Complaint accuses Trump's criminal attorney of "blatant" crypto conflict in his role at DOJ
Source: Salon/ProPublica
Published January 24, 2026 6:00AM (EST)
An ethics watchdog group filed a complaint Thursday seeking an investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s criminal defense attorney — now the No. 2 at the Justice Department — broke federal conflict-of-interest law when he issued a new prosecution policy that benefits the cryptocurrency industry.
The complaint comes after a ProPublica investigation revealed last month that Todd Blanche owned at least $159,000 worth of crypto-related assets when he ordered an end to investigations into crypto companies, dealers and exchanges launched during President Joe Biden’s term. Blanche, the deputy attorney general, issued the order in an April memo in which he also eliminated an enforcement team dedicated to looking for crypto-related fraud and money-laundering schemes.
Blanche had previously signed an ethics agreement promising to dump his cryptocurrency within 90 days of his confirmation and not to participate in any matter that could have a “direct and predictable effect on my financial interests in the virtual currency” until his bitcoin and other crypto-related products were sold.
Later ethics filings show Blanche divested from the investments more than a month after he issued the memo. Even when he did ultimately get rid of his crypto interests, his ethics records show he did so by transferring them to his adult children and a grandchild, a move ethics experts said is technically legal but at odds with the spirit and intent of the law.
Read more: https://www.salon.com/2026/01/24/complaint-accuses-trumps-criminal-attorney-of-blatant-crypto-conflict-in-his-role-at-doj-partner/
Link to COMPLAINT (PDF) - https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2026-01/CLC%20Complaint%20_%20Blanche%20_%20DOJ%20OIG%20%281%29.pdf
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