Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche faced backlash Wednesday over the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) enforcement of cryptocurrency crimes and other activities, as President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer appeared before a Senate hearing on his nomination to lead the agency.
Ranking Democrat, Senator Dick Durbin, used part of his opening statement at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which he criticized Trump’s AG selection for what he described as “dismantling the Justice Department’s enforcement team and shutting down ongoing criminal investigations into the crypto industry.”
Blanche is reportedly behind this disintegration the Justice Department’s Cryptographic Enforcement Unit in April 2025 as deputy attorney general.
Todd Blanche spoke Wednesday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Source: Related press
An Illinois lawmaker said Blanche’s order to dismantle the Justice Department’s crypto unit would enable Trump to make $1.4 billion from ties to the industry, including his family company World Liberty Financial.
He also accused former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao of being a “broker.”[ing] a deal to direct $2 billion to World Liberty, which led to a presidential pardon. The former CEO agreed to plead guilty in 2023 to one count of a crime related to the exchange’s anti-money laundering (AML) system.
“Every suspicious transaction in this administration has cryptocurrency behind the curtain,” Durbin said.
Senate Republicans need a uncomplicated majority of current lawmakers to confirm Blanche as AG if his nomination advances to the judicial panel. With Sen. Mitch McConnell still in the hospital after what his team described as a fall that led to pneumonia, the party has a slim 52-47 edge to confirm Blanche, who has faced criticism over the Justice Department’s immigration and crypto policies, says she will make it easier for Trump to attack perceived enemies and handle the Jeffrey Epstein dossier.
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Blanche also faced cryptocurrency-related questions from Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who stated that he was “concerned that Binance’s CEO will be pardoned.” Blanche said she would review the clemency process if confirmed.
Blanche signals a shift by the Justice Department in prosecuting developers
The election of Trump AG was delayed until 2025 note “end prosecutorial regulation” of the cryptocurrency industry and previously held digital asset investments worth at least $159,000 before selling them to his children and grandchildren.
He has served as acting U.S. attorney general since the firing of Pamela Bondi in April, telling cryptocurrency holders shortly after his appointment that officials would not pursue cases against blockchain developers who were not responsible for illegal activity on the platforms.
“[I]”If you’re building software, if you’re a developer, if you’re part of the process and you’re not a third-party user and you’re not helping and you know that a third party is using what you’ve developed to commit crimes, there won’t be an investigation and there won’t be charges,” Blanche said at the Bitcoin 2026 conference.
The department continues to pursue cases against the creators of platforms allegedly used for illegal activities. Federal prosecutors are expected to retry the case of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm later this year after a jury failed to reach a verdict on two charges in 2025.
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