University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor Claire Finkelstein testified before Congress against the confirmation of Todd Blanche as United States attorney general last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Finkelstein \u2014 the faculty director of Penn\u2019s Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law \u2014 was invited by Senator Cory Booker<\/a> (D-N.J.) to speak at a July 22 forum<\/a> opposing the nomination of Blanche, who is the current acting attorney general. At the forum, she raised concerns about how Blanche\u2019s conflicts of interests involving 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump would undermine the Department of Justice\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n \u201cHe appears to apply a litmus test to current and potential DOJ lawyers,\u201d Finkelstein said at the event. \u201cIf they are not willing to distort the law in favor of Blanche\u2019s former client, Donald Trump, they will likely be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Department of Justice directed a request for comment to Blanche\u2019s remarks at his confirmation hearing on July 15.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Finkelstein explained that she was asked to testify as a legal expert after publishing an opinion piece<\/a> on Blanche\u2019s nomination. She characterized his conflicts of interest as \u201cunprecedented\u201d and said it is \u201cfundamentally problematic to have a former attorney of the president serving as attorney general.\u201d<\/p>\n Get the DP delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSome conflicts of interest here are just baked into his situation based on the fact that he represented the president,\u201d Finkelstein told the DP. \u201cAny attorney in his position would have difficulties because of those conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n However, she also pointed to Blanche\u2019s actions heading the DOJ as evidence of his abandonment of \u201call pretense of objectivity.\u201d She drew a contrast with former attorney general Robert F. Kennedy \u2014 appointed by his own brother in 1961 \u2014 who \u201ctried hard to run the Justice Department according to the law\u201d despite the \u201cproblematic\u201d nature of his nomination.<\/p>\n In her testimony, Finkelstein cited Blanche\u2019s initiation of \u201cvengeful prosecution\u201d against individuals such as former FBI director James Comey. She also referenced his April 2025 termination of cryptocurrency investigations, which he ordered despite holding<\/a> at least $159,000 worth of crypto at the time, as further evidence of his conflicts.<\/p>\n \u201cAn even more serious worry is that Mr. Blanche is motivated by the interests of his former client, President Trump, who has earned billions of dollars in cryptocurrency during his second term in office,\u201d Finkelstein said at the forum.<\/p>\n Finkelstein questioned Blanche\u2019s involvement in Trump\u2019s settlement with the Internal Revenue Service and the resulting \u201canti-weaponization fund.\u201d Even if Blanche is not confirmed, Finkelstein highlighted election integrity as a particularly important issue that he could influence as acting attorney general leading up to the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day that Blanche spends in a senior position in the Justice Department is of concern to me, especially as we approach the midterms, because it is on Todd Blanche\u2019s watch that so much of the attempt to acquire voter information has occurred,\u201d she told the DP.<\/p>\n