Senator Schiff launches probe into Acting AG over refusal to recuse from Trump-related cases

Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) launched a probe Tuesday to investigate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's "apparent failure" in recusing himself from cases related to the personal capacity of President Donald Trump despite being advised to the contrary by government ethics lawyers at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Schiff, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Jolene Ann Lauria, who is the designated ethics official, seeking details on DOJ's and other ethics officials' advice to Blanche, and his involvement with Trump's lawsuits against government agencies seeking damages.

The investigation is one of many ways that Democrats look to leverage in their bid to gain transparency into the Justice Department's controversial taxpayer-funded payout under the 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'. The probe comes merely a day after the DOJ announced the settlement in exchange for Trump dropping his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over leaked tax returns.

The letter was co-signed by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the ranking member on the committee, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). "Mr. Blanche appears to have ignored ethics and legal advice. This misconduct would be considered extreme on its own and is even more offensive given President Trump's unprecedented efforts to seek vast personal financial compensation from taxpayer money and use the Department to exact vengeance against his political enemies," the senators said in a statement.

What does the letter say

The letter poses a series of questions, including the last time Blanche sought ethics guidance from Lauria, whether he recused himself from any lawsuits filed by President Trump against the administration, and the list of all past or ongoing investigations and matters from which Blanche is currently recused.

The senators requested that Lauria ensure the preservation of all existing and future records, communications, and materials related to ethics advice provided by the Department or external ethics officials to senior political DOJ appointees, including officials who have left the DOJ.

They explained that Blanche previously served as President Trump's personal attorney in a "stark diversion from institutional norms." He was also "explicitly and formally advised" by the DOJ's top career ethics lawyer that his recusal from cases involving Trump in his personal capacity was "necessary."

The letter highlights testimony Blanche gave Schiff under oath during his confirmation hearing, in response to questions about recusal. "I will follow the rules as told to me by the experts, career prosecutors in the department, if it ever comes to recusing," he was quoted as saying.

Former Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove is under the scanner as well. The senators suggested that Bove, who is now a federal appellate judge, did not recuse himself from matters in which he held a conflict of interest as the President's former personal attorney, given his role in overseeing efforts to target and purge DOJ employees who had worked on prosecutions of President Trump.

"...the gravity of his subversion of agency ethics standards while at the Department presents a pressing question as to whether his misconduct creates a 'widespread lowering of public confidence in the courts'– making it a necessary subject of scrutiny," part of the letter read.

The senators accused the Trump administration of disregarding ethical boundaries in the letter. "Since last year, the Department has systematically dismantled the agency's internal guardrails, gutting both the career ethics staff and the Office of Professional Responsibility, and has refused to provide any answers to Congress about these egregious actions," the letter concluded.

The outcome of the investigation remains to be seen, given that Democrats are in the minority in the Senate. This precludes them from issuing subpoenas and can only request cooperation.