Trump Corruption Inc., Part 8: Trump and Blanche’s Corrupt Justice, Part 2

See Trump Corruption Inc., Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here and Part 7 here

Last Monday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams torched the Blanche-Trump agreement ostensibly reached to settle Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Williams found that the lawsuit was brought “in bad faith” and “was not brought to vindicate rights,” but to “manipulate the judicial process.”

According to POLITICO, Williams concluded that the lawsuit had been manufactured to justify a settlement that included a multibillion-dollar “anti-weaponization” fund for Trump’s political allies and a shield from IRS scrutiny. She sent her order to the New York State Bar disciplinary authorities for possible investigation of Blanche.

Blanche reportedly had been advised by the DOJ’s top ethics lawyer that he should recuse himself from matters involving Trump in his personal capacity. He failed to do so. Instead, acting on behalf of the government, he participated in an agreement with Trump that would have provided extraordinary financial and legal benefits to his former client, Trump’s family, and Trump’s businesses.

This ruling and many other Blanche actions leave little doubt that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is the political consigliere of his boss, Donald Trump. Together they are engaged in corrupting the Justice Department and crippling the rule of law.

Blanche has implemented Trump’s vengeance and retribution campaign—overseeing the indictment of individuals and groups that are Trump’s perceived enemies.

Blanche has attacked judges, advising young lawyers to join the administration’s “war” on “rogue activist judges.” He also got rid of prosecutors just because they worked in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office or on other January 6 prosecutions, bragging that “There is not a single man or woman at the Department of Justice who had anything to do with those prosecutions.”

Blanche has refused to meet with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex crimes or to conduct investigations of the crimes committed against these mostly young girls at the time. Yet he personally traveled to Florida to conduct a two-day interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, during which Maxwell denied ever seeing Trump behave inappropriately.

Approximately one week later, Maxwell was transferred from a low-security prison to a minimum-security prison camp, known as “Club Fed.” The timing strongly indicates that Maxwell received favorable treatment after giving Blanche an account that benefited Trump.

And with two more victims recently shot to death by ICE agents, Blanche’s Justice Department also has refused to investigate the various shootings by ICE agents that resulted in the victims’ deaths

Last month, 101 retired federal and state judges filed an ethics complaint with the New York State Bar. The judges’ letter stated, “Time and again, acting AG Blanche has prioritized Donald Trump’s personal agenda over the non-partisan integrity demanded by his oath of office.” (The full letter is found here.)

The letter concluded, “The foregoing allegations unfortunately suggest that Mr. Blanche has engaged in conduct that violates his core responsibilities of competence, diligence, loyalty, and honesty.”

Blanche’s handling of the Epstein files has also drawn judicial scrutiny.

In June, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan found that Blanche conceded that he had violated the Epstein Files Transparency Act in failing to respond in a lawsuit to requests for specific Epstein files disclosures. Blanche also has refused to disclose at least 2.5 million pages, almost half, of the Epstein files, another apparent violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The New York City Bar Association sent a letter this week to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general.

The City Bar concluded that Blanche lacks the “commitment to the integrity, independence, and impartiality the office requires.”

The letter addressed five areas of failure by Blanche including politically motivated prosecutions, violations of constitutional rights and court orders, misplaced loyalty to the President, the weakening of the Department of Justice, and questions of professional ethics.

A letter also was sent last week to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the confirmation of Blanche from more than 1,200 DOJ career employees and appointees representing 14 Republican and Democratic administrations. The letter stated:

Blanche has fired or overseen the firings of hundreds of these employees— usually without notice, and for improper, unlawful reasons. Some were terminated for having worked on cases the President didn’t like; for being relatives of the President’s foes; for adjudicating immigration cases in accordance with due process; for declining to initiate vindictive prosecutions; or for refusing to lie in court.

Trump and Blanche have grossly misused and abused the Justice Department and assaulted the rule of law.

Blanche is unfit to serve as attorney general or in any other government position.

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Fred’s Weekly Note appears on Thursdays in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s newsletter, and other recent editions, here. And subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.