In the small pond that is the New York legal community, Todd Blanche — a former federal prosecutor turned lead Donald Trump defense lawyer — was well known and much liked before he made his debut for Trump roughly 18 months ago. And unlike many of those who came before him (Joe Tacopina, Jim Trusty, Tim Parlatore and Evan Corcoran among them), Blanche not only survived his time in the Trump trenches, he thrived.
That’s not only because of Blanche’s obvious rapport with Trump, but also because, despite the adverse verdict in the Manhattan hush money trial, Blanche was pivotal in delaying, curtailing and/or outright dismissing three of Trump’s four criminal cases, including the federal election interference case that gave rise to the Supreme Court’s landmark presidential immunity ruling in July.
And now, assuming the Senate confirms him, Blanche is set to become the deputy attorney general for the United States. Much ink has been spilled about him — his personal history, his professional résumé and his personality traits (among them, what The New York Times described as “a contrarian streak and an empathetic side that explains his decision to essentially put his career on the line for someone as divisive as Mr. Trump”). However, three things about his selection as the Justice Department’s No. 2 official aren’t garnering as much attention as they should.
It doesn’t seem to be about the Benjamins
First, at least one person has asked me whether Trump chose Blanche as deputy attorney general (known within the DOJ as “DAG”) as compensation for unpaid legal bills. Although it’s unclear whether Blanche has been paid in full for his services, Blanche’s firm received more than $8 million between April 2023 and early October 2024 from Save America, Trump’s leadership PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records. So for those seeking to understand why Trump chose Blanche, actual indebtedness seems an unlikely reason. (Blanche declined to comment.)
A future acting attorney general?
It’s more likely that Trump picked Blanche because he possesses two qualities the transition team reportedly holds dear: demonstrated competence and proven loyalty. Yes, Blanche was occasionally hyperbolic and insufficiently in command of the details in his defense of Trump at trial. And yes, at least one former Southern District of New York prosecutor I know is worried that Blanche’s Trumpian turn could have a nasty spillover effect on SDNY’s otherwise sterling reputation and historic independence — and by extension, taint any lawyer associated with the office.
But ask others who served with him in the storied SDNY about his record as a prosecutor, and even those baffled by his fidelity to Trump praise him as practical, tactical, ethical and someone with high emotional intelligence. Those are qualities that will come in handy should, as some expect, Blanche have to serve as acting attorney general at some point.
How would that happen? Well, next to other Trump picks — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence or Matt Gaetz for attorney general, for example — Blanche looks like the captain of what Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien called “Team Normal.” It’s easy to imagine, especially in a Republican-controlled Senate, that Blanche will sail through confirmation, even if Gaetz does not.
Should that happen, Blanche would be legally entitled to “exercise all the duties” of the attorney general. Moreover, even though acting secretaries are usually limited to 210 days in those positions under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, some argue an acting attorney general is not subject to any time limit because the law specific to the DOJ does not mention one. Whether Blanche eventually steps into the shoes of the attorney general or is merely confirmed as the deputy, he will be uniquely positioned to effectuate Trump’s litigation priorities at the DOJ. Under current DOJ policy, initial communications between the department and the White House “concerning pending or contemplated law enforcement investigations or cases” cannot involve officials beyond the attorney general or the DAG (on behalf of the DOJ) or anyone other than the White House counsel, deputy counsel, president or vice president on the other side. So who’s Trump going to call if he decides it’s time to investigate or indict various prosecutors, journalists or his political adversaries? Or if he needs the department to weigh in with a statement of interest in the ongoing Jan. 6 civil cases against him? Or if he wants to provide members of Congress with access to those special counsel materials they want to reveal without compromising others? A person familiar with Trump’s thinking told NBC News, “President Trump and his team are focused on and confident in the confirmation of AG-designee Gaetz.” And while Gaetz could indeed be confirmed, he’s primed to become the public face of Trump’s revenge tour, not the one asked to orchestrate its implementation. That request is likelier to fall to the man I saw make Trump smile during the most fraught moments of the hush money trial; the guy who sought to compel the judge in that trial to recuse himself three times and to remove the case to federal court twice; the lawyer on whose watch a motion to dismiss on presidential immunity grounds went from laughable to laudable — one Todd Blanche. And whether he accedes or holds the line remains to be seen.
Lisa Rubin is an MS NOW legal correspondent and a former litigator. Previously, she was the off-air legal analyst for “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “Alex Wagner Tonight.”
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