By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Senate Democrats are questioning whether a senior official in Republican President Donald Trump’s Justice Department told the truth in his confirmation hearing in February about his knowledge of a plan to dismiss corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, according to a document seen by Reuters.
In a March 31 letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, 10 senators led by Peter Welch of Vermont and Chris Coons of Delaware said internal Justice Department correspondence made public in court last week may undercut Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s testimony under oath on February 12, before he was in office, that he was not aware of the basis for dropping the charges.
Adams, a Democrat, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted bribes from Turkish officials in exchange for political favors.
A Justice Department spokesperson said on Tuesday: “Todd Blanche was not involved in decision-making at the DOJ prior to his confirmation.”
During Blanche’s confirmation hearing, when Coons asked about the basis for dropping the Adams case, Blanche responded, “I have no idea.” When Welch asked if the dismissal was directed by officials in Washington, D.C., Blanche said, “I have the same information you have. It appears it was, yes. I don’t know.”
The Democrats said a draft of a letter to Bondi written by former Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon in mid-February raised questions about that testimony.
In that draft, made public in court filings last week, Sassoon wrote that Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general at the time, told her that he and Blanche were “on the same page” about the Adams dismissal.
In their letter, Welch, Coons and the eight other Democrats on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary asked for any documents the Justice Department has related to the decision to dismiss the charges against Adams that mention Blanche, as well as any communications about Adams between Blanche and Bove, now associate deputy attorney general.
“Congress has an obligation to investigate whether Mr. Blanche provided untruthful testimony before the Judiciary Committee, including whether a referral to the Department of Justice for a criminal inquiry is warranted,” the senators wrote.
Senate Democrats cannot conduct investigations or hold hearings without the support of Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress. It is unlikely the Justice Department, where Blanche is the No. 2 official, would act on any referral from Senate Democrats.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho in Manhattan is still considering the Justice Department’s request that he dismiss the case because it is interfering with Adams’ ability to help Trump enforce immigration laws.
Sassoon and several other Justice Department officials resigned rather than comply with Bove’s directive to seek dismissal of the charges. The episode heightened concern among Democrats and some conservatives that Trump was challenging standards of prosecutorial independence that have stood for a half-century.
Sassoon’s draft letter said she had expressed concern to Bove that a final decision about dropping the charges should not be made before Blanche was confirmed.
Her draft letter did not say Bove told her he had spoken with Blanche about the case. The letter Sassoon ultimately sent to Bondi, dated February 12, did not mention Blanche.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew Lewis)
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