Lawfare No Bull

On July 15th and 16th, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing for Todd Blanche, President Trump’s nominee for attorney general.
Republicans on the committee praised Blanche’s extensive experience in the Department of Justice and his record of prosecuting violent crime. Democrats, meanwhile, raised concerns about Blanche’s loyalty to President Trump and his handling of the Epstein files.

Day two of the hearing included testimony from Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Epstein survivor Dani Bensky, former Justice Department Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer, President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Jon Adler, and Jenifer Bos, whose daughter was killed by an undocumented immigrant.

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On July 15th, the Senate Intelligence Committee held a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence. Republicans on the committee asked Clayton about his experience working with the intelligence community as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, while Democrats pressed him about claims of alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election and subpoenas issued to journalists from the New York Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On June 3, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies held a hearing entitled, “Oversight Hearing – Department of Justice.” Over the course of two hours, the representatives questioned acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on whether the Justice Department would commit to scrapping its proposed $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” the current standing of the agreement in the Trump family’s settlement that bars the IRS from bringing claims against the Trump family and its businesses for past tax issues, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On May 19, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies held a hearing entitled, “A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of Justice,” in which Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified for a 13% budget increase from the 2026 fiscal year, amounting to a total proposed budget of ​​$41.2 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. Over the course of two hours, the subcommittee questioned Blanche on the Justice Department’s recently announced $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” its investigations into accusations of child sex trafficking and other crimes in the Epstein files, its role in implementing the March 31 executive order on securing federal elections, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On May 19, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in Anthropic’s lawsuit against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense for its designation of the AI company as a supply chain risk. Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Gregory Katsas, and Neomi Rao questioned counsel for both parties on if the D.C. Circuit has the authority to review the Pentagon’s designation decisions, the conceptual difficulty of delivering a static ruling for a technology whose capabilities and risks are rapidly changing, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.