportOfPetitionForWritOfCertiorari.pdf
[62] John Fritze, “Supreme Court rejects appeal from Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell,” CNN (October 6, 2025), https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/politics/ghislaine-maxwell-supreme-court-appeal-epstein
[63] Letter from Senators Richard Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. SENATE (July 28, 2025), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-07-28%20Letter%20to%20DOJ%20re%20Maxwell.pdf
[64] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[65] Josh Meyer, “Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell quietly moved out of Florida federal prison,” USA TODAY (August 1, 2025), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/01/epstein-accomplice-ghislaine-maxwell-moved-prisons/85475060007/
[66] Erik Ortiz, Michael Kosnar and Rich Schapiro, “Texas prison camp where Ghislaine Maxwell was moved steps up security,” NBC NEWS (August 6, 2025), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-federal-prison-camp-bryan-ghislaine-maxwell-was-moved-steps-secu-rcna2”23464
[67] Jack Silvers, “Inmate Who Criticized Ghislaine Maxwell Punished With Move to Higher-Security Prison,” THE DAILY BEAST (August 22, 2025), https://www.thedailybeast.com/inmate-who-criticized-ghislaine-maxwell-punished-with-move-to-higher-security-prison/
[68] Jack Silvers, “Inmate Who Criticized Ghislaine Maxwell Punished With Move to Higher-Security Prison,” DAILY BEAST (via Yahoo!news) (August 22, 2025), https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/inmate-criticized-ghislaine-maxwell-punished-212745702.html
[69] Ivan Pereira, “From Trump’s criminal defense lawyer to acting AG — who is Todd Blanche?” ABC NEWS (April 3, 2026), https://abcnews.com/Politics/trumps-criminal-defense-lawyer-acting-ag-todd-blanche/story?id=131662076
[70] Zoë Richards, Dareh Gregorian, Daniel Arkin, and Nnamdi Egwuonwu, “Justice Department releases Ghislaine Maxwell interview transcript and audio file,” NBC NEWS (August 22, 2025), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/live-updates-justice-department-releases-transcript-ghislaine-maxwell-rcna226675
[71] Katherine Faulders, James Hill and Aaron Katersky, “Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ Trump never did anything concerning around her: Sources,” ABC NEWS (August 5, 2025), https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-considers-releasing-transcripts-doj-interview-ghislaine/story?id=124383957
[72] Letter from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III, SENATOR SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, U.S. SENATE (August 7, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-08-07-Letter-to-BOP-Maxwell-Transfer.pdf
[73] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[74] Acting AG Todd Blanche social media post on X stating that DOJ as released the transcript and audio of his two days of interviews with Maxwell, (August 22, 2025), https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/1958963761345163555
[75] Carrie Johnson, “Justice Department releases transcripts from its conversations with Ghislaine Maxwell,” NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) (via KPBS) (August 22, 2025), https://www.kpbs.org/news/politics/2025/08/22/justice-department-releases-transcripts-from-its-conversations-with-ghislaine-maxwell
[76] Letter led by Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member House committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to William Blier, Acting Inspector General, Department of Justice asking for investigation of the circumstances surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer and the role of Deputy AG Todd Blanche, COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM (September 3, 2025), https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-09-03.garcia-et-al-to-doj-oig-re-maxwell-transfer.pdf
[77] Filip Timotija, “Garcia demands investigation into Ghislaine Maxwell prison move,” THE HILL, (September 3, 2025), https://robertgarcia.house.gov/media/in-the-news/hill-garcia-demands-investigation-ghislaine-maxwell-prison-move
[78] Letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member, House Committee on the Judiciary to President Donald Trump, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY (November 9, 2026), https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2025-11-09-raskin-to-trump-wh-re-maxwell.pdf
[79] David Moye, “Todd Blanche’s Defense Of Ghislaine Maxwell Prison Transfer Goes As Well As You’d Expect,” HUFFINGTON POST (via AOL) (November 13, 2025), https://www.aol.com/articles/todd-blanches-defense-ghislaine-maxwell-181404238.html
[80] David Moye, “Todd Blanche’s Defense Of Ghislaine Maxwell Prison Transfer Goes As Well As You’d Expect,” HUFFINGTON POST (via AOL) (November 13, 2025), https://www.aol.com/articles/todd-blanches-defense-ghislaine-maxwell-181404238.html
[81] Claudia Grisales, “House and Senate both approve releasing the Epstein files by a near unanimous margin,” NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) (November 18, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5611438/epstein-files-bill-house-vote
[82] Epstein Files Transparency Act – Public Law 119-38, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (November 19, 2025), https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ38/PLAW-119publ38.pdf
[83] “Epstein files include redacted records, more photographs as Trump DOJ criticized for handling,” NBC NEWS (Live feed) (December 19, 2025), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/live-blog/epstein-files-release-trump-congress-live-updates-rcna245032
[84] Christina Santucci, “Bondi says Blanche was ‘in charge’ of Epstein files release,” SPECTRUM NEWS (June 5, 2026), https://spectrumlocalnews.com/us/snplus/politics/2026/06/05/pam-bondi-todd-blanche-epstein-files-investigation-house-oversight-committee-
[85] Epstein Files Transparency Act – Public Law 119-38, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (November 19, 2025), https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ38/PLAW-119publ38.pdf
[86] Letter from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed to Members of Congress, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Department of Justice (December 19, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1434851/dl?inline=
[87] Letter from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed to Members of Congress, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Department of Justice (December 19, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1434851/dl?inline=
[88] “Epstein files include redacted records, more photographs as Trump DOJ criticized for handling,” NBC NEWS (Live Breaking News Feed) (December 19, 2025), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/live-blog/epstein-files-release-trump-congress-live-updates-rcna245032
[89] Solcyre Burga, “DOJ Will Not Meet Deadline To Release All Epstein Files,” TIME (via AOL) (December 19, 2025), https://www.aol.com/articles/doj-not-meet-deadline-release-180751602.html
[90] “Epstein files include redacted records, more photographs as Trump DOJ criticized for handling,” NBC NEWS (Live Breaking News Feed) (December 19, 2025), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/live-blog/epstein-files-release-trump-congress-live-updates-rcna245032
[91] “Todd Blanche touts ‘all-out effort’ to identify Brown University suspect,” (Live interview with Deputy AG Todd Blanche), FOX NEWS (December 19, 2025), https://www.foxnews.com/video/6386705034112
[92] Department of Justice post on X that they did not redact the names of any politicians and referencing remarks by Deputy AG Blanche (December 20, 2025), https://x.com/TheJusticeDept/status/2002205851285594614
[93] Kristen Welker, “Deputy AG Blanche says DOJ ‘not redacting information’ on Trump in Epstein files: Full interview,” Meet the Press, NBC NEWS, https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/deputy-ag-blanche-says-doj-not-redacting-information-on-trump-in-epstein-files-full-interview-254817349628?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
[94] Jason Ma, “‘Bring it on’—top Justice Department official responds to impeachment threat over redacted partial Epstein files,” FORTUNE (December 21, 2025), https://fortune.com/2025/12/21/todd-blanche-justice-department-epstein-files-impeachment-contempt-trump-redactions/
[95] Kristen Welker, “Deputy AG Blanche says DOJ ‘not redacting information’ on Trump in Epstein files: Full interview,” Meet the Press, NBC NEWS, https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/deputy-ag-blanche-says-doj-not-redacting-information-on-trump-in-epstein-files-full-interview-254817349628?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
[96] “US Justice Department Continues Release of Jeffrey Epstein Files,” NEWS ON AIR (December 21, 2025), https://www.newsonair.gov.in/us-justice-department-continues-release-of-jeffrey-epstein-files
[97] Kristen Welker, “Deputy AG Blanche says DOJ ‘not redacting information’ on Trump in Epstein files: Full interview,” Meet the Press, NBC NEWS, https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/deputy-ag-blanche-says-doj-not-redacting-information-on-trump-in-epstein-files-full-interview-254817349628?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
[98] Kyle Cheney and Erica Orden, “New trove of apparent Epstein files posted on DOJ site disappears,” POLITICO (December 22, 2025), https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/22/epstein-files-release-justice-department-00704265
[99] Post on X by Department of Justice regarding release of 30,000 pages of new Epstein records, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (December 23, 2025), https://x.com/TheJusticeDept/status/2003442658643988641?s=20
[100] “DOJ says it may need a ‘few more weeks’ to finish releasing Epstein files,” NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) (via ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP) (December 25, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/12/25/g-s1-103685/doj-says-few-more-weeks-epstein-files
[101] Letter from 12 senators (led by Sens. Blumenthal and Murkowski) to the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (December 24, 2025), https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20251224lettertodojoigonepsteinreleasefinal.pdf
[102] Justin Papp, “DOJ says more than 1 million potential Epstein files newly uncovered,” CNBC (December 24, 2025), https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/24/epstein-files-senators-call-for-audit-into-dojs-release.html
[103] “Attorney Review Protocol for Epstein Files,” Memorandum, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Department of Justice (DOJ) (January 4, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/media/1426281/dl?inline
[104] “Department of Justice Publishes 3.5 Million Responsive Pages in Compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” (Link to 35-minute press briefing by Deputy AG Todd Blanche), DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (January 30, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/opa/video/department-justice-publishes-35-million-responsive-pages-compliance-epstein-files
[105] Melissa Quinn, “DOJ releasing more than 3 million pages of records related to Jeffrey Epstein,” CBS NEWS (January 30, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/deputy-attorney-general-todd-blanche-news-conference-30-1-2026/
[106] Stephen Fowler, “DOJ releases tranche of Epstein files, says it has met its legal obligations,” NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) (January 30, 2026), https://www.npr.org/2026/01/30/nx-s1-5693904/epstein-files-doj-trump
[107] Jacob Shamsian, “The DOJ says it’s releasing 3 million new Epstein files – but withholding another 200,000 pages,” BUSINESS INSIDER (January 30, 2026), https://www.businessinsider.com/epstein-files-released-justice-department-withholds-privilege-pages-2026-1
[108] Deputy AG Todd Blanche/DOJ Epstein Files Press Conference (February 1, 2026), https://www.rev.com/transcripts/doj-epstein-files-press-conference
[109] Erin Burnett, “DOJ releases millions of pages of documents in Epstein investigation,” CNN (Updated January 31, 2026), https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/epstein-files-release-doj-01-30-26
[110] Dan Mangan, “Epstein files: Victims blast DOJ for incomplete release of documents,” CNBC (January 30, 2026), https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/30/jeffrey-epstein-files-doj.html
[111] Erin Burnett, “DOJ releases millions of pages of documents in Epstein investigation,” CNN (Updated January 31, 2026), https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/epstein-files-release-doj-01-30-26
[112] Stephen Fowler, “DOJ releases tranche of Epstein files, says it has met its legal obligations,” NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) (January 30, 2026), https://www.npr.org/2026/01/30/nx-s1-5693904/epstein-files-doj-trump
[113] Dan Mangan, “Epstein files: Victims blast DOJ for incomplete release of documents,” CNBC (January 30, 2026), https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/30/jeffrey-epstein-files-doj.html
[114] Letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Department of Justice (January 31, 2026), https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-01-31-raskin-to-blanche-doj-re-epstein-files.pdf
[115] Laura Ingraham post on X defending Blanche and the redaction of Epstein files, (February 3, 2026), https://x.com/IngrahamAngle/status/2018506614852985237
[116] Testimony of Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, House Committee on the Judiciary (February 11, 2026), https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/oversight-us-department-justice-5
[117] Bart Jansen, Josh Meyer and Aysha Bagchi, “Lawmakers accuse AG Pam Bondi of DOJ cover-up on Jeffrey Epstein: Recap,” USA TODAY (February 11, 2026), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/11/tsa-coast-guard-fema-to-warn-of-harm-from-potential-shutdown-live–live/88594495007/
[118] Sara Dorn, “DOJ Admits Tracking Lawmakers’ Epstein Files Search History—As ‘Spying’ Backlash Grows,” FORBES (February 12, 2026), https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/02/12/doj-admits-tracking-lawmakers-epstein-files-search-history-as-spying-backlash-grows/
[119] Sara Dorn, “DOJ Admits Tracking Lawmakers’ Epstein Files Search History—As ‘Spying’ Backlash Grows,” FORBES (February 12, 2026), https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/02/12/doj-admits-tracking-lawmakers-epstein-files-search-history-as-spying-backlash-grows/
[120] Letter from Attorney General Pamela Bondi and signed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, titled “Re: Epstein Files Transparency Act – Section 3 Report to Congress,” OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Department of Justice (DOJ) (February 14, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1434856/dl?inline
[121] Sophie Brams, “DOJ sends letter to Congress with list of people named in Epstein files, including Trump,” THE HILL (February 14, 2026), https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5739338-justice-department-epstein-files/
[122] “US Justice Department sends letter regarding Epstein files redactions to lawmakers,” REUTERS (February 14, 2026), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-department-sends-letter-regarding-epstein-files-redactions-lawmakers-2026-02-15/
[123] Aliss Higham, “What New Acting AG Todd Blanche Has Said About Epstein Files,” NEWSWEEK, (April 3, 2026), https://www.newsweek.com/what-new-acting-ag-todd-blanche-has-said-about-epstein-files-11778993
[124] Erum Salam, “Trump formally nominates Todd Blanche as attorney general,” MS NOW (June 8, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/trump-formally-nominates-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general
[125] Interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, THE KATIE MILLER PODCAST (March 17, 2026), (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5SawTwuIu0
[126] Joe Sommerlad, “Todd Blanche grilled by Stephen Miller’s wife on Epstein’s death ahead of House testimony,” THE INDEPENDENT (via AOL) (March 18, 2026), https://www.aol.com/news/todd-blanche-grilled-stephen-miller-134215003.html
[127] Subpoena cover letter to Pamela J. Bondi, Attorney General, United States, from Rep. James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (March 17, 2026), https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/03.17.2026-Subpoena-Cover-Letter-Bondi-FINAL.pdf
[128] Ferando Cervantes Jr., “Who is Todd Blanche? What New Yorkers need to know about Trump’s new interim AG,” AOL (April 6, 2025), https://www.aol.com/news/todd-blanche-yorkers-know-trumps-182043436.html
[129] Jennifer Jacobs, Sarah N. Lynch, Nicole Sganga, Jacob Rosen, “Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general, installs Todd Blanche as acting AG,” CBS NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pam-bondi-attorney-general/
[130] “Dareh Gregorian, Ryan J. Reilly and Katherine Doyle, “From Trump’s attorney to the Epstein files: Todd Blanche’s rise to attorney general,” NBC NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/todd-blanche-interim-attorney-general-pam-bondi-firing-what-know-rcna266451
[131] Jesse Watters interview with Todd Blanche, “Interim Attorney General Todd Blanche rejects speculation surrounding Pam Bondi’s firing: ‘Simply not true,’” FOX NEWS (April 2, 2026), https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392478701112
[132] Victor Nava, “Acting AG Todd Blanche defends…,” NEW YORK POST (via AOL) (April 2, 2026), https://www.aol.com/articles/acting-ag-todd-blanche-defends-005537685.html
[133] Joseph Konig, “Acting AG Todd Blanche Wants DOJ to Stop Focusing on Epstein Files,” PEOPLE (via AOL) (April 3, 2026), https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/acting-ag-todd-blanche-wants-174523592.html
[134] Joseph Konig, “Acting AG Todd Blanche Wants DOJ to Stop Focusing on Epstein Files,” PEOPLE (via AOL) (April 3, 2026), https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/acting-ag-todd-blanche-wants-174523592.html
[135] Testimony of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senate (May 19, 2026), https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2027-budget-request-for-the-department-of-justice
[136] Lisa Rubin and Julianne McShane, “Blanche admits DOJ ‘failed’ to protect Epstein victims’ privacy,” MS NOW (May 19, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/news-analysis/blanche-admits-doj-failed-to-protect-epstein-victims-privacy
[137] Lisa Rubin and Julianne McShane, “Blanche admits DOJ ‘failed’ to protect Epstein victims’ privacy,” MS NOW (May 19, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/news-analysis/blanche-admits-doj-failed-to-protect-epstein-victims-privacy
[138] Testimony of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senate (May 19, 2026), https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2027-budget-request-for-the-department-of-justice
[139] Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, Paula Reid, Marshall Cohen, “Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of Epstein matter, Bondi told lawmakers, according to new transcript,” CNN (June 4, 2026), https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/04/politics/pam-bondi-epstein-testimony-todd-blanche-transcript
[140] Transcript of Interview of Pamela J. Bondi, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, U.S. House of Representatives (May 29, 2026), https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Final-Bondi-Transcript.pdf
[141] Hailey Fuchs, “Bondi punts blame for the Epstein files to Todd Blanche,” POLITICO (June 4, 2026), https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/04/todd-blanche-pam-bondi-epstein-files-00951134?__cf_chl_tk=ljij7.fc4aITunnBJx_VoG1ipymxCsKy1RxLGIPfkEU-1780660204-1.0.1.1-wtLbUuhz7MypYdpvQyBdYbyh55WQNKIIjvuABtNltbY&ref=consejomexicano.org
[142] Rebecca Beitsch and Emily Brooks, “Bondi points finger at Blanche in House interview on Epstein files,” THE HILL (May 29, 2026), https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5901582-bondi-blanche-oversight-interview-epstein/
[143] Kyle Stewart, Rebecca Shabad, Dareh Gregorian and Brennan Leach, “Pam Bondi tells lawmakers ‘redaction errors’ were made in Epstein files release,” NBC NEWS (May 29, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pam-bondi-tells-lawmakers-redaction-errors-made-epstein-files-release-rcna347525
[144] Letter from Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to Chairman James Comer, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (June 11, 2026), https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2026-06-11garciatocomerrewhcoverup.pdf
[145] Letter from Rep. James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to Todd W. Blanche, Acting Attorney General, Department of Justice, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (June 4, 2026), https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Letter-to-DOJ-06.04.2026.pdf
[146] Michael Macagnone and Ryan Tarinelli, “Blanche heads into attorney general confirmation clash,” ROLL CALL (June 8, 2026), https://rollcall.com/2026/06/08/blanche-heads-into-attorney-general-confirmation-clash/
[147] Erum Salam, “Trump formally nominates Todd Blanche as attorney general,” MS NOW (June 8, 2026), https://www.ms.now/news/trump-formally-nominates-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general
[148] Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 10, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html
[149] Isabella Gallo, “101 judges raise ethics complaint over Todd Blanche, Trump’s acting attorney general,” AMNY (June 25, 2026), https://www.amny.com/news/todd-blanche-judges-new-york-state-bar-complaint/
[150] Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers Defending American Democracy and 101 judges file ethics complaint against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche with the Grievance Committee of the Supreme Court of the State of New York (June 22, 2026), https://dea5edf3-e27d-4adc-a42a-b9c082bc3167.usrfiles.com/ugd/dea5ed_b024aad49d1049c1ab03f01e8f1aa7fc.pdf
[151] Katie Phang v. Todd Blanche, in his official capacity as Acting Attorney General of the United States, “Memorandum Opinion,” Civil Action No. 26-1217, Case 1:26-cv-01417-EGS, Document 16, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (June 25, 2025), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.291779/gov.uscourts.dcd.291779.16.0_1.pdf
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The Numbers Don’t Lie: Obamacare’s Decline Is About Costs, Not Cheaters
By Peter Whoriskey
As millions of people were losing Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage in 2026, Trump Administration officials said they were never eligible for it.
The people falling off the Obamacare rolls were cheating, according to the administration, and should never have been allowed to enroll because they misstated their income.
They’re wrong.
Enrollment in Obamacare is shrinking, falling from 22.3 million people in 2025 to an estimated 17.5 million in 2026.
“The only people who lost coverage were people who were never entitled to coverage,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified during an April 21 hearing before the House Energy & Commerce Committee.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who oversees Obamacare as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has gone further: He said current enrollment is “too high of a number” and he’d like to see millions more dropped from the program because so many were wrongly enrolled.
The Obamacare fraud claims are convenient for the Trump administration. As the midterm elections approach, they offer political cover for a significant problem of its own making: Millions of low- and middle-income Americans are losing health insurance this year because the administration pushed to cut the subsidies that made coverage affordable.
The administration’s explanation for declining Obamacare enrollment — that fraudsters are being purged from the rolls — has found its way into news coverage. But it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. In fact, its core allegation is almost completely wrong.
This analysis by Public Citizen uses the government’s own statistics to debunk the administration’s claims.
The data indicate that the decline in Obamacare enrollment this year has nothing to do with removing deceitful enrollees. What the numbers show is that American families are being priced out of coverage.
The allegation of cheating embraced by the Trump administration predicts most of the fraud at a specific income level, right about the poverty line, where the incentives to misreport income are strong. If the administration’s fraud theory about the enrollment decline were true, a drop in the number of Obamacare enrollees at this income level would show up in the statistics.
But that’s not what is happening. The people losing coverage are concentrated at incomes well above the poverty line. They are low- and middle-income families whose premiums doubled after subsidies were cut. They didn’t cheat their way in. They simply can’t afford to stay in the program.
This year, after the subsidies were cut, Stacy Newton and her family — husband and two kids — of Wyoming, could no longer afford to pay Obamacare premiums, which amounted to $43,000 annually.
“The Trump administration keeps saying ‘it’s fraud, it’s fraud, it’s fraud,’” she said recently in an interview. “But I think they just want to break Obamacare and blame it on the people.”
GENESIS OF THE FRAUD THEORY
The fraud theory originated with the Paragon Health Institute, a nonprofit research organization closely aligned with the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. The group is led by Brian Blase, a former official in the first Trump administration. In January 2026, two Paragon directors joined the White House, and a senior policy analyst at Paragon became House Speaker Mike Johnson’s health advisor. The Paragon Health Institute has received money from the Koch Brothers’ Seminar Network and Leonard Leo’s The 85 Fund, both prominent funders of right-wing causes.
Launched in 2021, Paragon now stands as the most influential think tank for Trump healthcare policy. Under Oz, CMS has cited its findings to guide policy. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, chair of the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to CMS citing Paragon’s fraud findings and demanding an explanation.
Paragon’s core claim rests on a quirk in the patchwork of American healthcare.[1] In the ten states that have declined to expand Medicaid, there is a coverage gap: millions of working-age adults do not qualify for Medicaid, often because their incomes are too high. At the same time, these working-age adults make too little money to qualify for Obamacare subsidies, which are available only to people with incomes above the poverty line. Paragon argues that millions of people in that gap are exaggerating their income — reporting just enough income to clear the poverty-line threshold and qualify for an ACA marketplace subsidy.
“There is a large incentive for people, particularly older people, to overestimate their income,” says Paragon in its 2024 report, The Great Obamacare Enrollment Fraud. “By misstating their income, these individuals get generous coverage at zero cost to them—instead of being ineligible for any subsidies at all.” (Older enrollees have more at stake, Paragon notes, because their premiums are higher.) In a 2025 follow up report, The Greater Obamacare Enrollment Fraud, Paragon says older people have a “massive incentive” to cheat this way.
The administration adopted this theory wholesale. In March 2026, CMS proposed a rule that scrutinizes income claims of this group, citing Paragon’s research.[2] In the administration’s version of events, this group of people — those falsely claiming income just above the poverty level — are dropping out of the program.
“The reduction in Obamacare enrollment,” Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement earlier this year, “is largely due to CMS cracking down on fake and improper marketplace enrollments.”
The data, however, contradict Nixon’s claim. The fraud explanation fails in two key ways:
First, the drop in enrollment is happening in the wrong income group. If the administration’s theory were correct, the sharpest declines in enrollment would be seen just above the poverty line — exactly where Paragon says most of the fraudulent enrollees cluster. Instead, the opposite has happened: Enrollment in that income bracket has grown. The enrollment declines are concentrated at higher income levels. Almost half of the drop in enrollment comes among people with incomes more than four times the federal poverty level. These are not people gaming the poverty-line threshold. They are middle-income families who can no longer afford the premiums because they lost subsidies when the Republicans let them lapse.
Second, the drop is happening in the wrong states. Paragon’s fraud theory holds that 80% of the suspect enrollees — more than 5 million — were concentrated in the 10 states that did not expand Medicaid and so have a coverage gap. If the decline in ACA enrollment is to be explained by Paragon’s fraudulent enrollees dropping out, the ACA enrollment losses would be concentrated in those states. But that’s not what the data show.
As an example of one of those states, Paragon singled out Florida as a “clear outlier” where the fraud problem was “particularly acute,” estimating that more than 2.4 million enrollees were ineligible. Yet enrollment in Florida dropped by less than one-tenth that amount, and no faster than the rest of the country.
Numerous news accounts from across the country have documented that Americans are being priced out because the ACA subsidies were cut. These accounts are from North Carolina, Wyoming, Ohio and Tennessee. The preliminary Obamacare enrollment count showed only a 5% dip in preliminary figures released in March, but that number is expected to increase significantly as enrollees’ premiums come due. KFF projects that about 5 million Americans will lose Obamacare coverage in 2026.
WHERE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FOCUS OUGHT TO BE
People living just below the poverty line in states that refused to expand Medicaid face a cruel trap built into the law: They have too little income to qualify for Obamacare subsidies, yet too much income to qualify for their state’s restricted Medicaid program. To escape the coverage gap, some have reported incomes just above the poverty line — enough to be eligible for the ACA marketplace.
The enrollment data bear this out. A peer-reviewed study in the American Journal of Health Economics found a suspicious clustering of reported incomes just above the ACA eligibility cutoff of $11,670 in 2015 — many enrollees reported exactly $11,670, $11,700, or $12,000 in income. “The enrollment data strongly suggest that some people in the coverage gap were able to obtain [Obamacare subsidies], perhaps by overreporting their income,” the authors concluded.
How many? Estimates vary enormously. A Congressional Budget Office letter last August, noting that such estimates are “difficult,” put it at 2.3 million for 2025. Paragon put the 2025 figure of ineligible enrollees at over 6 million, though that includes a broader range of alleged impropriety.
Paragon calls the overestimation of income fraud.[3] But consider who these people are. Their earnings fall below the poverty level; they’re guessing what they’ll earn next year and know that without insurance a health problem could be financially ruinous. Desperation and wishful thinking are not fraud.
The solution the Trump Administration proposes — removing these people from the ACA rolls — would not make them healthier or cheaper to care for. People in the coverage gap don’t disappear. They get sick and injured and they show up at emergency rooms. Federal law requires that hospitals treat them regardless of ability to pay. The burden of this uncompensated care gets shifted onto patients through higher prices, onto employers and people with private health insurance through higher premiums, and onto state and local governments through hospital subsidies. Refusing Medicaid expansion doesn’t eliminate the cost of caring for poor people — it just moves the costs off the federal ledger and onto everyone else’s.
References
[1] This quirk was created when the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled in the 2012 Supreme Court case NFIB v. Sebelius that states could decline the Obamacare Medicaid expansion.
[2] Under Oz, CMS has picked up on Paragon’s work and, in a rule last year, it singled out people in this income category for special scrutiny. Their applications are flagged if they projected income over the poverty line but other sources indicated they lived below poverty. The rule has been held up in the courts, but in Paragon’s version of events these are the bulk of the people who are ineligible.
[3] Paragon also has claimed as evidence of fraud that the large portion of Obamacare enrollees who never filed a claim is evidence of “phantom enrollees” who were signed up by brokers without their knowledge. That assertion has come under scrutiny by KFF here.
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Congressional Investigation Reveals “Deeply Troubling” Politicization of 250th Anniversary Celebrations
A new report from Democrats on the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources alleged that donors seeking to support the bipartisan America 250 celebration were instead steered to the Trump-backed Freedom 250 initiative through misleading fundraising tactics. The report also found extensive involvement of former Trump campaign operatives in organizing the 250th anniversary celebrations, raising data privacy concerns.
The House Democrats’ allegations follow a report by Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project documenting more than $100 million in taxpayer-funded contracts and grants directed to the Freedom 250 network and other politically connected entities.
In response to the new report, Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman issued the following statement:
“It should surprise no one that Donald Trump has turned the nation’s 250th anniversary into a scam on America.”
“Congress established America 250 to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary with the intent of appropriate civic celebration and reflection. Donald Trump has hijacked the enterprise, siphoning America 250’s public money into a MAGA-oriented nonprofit called Freedom 250 and remaking the nation’s 250th anniversary into a celebration of Donald J. Trump.”
“Now come allegations that private donors who intended to support America 250 were tricked into contributing instead to the partisan Freedom 250. Americans deserve a thorough investigation of whether this alleged deceit rises to the level of unlawful or criminal wrongdoing.”
”Since Freedom 250 was created and established by Trump, corporations that lobby the federal government are required to report any donations to Freedom 250 on their federal lobbying filings, a requirement that does not apply to the congressionally chartered America 250 organization.”
“Further investigation into any potential civil or criminal violations stemming from Trump’s takeover of the 250th anniversary celebrations must continue.”
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Outrage of the Month: Artificial Intelligence and Drug Prescribing
Health Letter, July 2026
By Robert Steinbrook, M.D.
Director, Public Citizen's Health Research Group
(A version of this column was published in the July 2026 issue of Worst Pills, Best Pills News)
In January 2026, Utah launched a pilot program with an artificial intelligence (AI) company to allow the firm’s proprietary AI healthcare platform to autonomously refill prescription medications for people in the state with certain common conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The partnership is with Doctronic, which describes itself as “the world’s #1 AI doctor” and boasts that its AI chatbot is trained “exclusively on peer-reviewed medical sources, so the info we provide is medical-grade and doctor-approved.” About 190 medications are eligible for renewal.
AI is a software application, not a licensed physician or other medical professional. Software should not be refilling prescriptions autonomously, nor should it be identifying itself as an “AI doctor” that “you can talk to me just like you would your regular doctor.” The term “AI doctor” misleads consumers and debases the meaning of the word “doctor.”
Why is this pilot program legal? In 2024, Utah created an “AI Learning Lab” overseen by the state’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy within the Department of Commerce and the Division of Professional Licensing. To test new programs, the AI learning lab “can temporarily waive certain professional licensure and scope-of-practice laws,” including requirements for prescriptions to be renewed by a human clinician. Without this waiver, any drug dispensed without a prescription from a licensed practitioner would have been considered misbranded, making its sale a crime.
There are legal uncertainties, however. It remains unclear “whether the word ‘practitioner’ can apply to a nonhuman entity,” such as autonomous AI, an uncertainty that Congress or courts may eventually need to resolve.
The program is also not overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although states, not the federal government, regulate the practice of medicine, the FDA regulates medical devices. According to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, the AI drug prescribing chatbot “should probably be considered a device under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.” The article also noted that, “If the FDA doesn’t initiate action against Doctronic, however, nothing will happen. The FDA may decide to look the other way and allow this experiment to continue, leaving clinicians and patients without safety assurances amid an extraordinary expansion of autonomy for AI.”
The Utah Medical Licensing Board, which was not consulted before the program was launched, has called for the suspension of the state’s AI-enabled prescription renewal systems pending further study. Public Citizen agrees. We have urged Utah to suspend its AI-enabled “prescription renewal systems pending further review of their legality, safety, accountability, and compliance with existing standards governing the practice of medicine.”
As of late June 2026, the Utah pilot program is continuing. Although putting the genie back in the bottle would be a daunting task, deploying AI to autonomously perform prescribing and other core medical functions without robust evidence of safety and effectiveness sets a dangerous precedent. Adequate safeguards and accountability measures must be in place. State medical boards, not commerce departments, should decide when, how and for what purposes AI can be deployed to facilitate clinical practice and improve patient care.
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Product Recalls: May 13, 2026 – June 17, 2026
Health Letter, July 2026
Note: Never stop taking a drug that appears on the product recall list without first talking to your doctor or pharmacist. Most recalls are limited to a single manufacturer and may not be related to the version of a particular drug you are taking. If a recall does relate to the version of the drug you are taking, you should not stop taking the drug until you discuss an alternative treatment with your doctor or pharmacist.
For Class 1 recalls, there is a potential for serious injury or death.
For Class 2 recalls, there is a potential for serious adverse events but a lower chance of the drug causing serious injury or death than in a Class 1 recall.
CLASS I
CLASS II
Amlodipine and Olmesartan Medoxomil tablets, 5mg/40mg, 30-count bottle. Manufactured by: Alkem Laboratories, Ltd. Distributed by: Ascend Laboratories, LLC. Lot #24123460, exp. date: 10/27.
Atomoxetine capsules, 10 mg, cartons of 100. Pkg by: Safecor, Columbus OH. Lot # 25530722.
CAREone Extra Strength Calcium Antacid tablets, 750 mg and 1000 mg, 96 tablets and 72 tablets. Distributed by Foodhold U.S.A., LLC. Lots #1276118, 1276119, exp. date: 01/29; Lot #1716259, exp. date: 03/29.
Discount Drug Mart Extra Strength Antacid tablets, 750 mg, 96 tablets. Distributed by: Drug Mart-Food Fair Medina, OH. Lot #1276118, exp. 01/29.
Duloxetine Delayed-Release capsules, 30 mg, 30-count bottles. Relabeled by: Enovachem Pharmaceuticals. Marketed by: Ajanta Pharma USA Inc. Lots #050725G-30, 050725F-30, exp. date: 06/26.
Duloxetine Delayed-Release capsules, 30 mg and 60 mg, 1000 capsules and 90 capsules. Manufactured by: Towa Pharmaceutical Europe, S.L. Lot #241180C, exp. date: 04/27; Lots # 241074C, exp. date: 05/27; Lots #240317, 240318, 240315C, 240373C, 240370C, 240375C, 240413C, exp. date: 02/27; Lot #240316, exp. date: 01/27; Lot #232311, exp. date: 11/26; Lots #240978C, 241052C, exp. date: 04/27.
Equaline Extra Strength Antacid tablets, 750 mg and 1000 mg, 96 tablets and 72 tablets. Distributed by: Supervalue Inc. Lot #1276118, exp. date: 01/29; Lot #1716089, exp. date: 01/29.
Erythromycin tablets, 250 mg and 500 mg, 30 tablets per bottle. Manufactured by: Zydus Lifesciences. Distributed by: Zydus Pharmaceuticals. Lots #M411146, exp. date: 08/26; Lots #M502098, M502097, exp. date: 01/27; M411145, exp. date: 08/26; Lot #M411147, exp. date: 08/26; Lots # M502100, M502099, exp. date: 01/27.
Extra Strength Antacid calcium carbonate, 750 mg, 96-count bottle. Distributed by: Casey’s Marketing Company. Lot #1276116, exp. date: 01/298.
Family Wellness Ultra Strength Antacid tablets, 1000 mg, 72 tablets. Distributed by: Midwood Brand, LLC. Lot #1716089, exp. 01/29; Lot #1716259, exp. 03/29.
Gas-X, Simethicone, 125 mg/ANTIGAS, 120 SoftGels. Distributed by: Haleon. Lot #KB5Y, exp. date: 04/28; Lot #MP4B, expt. Date: 05/28; Lot #SS4F, exp. date: 09/28.
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Extra Strength Antacid calcium carbonate, 750 mg and 1000 mg, 96-count bottle and 72 tablets. Distributed by: Amerisourcebergen. Lot #1276118, exp. date: 01/29; Lot #1716089, exp. date 01/29.
GoodSense Extra Strength Antacid tablets, 750 mg and 1000 mg, 96 tablets and 72 tablets. Distributed by: Geiss, Destin & Dunn, inc. Lot #1276118, exp. date: 01/29; Lot #1716089, exp. date: 01/29.
GSMS Incorporated Niacin Extended-Release tablets, 1000 mg, 90 tablets. Manufactured by: Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals Inc. Lots #GS065128, GS065844, GS066695, GS067432, GS067993, exp. date: 01/27.
Haleon Calcium Carbonate Tums antacid, assorted fruit tablets, 1000 mg and 750 mg, 160-count bottle and 330-count bottle. Lots #1096075, 1096076, 1096077, 1096078, exp. date: 01/29; Lot #1076169, exp. date: 02/29.
Harris Teeter Ultra Strength Antacid tablets, 1000 mg, 72 tablets. Distributed by: Harris Teeter, LLC. Lot #1716089, exp. 01/29.
H.E.B. Extra Strength Calcium Carbonate Antacid tablets, 750 mg, 96 tablets. Lot #1276118, exp. date: 01/29.
HyVee Extra Strength Antacid tablets, 750 mg and 1000 mg, 96 tablets and 72 tablets. Distributed by: Hy-Vee Inc. Lot #1276119, exp. date: 01/29. Lot #1716089, exp. date: 01/29.
Kirkland Signature Ultra Strength Antacid calcium carbonate, 1000 mg, 265-count bottle. Manufactured by: Guardian Drug Company. Lots #1716059, 1716060, 1716061, 1716062, 1716063, 1716218, 1716219, 1716228, 1716229, 1716238, exp. date: 02/29; Lot #1716258, exp. date: 03/29.
Market Basket Antacid calcium carbonate, 1000 mg, 72 tablets. Distributed by: De Moules Supermarkets, Inc. Lot #1716089, exp. date 01/ 29.
Metropolol Succinate extended-release tablets, 25 mg. Manufactured by: Alkem Laboratories LTD. Distributed by: Ascend Laboratories. Lot #25140859, exp. date: 01/27.
Niacin Extended-Release tablets, 1000 mg, 90-count bottles. Distributed by: Lannett Company, Inc. Lot #25282724A, exp. date: 01/27.
TopCare Health Extra Strength Antacid tablets, 750 mg and 1000 mg, 96 tablets and 72 tablets. Distributed by: Topco Associates LLC. Lot #1276119, exp. date: 01/29; Lot #1716089, exp. date: 01/29.
24/7 life by 7-ELEVEN Extra Strength Antacid tablets, 750 mg, 96 tablets. Distributed by: 7-ELEVEN. Lot #1276119, exp. date: 01/29.
For more information about the drug recalls listed above, please visit http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/index.cfm.
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
For a list of recent recalls of consumer products, please visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission website at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/.
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Governor Newsom Should Halt Cal/OSHA Cuts Amid Rising Heat Threats
Dear Governor Newsom:
Public Citizen, a national nonprofit consumer and worker advocacy organization with more than one million members and supporters, urges your administration to immediately avoid making the proposed cuts to Cal/OSHA enforcement funding. We also call on you to ensure that the accumulated surplus in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund (OSH Fund) is fully used to protect California workers, with a focus on addressing the growing and deadly threat of occupational heat illness.
For FY 2026-27, your administration has proposed a $725,000 reduction to Cal/OSHA Enforcement, in addition to the $16 million already cut from the current year’s budget. This reduction is not a fiscal necessity. Cal/OSHA is predominantly financed through the Occupational Safety and Health Fund, which is supported by a small employer surcharge on workers’ compensation premiums and receives no state tax revenues. The OSHA Fund reported a $200 million surplus last fiscal year and is projected to have a $130 million surplus this year. However, as of December 2025, your administration directed that 50% of OSHA Fund revenues, or approximately $100 million, be held in reserve and withheld from Cal/OSHA. As a result, employer-financed safety funds remain unused while worker protections are reduced.
Cal/OSHA’s declining enforcement capacity has had significant consequences for worker safety. As of January 31, 2026, 95 inspector positions remain unfilled, representing a 35% vacancy rate. Nine district offices are at or above 50% vacancy. Four offices lack a district manager, and three offices have no clerical staff. The July 2025 California State Auditor Report No. 2024-115 documented a 32% inspector vacancy rate in FY 2023–24 and found that only 17% of validated worker complaints resulted in an on-site inspection. On-site inspections followed employer-reported serious injuries and fatalities only 42% of the time. More recent data from the first three quarters of 2025 shows that conditions have worsened. Currently, 58% of all Cal/OSHA enforcement activity consists of letter investigations, which require employers to self-report hazards, rather than on-site visits. Cal/OSHA now responds to worker complaints with on-site inspections less than 45% of the time. California has only one field inspector for every 99,000 workers, while Oregon has one per 23,000 and Washington has one per 28,000.
The decline in enforcement presents a significant threat to workers exposed to heat. California enacted the nation’s first outdoor heat standard in 2005 and later expanded these protections to indoor workers. Peer-reviewed research published in Health Affairs in December 2025 demonstrated that stronger enforcement of California’s heat standard from 2010–2014 resulted in a 33% reduction in heat-related outdoor worker deaths, with a 51% reduction following the 2015 revision of the standard. The evidence demonstrates that enforcement, rather than standards existing solely on paper, is essential to safeguarding workers’ lives. Cal/OSHA’s heat illness prevention regulations apply to agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, warehousing, and indoor workplaces where temperatures can become hazardous without effective controls. However, enforcement of these protections is now compromised. Of the 193 filled compliance officer positions statewide, only two industrial hygienists are available to conduct inspections for heat, silica, wildfire smoke, lead, noise, and other occupational health hazards.
Despite California’s improved fiscal outlook and nearly $30 billion in combined reserves, your administration’s May Revision, released May 14, 2026, maintained the proposed Cal/OSHA enforcement cuts. With the Legislature’s June 15 budget deadline now passed, Public Citizen continues to monitor the enacted budget for any restoration of Cal/OSHA funding. We urge your administration to provide a full public explanation of the legal authority and conditions under which the OSH Fund reserve was imposed. Workers and the public must receive transparency regarding the withholding of employer-financed safety revenues from the agency responsible for their use.
Public Citizen calls upon your administration to take the following actions without delay:
- Restore the full $725,000 proposed for Cal/OSHA Enforcement in the FY 2026-27 budget and commit to halting further reductions to this critically understaffed agency, as documented by the State Auditor and independent experts;
- Direct that the full OSH Fund surplus, including the approximately $100 million currently held in reserve, be made available to Cal/OSHA Enforcement and Process Safety Management to fulfill their statutory mandate to protect California’s workers;
- Provide a comprehensive public accounting of all directives that have placed OSH Fund revenues in reserve, including the legal authority, duration, and specific conditions for their release;
- Authorize immediate personnel actions, including market-rate compensation adjustments, to fill the more than 95 vacant inspector positions, with urgent priority for the nine district offices currently operating at or above 50 percent vacancy;
- Redeploy qualified industrial hygienists and prioritize enforcement of heat illness prevention in high-risk industries and regions, consistent with Cal/OSHA’s heat illness prevention standards; and
- Restore the proposed $350,000 cut to Cal/OSHA’s Process Safety Management unit, which is responsible for oversight of California’s 13 oil refineries and more than 1,000 workplaces handling highly hazardous chemicals.
California’s agricultural, construction, warehouse, and disaster recovery workers require immediate and decisive action to ensure their safety. An agency overwhelmingly supported by employer contributions and established to protect workers cannot justify a $200 million surplus while inspector positions sit vacant and heat-related fatalities continue. Public Citizen respectfully urges your administration to act without delay and requests that the California Legislature investigate why OSH Fund revenues are not being directed to benefit the workers whose employers have contributed these resources.
We appreciate your attention to this urgent matter and welcome the opportunity to discuss these concerns further.
Sincerely,
A’Ishah Johnson, MPH
Workers’ Health and Safety Advocate
Public Citizen
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National Trade Estimate Report
Every year on or by March 31, the U.S. Trade Representative releases an annual review of trade partners’ “significant trade barriers” as mandated by statute 19 U.S. Code § 2241, compiled from information within USTR, other government agencies, trade advisory committees, and supplemented by public comments submitted to a Federal Register notice.
The National Trade Estimate report (NTE), at its core, is a value judgment – a proclamation to the world about what U.S. public policy priorities are and what they are not. For years, the NTE report has included not just policies that explicitly discriminate against U.S. companies, but has labeled a variety of other countries’ public interest policies related to public health and the environment, food-labeling and privacy laws, and even kosher and halal faith-based dietary standards as illegal trade barriers.
A trade policy that prioritizes the interests of workers and consumers must be premised on what is in the public interest. Below is a list of Public Citizen’s NTE report submissions and related commentary.
2026
- Map: Trump Administration Doing Big Tech’s Bidding in Targeting Digital Regulations Worldwide
- Trump’s “Special Book” Doubles Down on Corporate Hit List, Attacking Global Climate, Health, and Digital Regulations
- Statement for the Record: The President’s 2026 Trade Policy Agenda
2025
- Comments to USTR on the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
- 2025 Annual USTR Report Resurrects Corporate Wishlist, Attacking Climate, Health, and Digital Regulation
- Trump’s Deals with Latin American Countries Advance Big Tech’s Global Agenda
2024
- Comment to USTR on Significant Foreign Trade Barriers for the 2025 NTE Report
- The 2024 National Trade Estimates Report: Examining the USTR’s new approach to identifying trade barriers
- Annual USTR Report Another Step Toward Biden’s Worker-Centered Trade Approach
2021
2013
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Public Citizen Model State Law Protecting Young Children from Chatbot Toys
To be incorporated into State Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law:
SEC 1 – DEFINITIONS
In this Act:
(a) “Companion chatbot” means an artificial intelligence system that is designed to simulate an interpersonal relationship with the user and retains user data to provide adaptive, personalized responses to user inputs.
(b) “Toy” means a product designed or intended by the manufacturer for use in play primarily by children 13 years of age or younger.
SEC 2 – PROHIBITION
(a) No person shall manufacture, sell, exchange, or distribute, or possess with intent to manufacture, sell, exchange, or distribute any toy that includes a companion chatbot.
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Corporate Supremacist Super PACs Drive $500 Million Midterm Spending Surge
Key Findings
- Cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, Big Tech and online betting corporations have collectively spent $294 million to influence federal elections in the 2026 midterm cycle, reflecting a strategic move to spend directly on political action committees to influence federal elections.
- These corporate super PAC political contributions make up 57% of the $517 million that corporations have reported spending on the 2026 midterms so far.
- The 2026 total so far amounts to nearly one third of the $1.58 billion that corporations have spent since the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC to allow direct corporate spending in federal elections.
- The half-billion in midterm spending by corporations breaks the previous record of $461 million in disclosed federal corporate spending set during the 2024 cycle.
- The primary beneficiaries of the $60 million in spending by Big Tech and AI corporations are the sector-focused Leading the Future ($50.1 million) and MAGA Inc. ($6 million)
- The primary beneficiary of the $45.6 million in spending by online betting corporations is the sector-focused Win for America PAC ($43 million).
- Crypto corporations, which pioneered this strategy in the 2024 presidential election cycle, remain the dominant corporate political spenders, as over one third (37%) of the corporate money contributed during this year’s elections came from crypto businesses ($189 million so far).
- The biggest beneficiaries of crypto’s corporate spending are the sector-focused Fairshake ($82.6 million) and MAGA Inc. ($56.2 million), the Trump-backing super PAC.
Note: Findings are based on Public Citizen analysis of 2010-2024 data obtained from OpenSecrets and 2026 U.S. Federal Election Commission data documenting contributions of $5,000 or more by for-profit corporations to super PACs and hybrid PACs. Not all corporate spending is reported to the Federal Election Commission. This total likely undercounts the true total sum of corporate election spending, which Dark Money groups enable corporations to conceal.
Introduction
In the 2026 midterm elections, corporate money is poised to play a bigger role than ever before in influencing how Americans vote. The cryptocurrency sector’s political playbook from 2024 – prioritizing corporate priorities over parties or candidates and using their financial power to discipline sitting lawmakers and candidates – is spawning copycat corporate campaigns by other sectors.
Months before Election Day, corporations have already collectively spent $517 million to influence federal elections – a 12% increase over the $461 million that corporations spent over the entire 2024 election cycle and nearly triple the $184.1 million spent by corporations during the previous midterm election in 2022.
Nearly one third of the total $1.58 billion in corporate spending on federal elections since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed such spending in 2010 has been made during the current election cycle (see Chart 1).
Chart 1: Corporate Political Spending in Federal Elections Since Citizens United
Source: Public Citizen analysis of OpenSecrets.org and FEC data
These record-breaking totals do not include state-level corporate election spending that is not reported to the FEC, or dark money nonprofit organizations. Meta Platforms, for example, is spending an additional $65 million toward non-federal super PACs to push back against state lawmakers who support AI regulations. Anthropic made a $20 million pledge that does not yet appear in FEC disclosures to back a group supporting lawmakers who favor regulating AI.
The failure of Congress to pass meaningful political disclosure legislation means corporate-backed dark money groups organized as 501(c)4 non-profit organizations conceal their funders from the public, as do 501(c)6 business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose corporate members include Meta, Microsoft, and IBM.
This means the full amount of direct corporate influence spending in the 2026 elections is unknown, and certainly higher than the amounts reported and made publicly available in required FEC disclosures.
Corporate Supremacist Super PACs
Cryptocurrency corporations drove the surge in 2024 corporate election spending, ultimately putting more than $170 million toward intervening in congressional races across the country and accounting for more than a third of the total sum of corporate money spent during that cycle.
Most of the 2026 surge also is attributable to the crypto sector, along with other sectors following crypto’s 2024 playbook of channeling millions into super PACs. These super PACs prioritize the interests of their business backers over either major political party or any candidate. Following the crypto playbook, they are set up to engage in both Democratic and Republican primaries and to support or attack candidates of either major party in the general election. This relatively new crop of corporate supremacist super PACs makes their prioritization of corporate self-interest explicit:
- Josh Vlasto, a leader of the crypto-prioritizing Fairshake super PAC – and a former chief of staff for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top staffer for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – said in 2025 “We are building an aggressive, targeted strategy for next year to ensure that pro-crypto voices are heard in key races across the country.”
- Similarly, a statement on the website for the AI-prioritizing Leading the Future PAC – which Vlasto co-leads with Zac Moffatt, a former digital director for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign – states the political entity’s intention is “identifying, maintaining, and growing pro-AI candidates in order to support an AI innovation policy agenda at the state and federal level.”
- Similarly, an unnamed Win for America spokesperson told Axios the super PAC’s corporate backers “seek candidates who will thoughtfully approach regulation and ensure legal sports betting can continue to support communities through billions in tax revenue and jobs across America.”
Together, the crypto, AI, Big Tech, and online betting corporations have spent $294 million – 57% of the total 2026 midterm spending by corporations so far. Most of their spending (60%) has backed these corporate supremacist super PACs (see Table 1).
Table 1: Corporate Sectors and Corporate Supremacist Super PACs
| Corporate Sector | Total Corporate Contributions from Sector | Corporate Super PAC | Contributions to Corporate Super PAC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency | $189 million | Fairshake | $82 million |
| Big Tech / AI | $60 million | Leading the Future | $50 million |
| Online Betting | $46 million | Win for America | $43 million |
| Total | $294 million | -- | $175 million |
Source: Public Citizen analysis of FEC data through the first quarter of 2026
The $82 million in corporate contributions the crypto-prioritizing Fairshake has received make up 60% its $135 million in 2026 cycle contributions.
The $50 million in corporate contributions the AI-prioritizing Leading the Future has received make up two-thirds (67%) of its $75.1 million in 2026 cycle contributions.
The $43 million in corporate contributions the online betting-prioritizing Win for America has received make up 100% of its 2026 cycle contributions.
Together, the top ten corporate contributors from these sectors account for $262 million – half of the 2026 corporate election spending so far (see Table 2).
Table 2: Top 10 Corporate Super PAC Contributors from Crypto, Big Tech, AI, and Online Betting Sectors
| Corporation | Total 2026 Contributions | Recipients | Political Lean | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andreessen Horowitz | $51.65 million | Leading the Future | Corporate | $50 million |
| Congressional Leadership Fund | Republican | $1.65 million | ||
| Ripple Labs | $49.6 million | Fairshake and affiliates | Corporate | $48.5 million |
| Commonwealth Prosperity Fund | Republican | $1 million | ||
| Congressional Leadership Fund | Republican | $100,000 | ||
| Foris Dax (Crypto.com) | $38.6 million | MAGA Inc. | Republican | $35 million |
| Keep America Great PAC, Inc. | Republican | $2.4 million | ||
| Senate Leadership Fund PAC | Republican | $740,000 | ||
| Wisconsin Working PAC | Unknown | $513,000 | ||
| Coinbase | $35.2 million | Fairshake | Corporate | $33 million |
| Senate Leadership Fund PAC | Republican | $500,000 | ||
| Senate Majority Project | Democratic | $500,000 | ||
| Congressional Leadership Fund | Republican | $500,000 | ||
| House Majority Project | Democratic | $500,000 | ||
| Bold America | Democratic | $50,000 | ||
| Rolling Sea Action Fund | Democratic | $25,000 | ||
| Winklevoss Capital Fund LLC and Gemini Trust Company | $25.7 million | Digital Freedom Fund | Republican | $21.3 million |
| MAGA Inc. | Republican | $4.4 million | ||
| FanDuel | $21.5 million | Win for America | Corporate | $19.5 million |
| Senate Leadership Fund PAC | Republican | $500,000 | ||
| Senate Majority Project | Democratic | $500,000 | ||
| Congressional Leadership Fund | Republican | $500,000 | ||
| House Majority Project | Democratic | $500,000 | ||
| Black Bear PAC, Inc. | Republican | $25,000 | ||
| DK Crown Holdings Inc. (DraftKings) | $20 million | Win for America | Corporate | $19.5 million |
| Senate Leadership Fund PAC | Republican | $500,000 | ||
| Cantor Fitzgerald | $10 million | Fellowship PAC | Republican | $10 million |
| Blockchain.com, Inc. | $5 million | MAGA Inc. | Republican | $5 million |
| Tools for Humanity Corporation | $5 million | MAGA Inc. | Republican | $5 million |
| TOTAL | $262 million | -- | -- | $262 million |
Source: Public Citizen analysis of FEC data through the first quarter of 2026
The leading contributor, Andreessen Horowitz, is a venture capital firm that invests in both AI and crypto corporations. The firm was a top contributor to the corporate supremacist super PAC Fairshake in 2024, but has apparently shifted priorities with its $50 million contributed toward the AI-prioritizing super PAC Leading the Future. Reporting by the New York Times recently noted that the firm’s spending combined with campaign donations by co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz amount to $115.5 million.
Next are the cryptocurrency corporations Ripple, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and entities associated with Gemini and its co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, which collectively spent $149 million. Ripple and Coinbase gave $81.5 million to the crypto-prioritizing super PAC Fairshake, while Crypto.com and Gemini, along with $5 million donor Blockchain.com, gave $44.4 million to the Trump-backing MAGA Inc. super PAC. The Winklevoss Capital Fund LLC gave $21.3 million to the Digital Freedom Fund, which the billionaire twins set up solely to support Republican candidates who are seen as allies of the crypto sector.
Below the big-spending crypto businesses are FanDuel and DraftKings, who together contributed $39 million to the super PAC set up to advance the interests of the online betting corporations, Win for America. The entity reportedly is expected to focus on state legislative races, channeling funds into state-focused super PACs including the American Conservative Fund and Win for Pennsylvania.
With its $10 million contribution, Cantor Fitzgerald is the primary backer of a third crypto-prioritizing super PAC, Fellowship PAC. Cantor Fitzgerald is a Wall Street firm previously led by Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick (and is now run by Lutnick’s sons) and which serves as the banker for the stablecoin corporation Tether. Jesse Spiro, Tether’s top lobbyist, reportedly leads the PAC. While FEC data documents $11 million in receipts so far to the super PAC, it has pledged to spend at least $100 million.
Tools for Humanity Corporation—which operates OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s eyeball-scanning orb startup—made its $5 million donation to MAGA Inc., just days before Trump’s inauguration. It was one of the largest corporate donations the super PAC received after the election and before the inauguration, matched at the time only by UnitedHealthcare. Altman recently claimed he “would love to see money out of politics in general.” OpenAI has sought to distance itself from the political activities of its executives. OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife Anna gave $25 million to MAGA Inc. and $25 million to Leading the Future, which The Wall Street Journal reported Brockman and OpenAI global affairs chief Chris Lehane were involved in initiating.
MAGA Inc.’s Corporate Money
The biggest beneficiary of corporate contributions behind the corporate supremacist super PACs is MAGA Inc., having received $120.6 million in corporate contributions.
MAGA Inc. was first launched to support Trump-endorsed candidates in the 2022 midterm elections and became the top super PAC backing Trump’s 2024 reelection efforts, ultimately raising $410 million.
The super PAC has already raised $342 million during the 2026 midterm election cycle. The corporate contributions amount to more than a third of the total (35%). Individual donations include $25 million from billionaire conservative megadonor Diane Hendricks, $25 million from OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, $16 million from billionaire TikTok investor and conservative megadonor Jeff Yass, and $5 million from Elon Musk.
Thirty-six corporations that contributed $1 million or more account for the vast majority ($113 million, or 94%) of MAGA Inc.’s corporate money (see Table 3 and Appendix in the full PDF version of the report for all 35 corporate MAGA Inc. contributors that gave $1 million or more).
Table 3: Top 10 Corporate Backers of the MAGA Inc Super PAC
| Corporation | Sector | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Foris Dax (Crypto.com) | Crypto | $35 million |
| Energy Transfer Partners | Fossil Fuels | $12.5 million |
| Extremity Care LLC and Buco One (Tiger Biosciences) | Healthcare Products | $7.5 million |
| United Wholesale Mortgage | Finance | $5.8 million |
| UnitedHealthcare | Health Insurance | $5 million |
| Blockchain.com | Crypto | $5 million |
| Tools for Humanity Corporation | AI / Crypto | $5 million |
| Gemini Trust Company | Crypto | $4.4 million |
| RAI Services (Reynold's American) | Tobacco | $3 million |
| Ondo Finance | Crypto | $2.1 million |
Source: Public Citizen analysis of FEC data through the first quarter of 2026
Conclusion
Corporations want elected officials to prioritize their private profit-maximization over voters and the public interest. The rise of corporate supremacist super PACs shows that their willingness to exploit their Supreme Court-granted power to spend unlimited sums to influence elections is becoming increasingly brazen.
If the current, broken campaign finance system remains unchallenged – and spending by these artificial entities continues to be allowed to drown out the voices of real voters and real people – these corporate campaigns will keep multiplying, even as voting rights for individual Americans face escalating attacks.
Time and time again, Americans have demonstrated they want elected officials who are willing to stand up for them against the powerful and predatory corporations that attempt to dominate our daily lives. Lawmakers can demonstrate their fearlessness and independence from corporate influence by passing legislation that empowers the public while reducing the influence of Big Business demands to prioritize profit-maximization over Americans’ health, safety, and democracy.
There are solutions on the table to address the problem. Legislative solutions include the Abolish Super PACs Act, the DISCLOSE Act, and, ultimately, a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
So far, Congress as a whole has fallen short of the political courage required to fix our federal election system by limiting corporate influence and restoring power to voters. Their fear lets corporate power thrive while voters’ needs are ignored. The intense escalation of corporate spending we are now seeing shows that it is well past time for salvaging American democracy to be treated with the urgency that it deserves.