{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/heinrich-statement-opposing-todd-blanches-nomination-for-attorney-general", "Heinrich Statement Opposing Todd Blanche\u2019s Nomination for Attorney General", "2026-08-08", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "NM", "Martin Heinrich", "H001046", "www.heinrich.senate.gov", "heinrich", "https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement in response to the Senate\u2019s confirmation of Todd Blanche, President Trump\u2019s former personal lawyer, to be the U.S. Attorney General.\n\n\u201cI voted against Mr. Blanche\u2019s nomination because he has repeatedly shown that his loyalty is to Donald Trump \u2013 not to the Constitution or the American people.\n\n\u201cHe has transformed the Department of Justice into the President\u2019s personal law firm, using it to enrich and protect Donald Trump and his family. Mr. Blanche also helped establish a nearly $2 billion slush fund that rewards President Trump\u2019s allies, including violent criminals who attacked cops on January 6. And he has withheld critical information related to Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s crimes at Zorro Ranch by refusing to provide full, unredacted investigative records from the Department of Justice to New Mexico law enforcement authorities. Time and again, Mr. Blanche has put politics and personal loyalty ahead of justice.\n\n\u201cThe Attorney General\u2019s job is to uphold the rule of law, deliver on public safety, and ensure that justice is applied fairly and independently. The American people deserve an Attorney General they can trust to do that. Todd Blanche has made it abundantly clear that he is not that person.\u201d\n\nHeinrich recently pressed Jay Clayton, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and current Director of National Intelligence (DNI), to provide evidence related to Jeffrey Epsein\u2019s alleged crimes at Zorro Ranch in New Mexico to the New Mexico Attorney General. Heinrich also questioned Clayton about his role in the unconscionable, improper public release of sensitive information belonging to Epstein survivors and his comments about President Trump\u2019s attempt to use a $1.8 billion slush fund to compensate violent criminals who beat up cops on January 6, 2021.\n\nHeinrich\u2019s questioning of Clayton followed a recent letter from New Mexico Attorney General Ra\u00fal Torrez to Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana, demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) immediately turn over unredacted Epstein records that the Department has held for years. In the letter, AG Torrez stated that \u201cmore than 130 days have now elapsed since the New Mexico Department of Justice\u2019s initial request\u201d for unredacted records and called the DOJ\u2019s delay \u201cunreasonable under any rule of reason.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-09T05:47:57Z", "2026-08-09T05:49:40Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/heinrich-statement-opposing-todd-blanches-nomination-for-attorney-general"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7315230797976255, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}