Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche's Senate confirmation hearing produced no shortage of heated exchanges, but one of the most memorable moments came when Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) attempted to corner the acting Justice Department leader over ethics and the handling of former Special Counsel Jack Smith's classified documents report.
Earlier in the hearing, several Democratic senators pressed Blanche with aggressive questioning. Schiff's exchange stood out because it quickly shifted from a discussion of Justice Department procedure to a dispute over the basic timeline of events.
The confrontation centered on Volume II of Jack Smith's final report, which dealt with the classified documents investigation involving President Donald Trump. That portion of the report was never released after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon repeatedly blocked its publication.
Todd Blanche refused to sit there and let Adam Schiff repeatedly LIE about his conduct:
"What you're saying happens to not be true. I did not do that."
"You can’t accuse me of violating my ethical rules and then lie about what I did."
"The truth has to matter!" pic.twitter.com/e9FQNpccGh
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 15, 2026
Schiff argued that Blanche had an ethical conflict because the Justice Department, under his leadership, did not release the report.
"You've also refused to release Volume II of the Special Counsel's report," Schiff said. "That was an investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents case. How is that not an abundant conflict of interest? Refusing to release to the public an investigative report of an investigation into your client?"
Blanche initially tried to explain that he was not the federal judge who made the decision, but Schiff interrupted and insisted that the department's position under Blanche had been to oppose releasing the report. Schiff argued that if the department had sought its release in court, it would already be public.
Blanche responded by challenging the factual basis of Schiff's accusation.
"What you're saying happens to not be true," Blanche said. "I did not do that. What you're talking about happened before."
Schiff then asked whether Blanche supported releasing Volume II.
"No, I don't—but I'm recused and had nothing to do with that case," Blanche answered. "You can't accuse me of violating my ethical rules and then lie about what I did."
Schiff: What happened to the Todd Blanche who was a prosecutor people had respect for? What happened to the Todd Blanche of the Southern District of New York that could convert him into you?
Blanche: I am the same exact person I always was. pic.twitter.com/LIwb8I42Pp
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 15, 2026
The exchange highlighted a key point of disagreement over the timeline. Blanche maintained that the decisions Schiff criticized occurred before he became acting attorney general and that he had recused himself from matters involving the case. Schiff continued pressing the issue, but Blanche repeatedly returned to the argument that he was being blamed for actions that were not his responsibility.
The hearing did not end there. The two senators also sparred over the dismissal of prosecutors, personnel decisions within the Justice Department, and President Trump's pardons of many January 6 defendants. Those topics generated additional back-and-forth, with neither side giving much ground.