On November 15, 2024, U.S. President-elect Trump announced on Thursday, November 14, that he will nominate three of his criminal defense lawyers to serve as senior officials at the Department of Justice, including the Deputy Attorney General.
In a statement on Thursday, Trump announced the nomination of his criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche to serve as Deputy Attorney General.
Trump stated in the announcement, “Todd is an excellent lawyer, and he will be an important leader at the Department of Justice, working to repair a justice system that has been crumbling for too long.”
If confirmed, Blanche will become the second-highest official at the Department of Justice. On Wednesday, Trump nominated Republican congressman Matt Gaetz from Florida to be the Attorney General, and Gaetz has already resigned from the House of Representatives.
Trump also announced the nomination of another lawyer, Emil Bove, who defended him in his criminal cases, to serve as the Chief Deputy Assistant Attorney General, the third-highest official at the Department of Justice. In addition, Bove will serve as the Acting Deputy Attorney General during the confirmation period for Blanche in the Senate.
Both Bove and Blanche served as defense lawyers for Trump in the “hush money case” in New York. The jury found the 34 felony charges brought by New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg against Trump, including first-degree falsifying business records, to be substantiated. The presiding judge was scheduled to sentence Trump on November 26, but after Trump’s reelection, at his lawyers’ request, the judge is weighing whether to overturn the criminal convictions against Trump based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in July on presidential immunity.
Both Blanche and Bove previously worked as prosecutors in the Southern District of New York federal prosecutor’s office.
Trump also appointed his lawyer Dean John Sauer to serve as the Deputy Attorney General overseeing litigation. This position is widely viewed as the government’s chief legal officer, overseeing federal government legal matters and primarily representing the federal government in the U.S. Supreme Court. It is the fourth-highest-ranking position at the Department of Justice.
In the appeal case that Trump brought to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding presidential immunity, Sauer represented Trump as a defense lawyer in court. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled with a 6-3 vote that Trump, during his tenure, enjoys broad presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.