U.S. v. McIver

UPDATE: Blanche Involvement in U.S .v. McIver

WASHINGTON, DC — With today’s Senate hearing on his nomination to be attorney general of the United States underway, some facts about Todd Blanche’s involvement in U.S. v McIver—the Trump administration’s ongoing case against Congresswoman LaMonica McIver.

Todd Blanche has been involved in U.S. v. McIver from day one. As publicly available body-worn camera footage reveals, Blanche personally ordered the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka during the May 2025 oversight visit to Delaney Hall—the arrest McIver is now accused of obstructing and the tipping point that turned a routine oversight visit into chaos. Since then Blanche has retained oversight of the case.

The Facts:

• Todd Blanche personally ordered the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at Delaney Hall in May of last year. After having been permitted inside the facility gate, Baraka had exited into an exterior parking lot when ICE exited the facility en masse to arrest him for a legally baseless petty misdemeanor offense. Masked and armed agents wading into a crowd of peaceful protesters escalated tensions and triggered the confrontation that followed.
• Blanche retained authority over the case as it progressed through the legal hurdles. For months, to hedge against lingering questions about the then-U.S. Attorney Alina Habba’s authority, Blanche also appeared on the government's court filings in U.S. v. McIver.
• Any Deputy Attorney General’s involvement in a routine congressional oversight visit is highly unusual and raises questions about political intervention from Blanche.
• Blanche, like Alina Habba, who originally charged McIver, was a former Trump personal attorney. Emil Bove, who now sits on the Third Circuit where McIver’s case is now being reviewed, was also a former Trump personal attorney and worked at the Department of Justice (DOJ) during McIver’s charging.

The Resources:

• Briefing on Blanche’s involvement
• Body worn footage
• Reporting from POLITICO
• Reporting from Rachel Maddow 
• Reporting from The New Yorker

Blanche will remain a key player in U.S. v. McIver if confirmed. The case is ongoing with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals having heard oral argument in June 2026 on two of the four pre-trial motions filed by McIver in August 2025—a Motion to Dismiss Based on Selective Enforcement and Prosecution, and Vindictive Prosecution, and a Motion to Dismiss Based on Legislative Immunity.

At oral argument, the fact that McIver and the other members of Congress present at Delaney Hall on the day of the incident were “drawn” outside of the facility by DHS conduct, instigated by an order from then-Deputy Attorney General Blanche, remained a troubling throughline that the government was unable to explain. Full information on oral argument in the case is available here.

McIver faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.