Todd Blanche

The Hill -  More than 1,200 former Department of Justice (DOJ) employees encouraged the Senate to reject acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to take on the role permanently, writing in a Tuesday letter that he has been “demonizing career employees.”

 “In the coming weeks, many will rightly underscore the corruption and abuses that have defined the Justice Department under Todd Blanche’s leadership: the vindictive prosecutions and investigations of the President’s foes; the deals designed to reward lawbreakers with taxpayer dollars; the erasure of accountability for January 6; the mishandling of the Epstein files; and the denigration of judges and repeated violations of their orders,” the former employees wrote in a letter organized by Justice Connection, a DOJ alumni group.

 “But we want to focus on an area that deserves just as much attention: Todd Blanche’s degradation of DOJ’s apolitical career workforce.”

 While such letters are common while a nominee is pending, it’s unusual for them to gain such a large number of signatures. The effort comes as Blanche is set to appear for his confirmation hearing next week.