Following the removal of Attorney General Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump has announced that Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General, will take over as the interim head of the US Department of Justice. Blanche previously represented Trump in a New York criminal case before being appointed as Deputy Attorney General after Trump's re-election in 2024. As Deputy Attorney General, Blanche has been instrumental in shaping the DOJ's crypto enforcement policies, including the disbanding of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team established under the previous administration. He also issued a memo instructing prosecutors to refrain from pursuing cases related to regulatory violations in the crypto industry.
This move had significant implications, including the dropping of a charge against Roman Storm, the developer of Tornado Cash. According to his latest government ethics disclosure, Blanche had transferred his crypto holdings, including Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum, to his family members. However, it has been reported that he still held these assets, valued between $159,000 and $485,000, when he signed the enforcement memo, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest and ethics violations.