https://www.amny.com/news/todd-blanche-judges-new-york-state-bar-complaint/
Over 100 current and former federal judges have sent a letter to the state’s court system raising serious concerns over acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and calling for a professional and ethics investigation into his conduct in office.
The judges allege that Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general after President Donald Trump fired Pam Bondi from the post in April, is operating with a conflict of interest because he previously defended Trump in criminal cases.
That is particularly concerning, the judges say, because Blanche’s day-to-day responsibilities involve overseeing investigations into the Epstein Files, where Trump, his former client, is referenced more than 5,300 times. Additionally, Blanche oversaw the questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and co-conspirator, when he served as a deputy attorney general in 2025 before she was suddenly transferred to a minimum-security prison, going against the Bureau of Prisons’ policy for sex offenders.
The 73-page letter to the Attorney Grievance Committee within the state’s Office of Court Administration, authored jointly by the judges and legal advocacy groups Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy, expresses doubt he’s able to carry out his legal responsibility on that matter impartially, detailing roughly a dozen instances in which they’re concerned Blanche has acted improperly, mischaracterized something or violated professional ethical conduct.
It also calls into question Blanche’s participation in the recent settlement agreement that would have created a nearly $2 billion Anti-Weaponization slush fund, suggesting that while Blanche was supposed to be representing the people of the United States against the president in the matter, they’re concerned he was actually providing legal advice to Trump or throwing the case in the president’s favor.
When reached for comment, the Department of Justice charged that the judges’ complaint is a “pathetic stunt conjured up by activist judges” who are “desperate” for a “crumb of attention from the liberal media.”