2026年7月15日10:02:45.73Z / 路透社
美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普提名的司法部长人选托德·布兰奇2026年7月14日离开华盛顿国会山。路透社/伊芙琳·霍克斯坦 获取授权许可，打开新标签页
- 内容摘要
- 布兰奇或将面临有关“反政治迫害基金”和爱泼斯坦档案的质询
- 部分共和党议员仍未决定是否支持这位前特朗普律师
- 特朗普已提名布兰奇出任美国首席执法官员
华盛顿7月15日电（路透社）——代理美国司法部长托德·布兰奇预计将于周三接受参议院一个委员会的尖锐质询，这位总统前私人律师正力争成为美国首席执法官员。
作为特朗普提名的司法部长人选，布兰奇将面临参议院司法委员会的质询，内容包括一项早已搁置的设立18亿美元基金的计划，该基金旨在为所谓此前遭受政府不当对待的特朗普盟友提供赔偿，以及相关的一项为特朗普提供广泛税务审计豁免权的协议。
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布兰奇在担任司法部副部长期间负责过的性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦相关调查档案的发布工作，预计也将成为质询的核心议题之一。爱泼斯坦受害者权益倡导者一直反对布兰奇，称其不当发布档案导致部分受害者身份被曝光。
就在几周前，特朗普所在共和党参议员就“反政治迫害基金”猛烈抨击布兰奇，这场反对声浪引发质疑：在参议院席位竞争激烈的情况下，布兰奇能否获得支持。但布兰奇的盟友和共和党内部人士如今预计这位代理司法部长将获得确认。
参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩周二对记者表示，布兰奇与共和党参议员的会面“效果非常好”，他希望布兰奇能有“获得确认的途径”。
参议院司法委员会的部分共和党议员仍未承诺支持布兰奇，他们的质询可能会暴露潜在的反对声音——近期参议院议员愈发敢于违抗特朗普。
其中一位议员、来自得克萨斯州的参议员约翰·科宁周二表示，他尚未做出决定，并计划在布兰奇就该税务豁免协议向他做情况通报后，就此向布兰奇提问。
“我仍在权衡，”他周二对路透社表示。
曾在特朗普卸任后的数起刑事案件中为其辩护的布兰奇，于今年4月特朗普解雇前任局长帕姆·邦迪后接任代理司法部长一职。
布兰奇曾是职业检察官，司法部内部人士曾预计他会起到缓和作用，但他已展现出愿意落实特朗普起诉政敌的要求。司法部已对一个知名自由派民权团体以及前联邦调查局局长詹姆斯·科米提起刑事诉讼，检察官称这些组织和个人的一张贝壳照片对特朗普构成威胁。
布兰奇因专注打击公共福利欺诈和暴力犯罪，同时减少司法部对企业不当行为和腐败的一贯关注，赢得了执法团体的支持。他为特朗普出庭辩护的经历，让他在总统圈子里收获了不少好感。
周二在真相社交平台的帖子中，特朗普称布兰奇作为代理司法部长表现“极为出色”，称赞他降低了暴力犯罪率，并落实了特朗普的多项文化战优先事项。特朗普呼吁每位共和党参议员投票支持布兰奇，同时赞扬这位代理司法部长在他遭到联邦起诉时为其作为私人律师进行辩护。
民主党人抨击布兰奇，称他以牺牲公共利益为代价，充当特朗普的私人辩护人。超过1200名前司法部工作人员联名写信反对他的提名。
“反政治迫害基金”成为了争议的焦点。布兰奇批准了一项和解计划，解决特朗普针对其作为总统所监管的国税局提起的诉讼，具体方式是设立该基金，并为特朗普及其家族企业提供全面的税务审计保护。
该协议立即引发了自我交易的指控。一名联邦法官周一认定，特朗普及其政府律师不当利用该诉讼为特朗普及其盟友谋利，并将包括布兰奇在内的涉案律师移交州律师协会，调查是否存在违反职业伦理的行为。科恩称法官的裁决“令人不安”，并表示他计划询问布兰奇该案件是否真的存在双方争议点。
布兰奇表示该基金不会启动，并此前已驳斥利益冲突指控，称自己已遵守所有伦理规则。
丹·罗森茨威格-齐夫和安德鲁·古兹沃德报道。理查德·考恩和戴维·摩根补充报道；阿利斯泰尔·贝尔编辑
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Blanche to face Senate grilling in bid to be Trump’s attorney general
2026-07-15T10:02:45.73Z / Reuters
Todd Blanche, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Attorney General, departs Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Summary
- Blanche likely to face questions on ‘weaponization’ fund and Epstein files
- Some Republicans remain undecided on former Trump lawyer
- Trump has nominated Blanche to serve as chief U.S. law enforcement official
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) – Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to face tense questioning from a Senate panel on Wednesday as the president’s former personal lawyer seeks to become the chief U.S. law enforcement official.
Blanche, Trump’s attorney general nominee, will likely be grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee over a since-abandoned plan to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies for alleged prior government mistreatment, along with an associated agreement to give Trump broad tax audit immunity.
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The Justice Department’s rollout of investigative files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which Blanche oversaw as the DOJ’s second-in-command, is also expected to be a central topic of conversation. Advocates for Epstein’s victims have opposed Blanche over what they contend was a botched release of the files that exposed some victims’ identities.
Senators in Trump’s Republican Party lambasted Blanche over the “anti-weaponization fund” only weeks ago and the backlash sparked questions about whether Blanche could win support in a closely divided Senate. But Blanche allies and Republican insiders now expect the acting attorney general will be confirmed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Tuesday that Blanche’s meetings with Republican senators were “really strong” and he hoped there would be a “path forward” for him.
Some Republicans on the Senate panel have remained non-committal about supporting Blanche and their questioning could reveal any potential opposition in a Senate that has in recent weeks become more willing to defy Trump.
One of those lawmakers, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, said on Tuesday that he was still undecided and planned to question Blanche about the tax immunity agreement after Blanche gave him a briefing on the matter.
“I’m still weighing,” he told Reuters on Tuesday.
Blanche, who defended Trump in three criminal cases he faced in his years out of power, took over as acting attorney general in April after Trump fired his predecessor, Pam Bondi.
Blanche, a former career prosecutor who some in the DOJ expected would be a moderating influence, has shown a willingness to deliver on Trump’s demands to prosecute adversaries. The DOJ has brought criminal cases against a prominent liberal civil rights group and former FBI Director James Comey over a photo of seashells that the prosecutors argue threatened Trump.
Blanche has won support from law enforcement groups as he has focused on combating public benefits fraud and violent crime while reducing the DOJ’s historic focus on corporate misconduct and corruption. His experience defending Trump in court endeared him to many in the president’s orbit.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said Blanche was doing a “phenomenal job” as acting attorney general, crediting him for lowering violent crime and making good on a slew of Trump’s culture war priorities. Trump, who called on each Republican senator to vote for Blanche, also praised the acting attorney general for defending him as his personal lawyer when he was federally indicted.
Democrats have assailed Blanche, arguing that he has acted as Trump’s personal defender at the expense of protecting the public interest. More than 1,200 former DOJ staffers have signed a letter opposing him.
The anti-weaponization fund emerged as a particular flashpoint. Blanche signed off on a plan to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS, which he oversees as president, by creating the fund and granting Trump and his family businesses sweeping protection from tax audits.
The deal immediately drew allegations of self-dealing. A federal judge on Monday concluded that Trump and lawyers in his administrationimproperly used the case to benefit Trump and his allies and referred lawyers involved, including Blanche, to state bar authorities to investigate any legal ethics violations. Cornyn called the judge’s finding “troubling” and said he planned to ask Blanche whether there truly were two sides to that case.
Blanche has said the fund will not proceed and previously brushed off allegations of a conflict of interest, saying he has complied with all ethics rules.
Reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Andrew Goudsward. Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and David Morgan; Editing by Alistair Bell
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