US President Donald Trump made a surprising move. He abruptly dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Instead, he appointed Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General who had represented him in a criminal case, as the new Attorney General.
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, rose to prominence by representing Trump in high-profile criminal cases. She also served as an assistant attorney general.
While serving as Deputy Attorney General, Blanche disbanded the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) and signed a memorandum instructing prosecutors not to prosecute minor regulatory violations in the cryptocurrency sector.
This memorandum was presented as evidence by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in the case of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, leading to the dismissal of one charge.
These circumstances also raise potential conflict of interest concerns regarding Blanche. This is because, at the time she signed the cryptocurrency litigation guidelines, Blanche held approximately $159,000 to $485,000 worth of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), and Cardano (ADA).
This means he did not divest his crypto assets at the time he signed the memorandum regarding cryptocurrencies, and it is stated that he “violated his promise to divest his assets before assuming office and violated ethical regulations.”
However, according to an ethics report she prepared for public officials last July, Blanch stated that she had transferred these assets to her children and grandchildren.
*This is not investment advice.
