Deputy attorney general who defended Trump in hush money trial is named acting librarian of Congress

WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who represented Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal trial, has been appointed acting librarian of Congress, the Justice Department said Monday. Blanche replaces longtime librarian Carla Hayden, whom the White House fired last week amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a "woke" agenda. Also Monday, two other Trump appointees to the library attempted unsuccessfully to enter the Copyright Office, according to a person with knowledge of the incident. Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior counsel in Blanche's office, was named acting assistant librarian, Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin confirmed. And Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general and veteran Justice Department attorney, is now the acting register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office, replacing Shira Perlmutter, whom the Trump administration pushed out last weekend. Nieves and Perkins were in the hallway outside the Copyright Office, which is part of the Library of Congress, but could not get in without access to badges, according to the person. After a brief discussion with library officials and U.S. Capitol Police, whom the library had contacted, the appointees left voluntarily. The person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Capitol Police said that no one was barred from, or escorted out of, the building and otherwise referred questions back to the Library of Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Monday that lawmakers are investigating whether Trump has the power to fire the librarian of Congress, who is technically a legislative branch employee. "We want to make sure congressional equities are respected and protected in this process," Thune said. The Associated Press obtained an internal memo from Robert Randolph Newlen, who had been serving as acting librarian, saying that Congress was "engaged" with the White House about Blanche's appointment and that the library had not yet "received direction from Congress about how to move forward." The implications of Trump's installing a close ally as librarian of Congress could be far-reaching. For instance, the librarian could see requests made by lawmakers to the Congressional Research Service, which are usually seen only by the requesting office and the CRS itself, according to a congressional aide who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The nonpartisan agency is largely known as the think tank of Capitol Hill and provides analyses meant to help lawmakers in the legislative process. But Democrats are already concerned about what kind of information Trump-appointed officials could access in a process that is typically confidential between CRS and lawmakers. Senior House Democrats on Monday also raised the prospect that data held by the Library of Congress, which holds a vast archive of books and historical documents, could have been improperly transferred to the executive branch, including officials at Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Unauthorized information sharing "could compromise legislative branch independence and the ability of Members of Congress to carry out their constitutional duties," according to the letter, which was signed by lawmakers including New York Rep. Joe Morelle and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrats on the House Administration and Appropriations committees, respectively. They are asking for an inspector general investigation. Since returning to office in January, Trump has purged officials he regards as opposed to him and to his Republican agenda. Hayden, nominated by President Barack Obama in 2015 and confirmed on a 74-18 Senate vote the following year, named Perlmutter as head of the Copyright Office in 2020. Shortly before her firing, Perlmutter's office released a highly anticipated report that questioned the legality of the tech industry's use of copyrighted works to "train" their artificial intelligence systems and compete with the human-made works they were trained on. Tech companies have argued their AI training practices are protected by the "fair use" doctrine, which allows for limited uses of copyrighted materials such as for teaching, research or transforming the copyrighted work into something different. Perlmutter's report questioned those assumptions, arguing that "making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets, especially where this is accomplished through illegal access, goes beyond established fair use boundaries." The report — despite being marked as "pre-publication" — quickly made waves in legal circles after it was posted online late last week, winning praise from creators who have challenged the tech industry in court, and criticism from a tech industry trade group. It was the third and final part of a yearslong study that Perlmutter began in 2023, with the intent to advise Congress and others on whether reforms are needed. The report didn't call for government intervention, and its nuanced findings hold no official weight in the numerous copyright infringement lawsuits now pending against tech companies. But attention around the report grew after Perlmutter's firing Saturday, including from Trump's supporters. Mike Davis, a lawyer who regularly defends Trump, posted an alarm emoji on social media and warned: "Now tech bros are going to attempt to steal creators' copyrights for AI profits. This is 100% unacceptable." Blanche was named the No. 2 Justice Department official after serving as Trump's criminal defense attorney in two cases brought by the department during President Joe Biden's administration. He is a former federal prosecutor who was a key figure on Trump's defense team in his New York hush money trial, which ended in a conviction on 34 felony counts. Hayden's dismissal was widely condemned by Democrats and by many who worked with Hayden, the first Black person and the first woman to be named librarian of Congress. Ada Limon, who served three years as U.S. poet laureate after Hayden chose her in 2022, said last week that "Dr. Carla Hayden is the kindest, brightest, most generous Librarian of Congress we could have hoped for as a nation." The creators and cast of the Tony-nominated musical "Dead Outlaw" canceled a planned visit to the library and issued a statement praising Hayden as "a fierce advocate for preserving America's cultural memory and a great champion of the Broadway community." Italie reported from New York. Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker in Washington and Matt O'Brien in Providence, R.I., contributed to this report.