Heinrich Statement Opposing Todd Blanche’s Nomination for Attorney General

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement in response to the Senate's confirmation of Todd Blanche, President Trump's former personal lawyer, to be the U.S. Attorney General.

"I voted against Mr. Blanche's nomination because he has repeatedly shown that his loyalty is to Donald Trump - not to the Constitution or the American people.

"He has transformed the Department of Justice into the President's personal law firm, using it to enrich and protect Donald Trump and his family. Mr. Blanche also helped establish a nearly $2 billion slush fund that rewards President Trump's allies, including violent criminals who attacked cops on January 6. And he has withheld critical information related to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes at Zorro Ranch by refusing to provide full, unredacted investigative records from the Department of Justice to New Mexico law enforcement authorities. Time and again, Mr. Blanche has put politics and personal loyalty ahead of justice.

"The Attorney General's job is to uphold the rule of law, deliver on public safety, and ensure that justice is applied fairly and independently. The American people deserve an Attorney General they can trust to do that. Todd Blanche has made it abundantly clear that he is not that person."

Heinrich recently pressed Jay Clayton, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and current Director of National Intelligence (DNI), to provide evidence related to Jeffrey Epsein's alleged crimes at Zorro Ranch in New Mexico to the New Mexico Attorney General. Heinrich also questioned Clayton about his role in the unconscionable, improper public release of sensitive information belonging to Epstein survivors and his comments about President Trump's attempt to use a $1.8 billion slush fund to compensate violent criminals who beat up cops on January 6, 2021.

Heinrich's questioning of Clayton followed a recent letter from New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez to Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana, demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) immediately turn over unredacted Epstein records that the Department has held for years. In the letter, AG Torrez stated that "more than 130 days have now elapsed since the New Mexico Department of Justice's initial request" for unredacted records and called the DOJ's delay "unreasonable under any rule of reason."

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