Fact Check: Did Todd Blanche threaten to investigate those who voted for Democrats in midterms?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following the historic Democratic victory in the midterm election, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that Attorney General Todd Blanche threatened to investigate every American who voted for the Democrats in the election. The claim sparked concern and speculation among online users, requiring a fact-check.
Claim: Todd Blanche threatened to investigate those who voted for Democrats
According to a viral Facebook post, Todd Blanche is threatening to investigate every American who just voted for Democrats.
The post has garnered tens of thousands of views as of this writing, and has also spread on X, Instagram, and Bluesky, sparking concerns and criticism of Blanche and the Justice Department, suggesting many believe the claim is authentic.
Meanwhile, a few others appeared to remain skeptical and questioned its authenticity, prompting a fact check of the viral rumor.
Fact Check: The claim originated as satire
The claim, however, is rated as false, as there is no evidence that Blanche threatened to investigate those who voted for Democrats in the recent election.
There are no new statements, announcements, press conferences, or social media posts from Blanche or the DOJ that support the claim.
Moreover, the claim originated from an online satirical newspaper called ‘The Borowitz Report.’
If the claim were true, credible news outlets would have widely covered it, making headlines, but a search on Google for the claim yielded no such reports.
However, the search revealed a similar report in which Blanche warned members of the House Oversight Committee that they should be “very worried,” accusing Democrats of threatening administration staffers with investigations.
The warning came after President Donald Trump announced that he had directed the DOJ to investigate Democratic leaders who are considering impeaching his officials after winning the midterms.
Todd Blanche accused Democrats of intimidating Trump officials
Blanche made the warning during his appearance on CNN’s ‘State of Union,’ where he said Democrats, including incoming House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Robert Garcia, were trying to intimidate members of the administration and potential future staffers with threats of investigations.
He clarified that he was not saying the department would investigate every such case but said there was “a real problem in this country.”
“The Democrats are going around threatening a lot of people … with Impeachment and many other forms of punishment, even though they admit they have no reason to do so, and there have been no impeachable acts committed, or even thought of, by the victims of this illegal process,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
