Todd Blanche
In the reporting: Attorney general since Aug. 8, 2026, who sent the final version of the July 2025 memo on the Epstein files, Raw Story reported, and who, as Pam Bondi's deputy, asked Switzerland with her to avoid criminal charges or prison for the Venezuelan billionaire Alejandro Betancourt, according to The Washington Post.
Last updated Nov. 6, 2026
This page collects what Letters of Junius has published about this person’s public role, and grows as the reporting does. Inclusion is not an allegation of wrongdoing. Where someone has denied or answered a claim, the response appears with it. Each entry links to the original source and to the article it appears in.
Position
- Confirmed
Todd Blanche was deputy attorney general, became acting attorney general after April 2, 2026, and was confirmed as attorney general on Aug. 8, 2026. The Senate vote was 50 to 49.
Source: Michigan Public/NPR; NPR. From: Epstein Got There First.
The Epstein files
- Reported
Blanche sent the final version of the Justice Department and FBI's July 2025 memo on the Epstein files, according to Raw Story. Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, and reported in October 2026, show that about two weeks before the memo was released, Taylor Budowich, then a White House deputy chief of staff, wrote in an email thread about the draft: "Have something I can edit?" FBI Director Kash Patel replied with the draft, and the FBI blacked out Budowich's suggested edits, Raw Story reported.
Source: Raw Story. From: Epstein Got There First.
ResponseBudowich could not be reached, the Justice Department did not respond, and the White House did not address his edits.
- Reported
In late July 2025, as deputy attorney general, Blanche interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate, who was serving 20 years for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Within days, she was moved to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas; officials did not explain why at the time, NPR reported.
Source: NPR; CNN, via KVIA. From: Epstein Got There First.
ResponseBlanche later said the Bureau of Prisons moved her because of “numerous and numerous threats against her life,” CNN reported.
- Reported
On Jan. 30, 2026, the Justice Department released more than 3 million pages, and Todd Blanche, then the deputy attorney general, said the department had met its obligations under the law, NPR reported.
Source: NPR. From: Epstein Got There First.
- Confirmed
In June 2026, in a lawsuit brought by the journalist Katie Phang, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the federal court in Washington wrote that because the department had not responded substantively to Phang's arguments, "The Attorney General has conceded that he is in violation of the Act." The department, then led by Blanche as acting attorney general, has appealed.
Source: Court opinion, via Courthouse News; CBS News; D.C. Circuit docket, via Justia. From: Epstein Got There First.
ResponseThe department, then led by Blanche as acting attorney general, replied, “The Acting Attorney General has not conceded anything,” CBS News reported.
- Reported
The House voted 427 to 1, and the Senate unanimously, to force the release of the Epstein files. As of July 2026, the Justice Department was still withholding about 2.5 million pages, USA Today reported.
Source: Associated Press, via WHYY; USA Today, via The Spokesman-Review. From: Epstein Got There First.
ResponseBlanche has said many documents were withheld to protect victims’ privacy, USA Today reported in July.
- Reported
Before the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Bloomberg that the "Epstein investigation is going to be one of our top priorities" if Democrats won the House, and Forbes reported on Oct. 26 that a Democratic-led committee could subpoena Blanche.
Source: Forbes. From: Epstein Got There First.
The Betancourt case
- Reported
Pam Bondi, then the attorney general, and Todd Blanche, then her deputy, asked Switzerland to avoid criminal charges or prison for the Venezuelan billionaire Alejandro Betancourt, according to The Washington Post. Swiss prosecutors have been investigating Betancourt since 2019; he has never been charged and denies wrongdoing. In May 2026, Switzerland withdrew its request to extradite him from Britain. In August 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed an oil agreement with him, ProPublica reported.
Source: The Washington Post; Swissinfo; ProPublica. From: The Same Deal, Made Eight Times.
Where this person appears
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Photo: Ryan M. Biller, U.S. Department of Justice, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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