Overview
- CNN reported that DOJ ethics officials told Todd Blanche last year he must step back from matters involving President Trump, and a department spokesperson said he “is recused” without saying which cases that covers.
- Joseph Tirrell, a senior ethics official, led the briefing and watched Blanche sign a pledge barring him for at least a year from DOJ work touching past clients of the Blanche Law Group.
- A memo early in 2025 warned that senior aide Emil Bove had a conflict in overseeing the purge of lawyers tied to Trump cases, yet he kept running the Weaponization Working Group and later won a lifetime judgeship.
- Blanche has reshaped investigations by bringing in former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova to run a broad case built around Trump’s claims of a years‑long plot against him after removing a career lawyer from the matter.
- CNN’s reporting noted that defense teams could challenge any charges as selective or vindictive, and legal analysts said Blanche could face bar‑license risks if he disregards the recusal guidance.