Blanche refuses to address probe into Trump commutation of fraud convict

Todd Blanche declined to discuss a terminated investigation into President Donald Trump’s commutation of fraud convict David Gentile, even as Senate Democrats pressed for the records that could show whether Justice Department officials interfered with the case.

The dispute centers on an early-stage criminal inquiry that examined whether improper payments were made to help secure Gentile’s commutation. Sen. Richard Blumenthal sent letters on June 29 to Blanche and U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. seeking communications and internal records about both the commutation and the decision to shut the inquiry down.

Gentile, the former GPB Capital executive, was convicted in August 2024 and sentenced in May 2025 to seven years in prison. Prosecutors said his conduct was part of a $1.6 billion fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of investors, including many who lost retirement savings. Trump commuted Gentile’s sentence in December 2025 after Gentile had served less than two weeks in prison, and the commutation later wiped out at least $15.5 million in restitution owed to victims.

Blumenthal said the commutation was linked to a “potential corrupt clemency scheme” and argued that the department should turn over records that could show how the decision was made. In his letter, he said recent reporting indicated Blanche’s office may have intervened to kill an investigation into improper payments tied to the commutation.

Blanche’s refusal to address the matter during his Senate confirmation hearing sharpened the focus on Justice Department independence. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have questioned whether Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer, can operate independently enough from the president in a department that is supposed to enforce federal law without political favor.

The hearing, held in Washington at the Hart Senate Office Building, also drew questions about the Epstein files and the Trump administration’s broader control over the Justice Department. The scrutiny comes against a backdrop of mass firings, resignations, and other signs of strain inside the department, along with a Trump-related $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund that was later scrapped after bipartisan backlash.

For Blumenthal and other Democrats, the Gentile matter is about more than one commutation. It has become a test of whether the Senate can force disclosure when a politically sensitive prosecutorial decision may have been halted before investigators could determine whether criminal conduct touched the pardon process itself.