Attorney General Nominee Faces Senate Scrutiny Over Crypto Unit Dissolution and Binance CEO Pardon
Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Todd Blanche, encountered sharp criticism during his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding his stance on cryptocurrency enforcement and the presidential pardon granted to Changpeng Zhao, Binance's former chief executive.
On Wednesday, Todd Blanche, currently serving as Acting US Attorney General, encountered significant criticism during his Senate confirmation hearing regarding the Justice Department's (DoJ) handling of cryptocurrency-related criminal enforcement and other matters. The former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump appeared before senators who are weighing his nomination to permanently head the agency.
During the Senate Judiciary Committee proceedings, ranking Democrat Dick Durbin devoted a portion of his opening remarks to condemning Trump's Attorney General nominee for what he characterized as the "dismantling DoJ's enforcement team and shutting down ongoing criminal investigations of the crypto industry."
In his capacity as deputy attorney general, Blanche allegedly orchestrated the dissolution of the Justice Department's cryptocurrency enforcement division in April 2025, according to reports.
The senator from Illinois contended that Blanche's directive to disband the DoJ's cryptocurrency division created conditions allowing Trump to generate $1.4 billion through his connections to the digital asset sector, including involvement with his family's venture World Liberty Financial.
Durbin further charged that Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, "broker[ing] a deal to channel $2 billion" into World Liberty, which subsequently resulted in a presidential pardon being granted. In 2023, the former CEO entered a guilty plea to a single felony count connected to violations of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework at the cryptocurrency exchange.
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Senator Dick Durbin
For Blanche to be confirmed as AG following advancement from the judiciary panel, Senate Republicans require only a simple majority of present lawmakers. Given that Senator Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized following what his staff characterized as a fall resulting in pneumonia, the Republican party maintains a narrow 52-47 advantage for Blanche's confirmation. The nominee confronts opposition concerning the DoJ's immigration actions and cryptocurrency policies, allegations that he would enable Trump's retaliation against perceived adversaries, and questions surrounding the management of the Jeffrey Epstein documents.
Questions related to cryptocurrency also came from Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who expressed that he was "concerned that the Binance CEO got pardoned." In response, Blanche indicated he would conduct a review of the pardon process upon confirmation.
Blanche signals DoJ shift on pursuing coders
The individual selected by Trump for Attorney General authored a 2025 memorandum aimed at "ending regulation by prosecution" within the cryptocurrency sector and previously maintained digital asset-related investments valued at no less than $159,000 before transferring them to his children and grandchildren.
Following Pamela Bondi's dismissal in April, Blanche has occupied the position of acting US Attorney General. Shortly after his appointment, he communicated to cryptocurrency holders that government officials would refrain from pursuing legal actions against blockchain developers who bore no responsibility for illicit activities occurring on their platforms.
[I]f you are developing software, if you are a coder, if you are part of that process and you are not the third-party user, and you are not helping and knowing the third party is using what you developed to commit crimes, you are not going to be investigated and not going to be charged
Todd Blanche at the Bitcoin 2026 conference
Despite this position, the department continues to pursue active cases against developers associated with platforms purportedly utilized for criminal purposes. Federal prosecutors are anticipated to conduct a retrial of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, later this year following a jury's inability to reach a verdict on two charges during proceedings in 2025.