Todd Blanche Lied to Chris Van Hollen about Not Reading the Washington Post - emptywheel

"Chris Van Hollen: I want to submit for the record a January 2026 Washington Post [sic] story-long story-entitled: For Many January 6 Rioters a Pardon from Trump Wasn't Enough. It goes on to quote the President of the United States, when asked about this, these payments, and said, "A lot of people in government now talk about it. Because a lot of people in government really like that group of people, unquote, referring to the January 6 rioters. Are you not aware of that statement from the President? Todd Blanche: I have never read the Washington Post."

"Van Hollen was wrong. It wasn't a WaPo Story. It was a NYT one. But Blanche's claim that he has never read the WaPo (or NYT, for that matter) is either a baldfaced lie, or a confession to ethical failure. Absolutely central to the Motion to Dismiss for Vindictive and Selective Prosecution that Trump submitted in October 2023 - in a brief signed by then Defense Attorney Todd Blanche - virtually the only proof at all that Trump was being treated unfairly, were claims that appeared in a Carol Leonnig article in the WaPo, which Blanche included as an exhibit."

"These actions, which are demonstrated by, inter alia, Biden's public statements and reports from the New York Times and Washington Post based on leaks from participants in the investigation, require further inquiry and dismissal of the indictment. RELEVANT FACTS In February and March 2021, according to the Washington Post, the DOJ and FBI rejected aggressive proposals by line prosecutors to target President Trump, includi"

Todd Blanche stated that he has never read the Washington Post during an appropriations hearing. The claim was challenged after a record submission referenced a Washington Post story about Trump payments and pardons for January 6 rioters. The account also notes that the referenced story was actually from the New York Times. The material further connects Blanche to a 2023 motion to dismiss for vindictive and selective prosecution, signed by Blanche, which relied on claims attributed to a Carol Leonnig Washington Post article included as an exhibit. The narrative frames the never-read claim as either a lie or an ethical failure.

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