Key Takeaways:
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced Senate Judiciary Committee questions on July 15 over dismantling the DOJ's crypto enforcement unit and the pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
Sen. Dick Durbin said Zhao brokered a deal to channel $2 billion into World Liberty Financial before receiving a presidential pardon.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis also raised the pardon, and Blanche said he would review the pardon process if confirmed.
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing to lead the Justice Department permanently, and crypto enforcement kept coming up on both sides of the aisle.
Ranking Democrat Dick Durbin used his opening statement to criticize Blanche for dismantling the DOJ's crypto enforcement team and shutting down ongoing criminal investigations of the industry, Cointelegraph reported. Blanche disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team in April 2025 as deputy attorney general, in a memo that said the department would end regulation by prosecution. Durbin also said Binance founder Changpeng Zhao brokered a deal to channel $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto business, before receiving a presidential pardon. Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to one felony anti-money-laundering charge.
"Every smarmy, suspect deal in this administration has cryptocurrency behind the curtain."
Sen. Dick Durbin, ranking member, Senate Judiciary Committee
The concern was not only Democratic. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told Blanche the Binance pardon worried him, and Blanche answered that he would review the pardon process if confirmed. Blanche previously held at least $159,000 in digital asset investments before divesting them to his children and grandchildren.
There is another side to the record. Blanche has argued that prosecutors should not write rules Congress never passed, and he has said coders who are not knowingly helping criminals will not be charged. The department still plans to retry Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm this year.
Republicans hold a 52-47 margin, so confirmation likely comes down to party discipline rather than the crypto record. The hearing lands the same week a DOJ task force reported $1 billion in fraud recoveries and Congress works toward a merged CLARITY Act draft that would give the industry the rules Blanche says prosecutors should not write. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
Who is Todd Blanche?
Todd Blanche is President Trump's former personal defense attorney. He served as deputy attorney general in 2025 and has been acting attorney general since Pam Bondi's firing in April 2026.
Why is the Changpeng Zhao pardon controversial?
Sen. Dick Durbin says Zhao channeled $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, a Trump family crypto business, before receiving his pardon. Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to a felony anti-money-laundering charge.
Did the DOJ shut down its crypto enforcement unit?
Yes. Blanche disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team in April 2025 with a memo saying the department would end regulation by prosecution.
When will the Senate vote on Blanche's confirmation?
The Judiciary Committee votes first. Republicans hold a 52-47 margin on the floor, narrowed in practice while Sen. Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized.
Sources: Cointelegraph, NPR, US Department of Justice