Ethics Complaint

Ethics Complaint Filed Against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for Alleged Violations of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct

June 28, 2021

Jun 22, 2026

Editorial credit: Shuterstock

Lawyers Defending American Democracy, in partnership with Democracy Defenders Fund, have filed a sixty-nine-page, comprehensive complaint asking the Attorney Grievance Committee of the New York State Supreme Court to initiate an investigation into Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for violations of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct. The complaint is also signed by a bipartisan group of more than 100 former federal and state judges. 

The complaint details an extraordinary pattern of behavior that is antithetical to Mr. Blanche’s oath and to the ethical obligations with which he has a duty to comply. For example, Mr. Blanche failed to competently and diligently represent the United States; participated in a matter he previously participated in while in private practice; attempted to assist his former client and current boss, President Trump, to skirt legal limits on his ability to end a tax audit against him, his family, and his companies and achieve a global release of all claims the United States had or could have had against them; and personally and knowingly through the acts of another engaged in conduct that was deceptive and prejudicial to the administration of justice.

The complaint also describes Mr. Blanche’s personal involvement in overseeing the Department of Justice’s botched and incomplete release of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The allegations describe this response as not only incompetent but also burdened by Mr. Blanche’s conflicts of interest, resulting in prejudice to the administration of justice and harm to the victims.

Moreover, the complaint details the Acting Attorney General’s misuse of his prosecutorial powers to harass and punish the personal and political enemies of his former client and current boss.  

“The damage over these many months to the once esteemed Department of Justice has been incalculable,” said Scott Harshbarger, a former two-term MA Attorney General and the chair and co-founder of Lawyers Defending American Democracy. “The Department of Justice is the nation’s highest law enforcement office, with 40 separate organizations, including the FBI and DEA, field offices in 50 states, and more than 115,000 employees. Historically, it was an honor to serve in the Department, and lawyers did so with integrity and strict adherence to the Rules of Professional Conduct. In light of the importance of the Department’s role in national law enforcement, we hope that the Attorney Grievance Committee recognizes it has an added responsibility to undertake an investigation of Mr. Blanche.” 

Stay Informed —

Be the first to know about LDAD news by following us on social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook) and by signing up for our newsletter.

featured press