{"id":156881,"date":"2026-07-15T15:27:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/15\/todd-blanches-former-sdny-colleagues-vouched-for-him-last-year-they-wont-make-that-mistake-again\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T15:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:27:36","slug":"todd-blanches-former-sdny-colleagues-vouched-for-him-last-year-they-wont-make-that-mistake-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/15\/todd-blanches-former-sdny-colleagues-vouched-for-him-last-year-they-wont-make-that-mistake-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Todd Blanche\u2019s Former SDNY Colleagues Vouched For Him Last Year. They Won\u2019t Make That Mistake Again."},"content":{"rendered":"

When Todd Blanche was nominated for Deputy Attorney General in January 2025, 116 lawyers who had served alongside him at the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York signed a letter to Senate leaders calling him \u201ca fundamentally good and decent man\u201d who embodied DOJ\u2019s values: \u201cIndependence, impartiality, honesty, integrity, respect, excellence, and a fierce dedication to fairness under the law.\u201d Getting more than 100 SDNY alumni to sign anything was, as one signatory described it to MS NOW\u2019s Lisa Rubin<\/a>, \u201cnot only a labor of love, but somewhat of a feat.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was then.<\/p>\n

Rubin reached out to 80 of those 116 signatories to ask whether they\u2019d do it again. The results, published today on the first day of Blanche\u2019s AG confirmation hearing, are instructive. Of the 10 former colleagues who agreed to speak on the record, many declined out of fear of retribution, which is its own data point, and only two said they\u2019d sign another letter. Three said any new letter of support would be \u201cunlikely to generate many signatures\u201d and might actually embarrass Blanche by demonstrating how much goodwill he\u2019s burned. One person who signed in 2025 explained their original reasoning with some candor, \u201cCompared to possible options at the time, he seemed like a relatively sane one.\u201d Another said Blanche had \u201clost substantial goodwill and even dear friendships among SDNY alumni\u201d through his \u201cfull-throated defense of both department cases and Trump\u2019s broader agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two supporters who remain are doing their best. One told Rubin that Blanche is doing \u201cthe hardest job in the country right now\u201d and that \u201cof all of the people who are in a position to be picked, Todd is the best among them. I trust him to both aggressively pursue the administration\u2019s policies and push back when necessary.\u201d The other called him the best choice for this administration, full of \u201csubstance and experience.\u201d Both of those endorsements, notably, are structured as lesser-evil arguments, echoing the framing Bill Barr deployed in his Wall Street Journal op-ed<\/a> last month. <\/p>\n

For the SDNY alumni who have moved in the other direction, the record of the last 18 months is the explanation. Former prosecutors Mimi Rocah and Perry Carbone, both SDNY veterans, both people who knew Blanche well, published an op-ed this morning<\/a> explaining why they\u2019ve joined the more than 1,200 DOJ alumni<\/a> who signed the Justice Connection letter urging the Senate to reject Blanche. Rocah, who described Blanche to Joyce Vance last week as a family man, a team player, and a hard worker she once knew well, said she is now \u201cvery surprised\u201d and \u201cdisgusted\u201d by his \u201cmajor transformation\u201d under Trump. \u201cWe regarded Blanche highly at SDNY,\u201d she and Carbone wrote, \u201cbut we feel obligated as former officers of the Justice Department to speak plainly.\u201d Their concern, they said, is not political \u2014 \u201call presidents are entitled to appoint senior Justice Department officials who share their law enforcement priorities\u201d \u2014 but institutional, \u201cwhether the Justice Department will continue to exist to serve the American people and whether Americans will have faith in its decisions and actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

That framing tracks with what the broader group of 2025 signatories told Rubin. \u201cThe absence of any groundswell to submit a letter says a lot,\u201d one person said. Another was more blunt, \u201cI would never, ever\u2026 put myself in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concerns are well-documented at this point. The Epstein files<\/a>. The $1.8 billion slush fund<\/a>, which Blanche privately told Senator Durbin was \u201ca mistake\u201d<\/a> while Trump has continued publicly calling it \u201cbeautiful\u201d and \u201cso important.\u201d The 16,000 employees who have left DOJ<\/a>, including a quarter of its attorneys. The declared right of the president to direct criminal investigations of his enemies<\/a>. The political prosecutions<\/a> with embarrassingly thin legal theories.<\/p>\n

Blanche will still likely be confirmed, since, despite some notable changes in the Senate, the Republican math is still there. Susan Collins is \u201cinterested in a wide variety of issues,\u201d her traditional prelude to ultimately voting yes. The Senate confirmed him as DAG 52-46 on a party line in 2025, and party lines have a way of holding, especially when you have a vindictive and petty man leading your party.<\/p>\n

But the SDNY about face is useful for understanding what the last year and a half actually cost Blanche. The fall from \u201cfundamentally good and decent man\u201d to \u201cdisgusted\u201d is a far one, but things can really change when you spend 18 months tearing down the institution you were hired to run.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong>
Former DOJ Prosecutors To Senate: Blanche Took The Same Oath We Did. But He Didn\u2019t Keep It.<\/a>
Senator Whitehouse Would Like To Tell You Exactly What He Thinks Of Todd Blanche<\/a>
Bill Barr Would Like The Senate To Know: Confirm Todd Blanche Or The Hostage Gets It<\/a>
\u2018Todd Blanche Is Unfit For Office,\u2019 Says The New York Times Editorial Board<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Todd Blanche\u2019s Former SDNY Colleagues Vouched For Him Last Year. They Won\u2019t Make That Mistake Again.<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Todd Blanche was nominated for Deputy Attorney General in January 2025, 116 lawyers who had served alongside him at the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York signed a letter to Senate leaders calling him \u201ca fundamentally good and decent man\u201d who embodied DOJ\u2019s values: \u201cIndependence, impartiality, honesty, integrity, respect, excellence, and a fierce dedication to fairness under the law.\u201d Getting more than 100 SDNY alumni to sign anything was, as one signatory described it to MS NOW\u2019s Lisa Rubin<\/a>, \u201cnot only a labor of love, but somewhat of a feat.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was then.<\/p>\n

Rubin reached out to 80 of those 116 signatories to ask whether they\u2019d do it again. The results, published today on the first day of Blanche\u2019s AG confirmation hearing, are instructive. Of the 10 former colleagues who agreed to speak on the record, many declined out of fear of retribution, which is its own data point, and only two said they\u2019d sign another letter. Three said any new letter of support would be \u201cunlikely to generate many signatures\u201d and might actually embarrass Blanche by demonstrating how much goodwill he\u2019s burned. One person who signed in 2025 explained their original reasoning with some candor, \u201cCompared to possible options at the time, he seemed like a relatively sane one.\u201d Another said Blanche had \u201clost substantial goodwill and even dear friendships among SDNY alumni\u201d through his \u201cfull-throated defense of both department cases and Trump\u2019s broader agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two supporters who remain are doing their best. One told Rubin that Blanche is doing \u201cthe hardest job in the country right now\u201d and that \u201cof all of the people who are in a position to be picked, Todd is the best among them. I trust him to both aggressively pursue the administration\u2019s policies and push back when necessary.\u201d The other called him the best choice for this administration, full of \u201csubstance and experience.\u201d Both of those endorsements, notably, are structured as lesser-evil arguments, echoing the framing Bill Barr deployed in his Wall Street Journal op-ed<\/a> last month. <\/p>\n

For the SDNY alumni who have moved in the other direction, the record of the last 18 months is the explanation. Former prosecutors Mimi Rocah and Perry Carbone, both SDNY veterans, both people who knew Blanche well, published an op-ed this morning<\/a> explaining why they\u2019ve joined the more than 1,200 DOJ alumni<\/a> who signed the Justice Connection letter urging the Senate to reject Blanche. Rocah, who described Blanche to Joyce Vance last week as a family man, a team player, and a hard worker she once knew well, said she is now \u201cvery surprised\u201d and \u201cdisgusted\u201d by his \u201cmajor transformation\u201d under Trump. \u201cWe regarded Blanche highly at SDNY,\u201d she and Carbone wrote, \u201cbut we feel obligated as former officers of the Justice Department to speak plainly.\u201d Their concern, they said, is not political \u2014 \u201call presidents are entitled to appoint senior Justice Department officials who share their law enforcement priorities\u201d \u2014 but institutional, \u201cwhether the Justice Department will continue to exist to serve the American people and whether Americans will have faith in its decisions and actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

That framing tracks with what the broader group of 2025 signatories told Rubin. \u201cThe absence of any groundswell to submit a letter says a lot,\u201d one person said. Another was more blunt, \u201cI would never, ever\u2026 put myself in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concerns are well-documented at this point. The Epstein files<\/a>. The $1.8 billion slush fund<\/a>, which Blanche privately told Senator Durbin was \u201ca mistake\u201d<\/a> while Trump has continued publicly calling it \u201cbeautiful\u201d and \u201cso important.\u201d The 16,000 employees who have left DOJ<\/a>, including a quarter of its attorneys. The declared right of the president to direct criminal investigations of his enemies<\/a>. The political prosecutions<\/a> with embarrassingly thin legal theories.<\/p>\n

Blanche will still likely be confirmed, since, despite some notable changes in the Senate, the Republican math is still there. Susan Collins is \u201cinterested in a wide variety of issues,\u201d her traditional prelude to ultimately voting yes. The Senate confirmed him as DAG 52-46 on a party line in 2025, and party lines have a way of holding, especially when you have a vindictive and petty man leading your party.<\/p>\n

But the SDNY about face is useful for understanding what the last year and a half actually cost Blanche. The fall from \u201cfundamentally good and decent man\u201d to \u201cdisgusted\u201d is a far one, but things can really change when you spend 18 months tearing down the institution you were hired to run.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong>
Former DOJ Prosecutors To Senate: Blanche Took The Same Oath We Did. But He Didn\u2019t Keep It.<\/a>
Senator Whitehouse Would Like To Tell You Exactly What He Thinks Of Todd Blanche<\/a>
Bill Barr Would Like The Senate To Know: Confirm Todd Blanche Or The Hostage Gets It<\/a>
\u2018Todd Blanche Is Unfit For Office,\u2019 Says The New York Times Editorial Board<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Todd Blanche was nominated for Deputy Attorney General in January 2025, 116 lawyers who had served alongside him at the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York signed a letter to Senate leaders calling him \u201ca fundamentally good and decent man\u201d who embodied DOJ\u2019s values: \u201cIndependence, impartiality, honesty, integrity, respect, excellence, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":156882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-MZVMTi.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}