Is Blanche being slowly blanched: DOJ's Todd Blanche, who once blasted 'vindictive' prosecution of Trump, defends Comey charges
"Trump administration lawless vindictive prosecutions coming home to roost. Bones - AI Overview - A judge has found that a statement by Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General, may constitute a "confession" of vindictive prosecution, potentially providing the defense with crucial evidence to have a case dismissed."
Trump's Jan. 6 charges were brought by "biased prosecutors," he said in 2023.
Alexander Mallin September 30, 2025, 5:05 AM
VIDEO - 3:13‘There will be others’ after Comey indictment: Trump The DOJ is targeting some of President Donald Trump’s fiercest critics including James Comey and John Bolton with Attorney General Pam Bondi detailing how far they’re willing to go.
[Insert: There has been a heap of vindictive comments going on, with some obviously vindictive prosecutions arising from them.]
Todd Blanche, the No. 2 official in the Justice Department, once assailed what he described as a calculated and "vindictive" effort by federal prosecutors driven by political animus to target a defendant who had committed no crimes.
In that instance, he was speaking for his client at the time -- Donald Trump.
In a 2023 court filing seeking to dismiss the federal case brought against Trump for his efforts to subvert his 2020 election loss, Blanche -- who was then Trump's defense attorney -- wrote of an endeavor by "biased prosecutors" who "pursued charges despite the evidence, rather than based on it," including "one prosecutor violating DOJ rules and ethical norms by forecasting the investigation in a television interview."
He further cited reports that then-Attorney General Merrick Garland felt "boxed in" at the time to indict Trump after, Blanche said, President Joe Biden "pressured DOJ to pursue the nakedly political indictment in this case."
"These actions, which are demonstrated by, inter alia, Biden's public statements and reports from the New York Times and Washington Post based on leaks from participants in the investigation, require further inquiry and dismissal of the indictment," Blanche wrote.
On Friday in a television interview with Fox News, however, Blanche took a differing position as he defended the Justice Department's decision to seek an indictment against one of President Trump's political foes, former FBI Director James Comey.
The charges against Comey for allegedly lying to Congress in testimony in 2020, came following a rushed effort by a Trump-installed prosecutor who dismissed the recommendations of career prosecutors who had determined that Comey's conduct did not amount to a crime. Comey, who has denied the charges, said following the indictment, "I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let's have a trial."
Former President Donald Trump appears in court with his attorney Todd Blanche during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court, April 26, 2024, in New York. Curtis Means/Pool/Getty Images
"This was a case -- again, this is not just pulled out of thin air," Blanche said told Fox News. "It was prosecuted by the Eastern District of U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, and folks may have their view from looking at the indictment and from knowing Mr. Comey, like a lot of these folks do, and might not be happy with this indictment, but as alleged, these are very serious crimes."
It is unusual for Justice Department officials to comment publicly on a criminal case before it has been fully adjudicated.
But Blanche, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have disregarded such norms since Comey's indictment -- which has also been publicly cheered by President Trump, who last week moved to force out the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who had resisted bringing charges against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, sources told ABC News.
Trump then issued a social media post urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to move "now" to prosecute Comey and others.
"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" Trump wrote.
The reports from The New York Times and Washington Post that Blanche cited in his 2023 motion described private conversations among White House officials expressing concern over the Justice Department not moving quickly enough to address what they saw as clearly criminal conduct on Trump's part, both regarding his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged possession of highly classified records after leaving the White House, before both cases were dropped following November's election due to a long-standing DOJ policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.
In public, however, President Biden and other White House officials were mostly restrained in their public comments about Trump, saying it would be inappropriate to intrude on the DOJ's independence.
The judge overseeing Trump's election interference case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, denied Blanche's motion to dismiss the charges, saying Blanche's interpretation was based on a "misreading" of the articles in question, and that most of the facts pointed to a Justice Department that exercised great caution in even opening a criminal investigation of a former president.
When asked in his Friday interview on Fox News whether he himself felt pressured to pursue Comey based on Trump's public comments and his overt instructions in his social media posts, Blanche said he did not.
"I don't take that as pressure," Blanche said. "When the president says that he's reading things or that he wants us to do investigations and he wants us to do our job -- the attorney general does not take that as pressure. I don't take that as pressure. I take that as a president who is working every day for the American people and every day to make sure that we're doing our jobs."
Dated, yet still relevant: More on the Abrego Garcia Case: Some Good News for Democracy, Despite the Government's Best Efforts
"Trump administration lawless vindictive prosecutions coming home to roost.
A recording of my Substack Live conversation with Adam Klasfeld.
Joyce Vance and Adam Klasfeld Jul 08, 2025
This afternoon, my good friend and amazing legal journalist Adam Klasfeld .. https://open.substack.com/users/967934-adam-klasfeld?utm_source=mentions .. joined us to discuss his view of the hearing in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s civil case from the courtroom in Greenbelt, Maryland, where Judge Paula Xinis held the hearing.
If you weren’t able to join us live, this is a great conversation to watch! Adam confirmed my sense from reading the transcript that the Judge wasn’t impressed by the government’s claim that deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador was just a mistake. At one point, the Judge characterized sending him to the notorious CECOT prison as an outrageous decision, without legal authority and said she thought the government’s reply was that it was a garden variety mistaken removal case. She accused the government of taking the position that it was no harm, no foul.
The Judge, like all of us, has read the proposed amended complaint that Mr. Abrego Gracia’s wife wants to file in this case (we read excerpts from it in this edition of the newsletter .. https://joycevance.substack.com/p/update-abrego-garcias-civil-and-criminal .. last week), which details the torture he endured. She wasn’t having any of it. The government’s response? DOJ lawyer Bridget O’Hickey told the Judge that their position was that he’d been returned and no further action was necessary. It was just an isolated error, she claimed.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers were quick to point out that, despite the claim that the deportation was just a mistake, in the criminal case in Nashville, the government said it would do it again and would deport him upon his release from pretrial custody in that case.
A hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for July 16 to determine whether to release Abrego Garcia from custody. In the meantime, Judge Xinis will hold a hearing on Thursday and has ordered the government to produce a witness who can give her definitive answers under oath—the government’s lawyers couldn’t do that today—explaining what the government’s plans for Abrego Garcia are and whether that might include deporting him to a third country. The government’s position isn’t entirely clear, but it appears to be that they believe they are not obligated to provide a person with due process before a deportation of that nature takes place.
I know a lot of people believe this case means the end of the rule of law. I share the concerns about what the Trump administration is doing, but not the conclusion. DOJ lawyers shouldn’t be doing the president’s bidding, offering political arguments in court. At one point, an impatient Judge Xinis had to tell a lawyer she didn’t need his “stump speech.” The government seemed more concerned with the politics of the case than with the facts and the law. But Adam and I discuss why this case, including the fact that it was brought at all and the path it has taken, gives us confidence that the rule of law is alive and kicking. You’ll want to watch the full video to hear our discussion on that point and decide if you agree.
Remember, this administration wants you to believe that democracy is lost so that you’ll give up. Don’t let them do that to you! We can fight back with facts and analysis. We can win by refusing to be overwhelmed. We have to continue running a race that’s turning out to be a marathon for democracy. That’s why I appreciate everyone who is here reading and subscribing to Civil Discourse, which makes this work possible. We are going to keep this Republic.
The top photos of the week by AP’s photojournalists
Updated 10:08 PM CDT, October 9, 2025 Oct. 3-9, 2025
This photo gallery, curated by photo editor Bridget Jones, highlights some of the most compelling images worldwide published by The Associated Press in the past week.]The top photos of the week by AP’s photojournalists
A man takes a bath with his daughters beside damaged structures due to a recent strong earthquake in Bogo, Cebu Province, Central Philippines on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Demonstrators and riot police face off during a protest commemorating the anniversary of the 1968 Tlatelolco killings, when soldiers fired on student protesters, in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)
Palestinians celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Celebrations remain limited, as relief is mixed with mourning and concern for what comes next. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march in front of the Colosseum during a national demonstration in support of the population of Gaza, in Rome, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Villagers walk in front of their flooded home, in Dalhamo village, near the Delta city of Ashmoun, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Hesham)
A man waits for customers at a stall beside war-damaged buildings ahead of a parliamentary election set to take place Sunday, in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, Syria, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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