President Trump’s former defense attorney-turned-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche complained on social media about a New York Times article titled ‘Part Enabler, Part Buffer: The Bind of the Justice Dept.’s No. 2.’
[The article had the subtitle “Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, has helped usher in President Trump’s retribution campaign. But he faces anger on the right for resisting some of the most extreme measures.”]
Blanche tagged FBI Director Kash Patel and wrote: “Hey @FBIDirectorKash – the failing New York Times says we don’t like each other. Guess we’ll have to stop hanging out after work? Those dummies. Virtually every part of their “reporting” is exaggerated or fabricated, per usual. If it wasn’t for Wordle, nobody would subscribe.”
The New York Times communications department replied to Blanche on X: “The Times’s article is based on conversations with seven current and former administration officials with direct knowledge of the working relationships inside the Justice Department. We are confident in our reporting.”
I have DIRECT knowledge and can state, with certainty, that your story is trash. https://t.co/qXnOaZNAQK
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) October 14, 2025
Patel replied, “NYTrash- the journalistic equivalent of crash test dummies,” and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino chimed in and replied: “I have DIRECT knowledge and can state, with certainty, that your story is trash.”
Former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch Network, asserted that Blanche’s public protest only lent credibility to the reporting, replying to Blanche: “You are attempting to talk to him on social media for public spin rather than privately or in person, so that pretty much confirms the story since you are just putting on a show with this post.”