On July 14, 2026, the day before Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing, Senator Adam Schiff sent Blanche a letter “to raise serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest between [his] official position at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and [his] close familial connection to Check-Mate Industries,” a company that manufacturers firearm magazines. As The New York Times reported, Blanche’s “father-in-law founded the company, and his mother-in-law serves as its chairman and chief executive.”
In April, the DOJ and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced over 30 rule changes designed to deregulate the gun industry and help it sell more guns at the cost of public safety. Under Blanche’s leadership, the DOJ has also filed lawsuits against state and local laws that prohibit high-capacity magazines — like the kind made by Check-Mate Industries. As Schiff wrote, “If these statutes are invalidated, it stands to reason that Check-Mate Industries would be able to regain access to these markets.”
Blanche and Check-Mate Industries
Days before the ATF rules were announced, Blanche attended the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston, Texas, where he told a radio host that he was indeed “part of the gun industry.”1Gun Talk Media, “Acting U.S. Attorney General Talks 2A Changes, DOJ Plans,” YouTube, April 21, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwB-2ckEwuA, at 0:59. Blanche said, “My family — my wife’s family — has been in the gun manufacturing business for 40 years.”2Ibid, at 0:33.
Blanche then discussed Check-Mate Industries, a magazine manufacturer founded by his in-laws, Thomas and Regina Vieweg, in West Babylon, New York, in 1972. Regina has been Check-Mate’s CEO since 1974, and she became the company’s chair in 2014 following Thomas’ death.
Over the years, Check-Mate expanded and opened a second factory in Thomasville, Georgia. Today, the company advertises that it has “manufactured over 100 million+ magazines for the U.S. Military, law enforcement, and the world’s finest firearms manufacturers.” Notably, Check-Mate has been awarded four Department of Defense contracts since January 2025.
The company also sells a variety of pistol and rifle magazines to civilians, including high-capacity magazines that hold over 10 rounds of ammunition. According to Check-Mate, “When you buy a new 1911 [pistol] or M1A [rifle] from a major manufacturer, there’s a good chance it came with a Check-Mate magazine in the box — even if our name wasn’t on it.”
A recent report found that mass shootings involving at least one high-capacity magazine or assault weapon have 400-percent more victims than mass shootings not involving those deadly innovations.
Last November, Blanche visited the Check-Mate factory in Georgia, as the company wrote on LinkedIn: “He toured our operations, spent time with our CEO, Vice President, and our team members, and saw firsthand the precision, craftsmanship, and dedication that define Check-Mate.” Regina Vieweg then shared the LinkedIn post and wrote that those attending the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s annual trade show in Las Vegas in January could “[s]top by the Check-Mate booth…[to] catch him there.” The NSSF later confirmed that Blanche had attended the show.
Rolling Back Gun Regulations
In his letter, Schiff noted that Blanche had announced the 32 rule changes while standing “before nearly a dozen firearms industry lobbyists, including those from organizations who have called for ATF to be defunded and dismantled and then abolished altogether.” The rules, according to Schiff, “create more opportunities for gun traffickers, violent criminals, and prohibited persons to obtain illegal firearms, make it more difficult for law enforcement to investigate and solve gun crimes, and allow more gun dealers to engage in irresponsible and even unlawful business operations.”
Since their announcement, ATF Director Robert Cekada and Chief Counsel Robert Leider have attempted to downplay the increased risks the rules pose to public safety — despite two proposals explicitly saying that the changes may lead to more mass shootings.
Schiff added that under Blanche’s leadership, the DOJ has “settled legal matters and brought new legal challenges that also stand to benefit Check-Mate Industries and the broader firearms industry, which raise additional conflict of interest questions.” As an example, Schiff points to the DOJ’s settlement with Rare Breed Triggers, which reversed previous ATF rulings and effectively legalized forced-reset triggers (FRTs) that allow semi-automatic firearms to fire like machine guns. As Schiff noted, “Such rapid fire will empty magazines at a quick rate, making magazines with high capacity, like those manufactured by your mother-in-law’s company, Check-Mate Industries, more appealing to reduce the need to reload.”
The DOJ has also filed several unprecedented lawsuits challenging prohibitions on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in Colorado, the City of Denver, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Schiff noted that “[i]f these statutes are invalidated, it stands to reason that Check-Mate Industries would be able to regain access to these markets.”
Questions for Blanche
Schiff’s letter ends with several questions for Blanche that address potential conflicts of interest. Schiff asks Blanche if he or his wife “currently hold ownership in, or otherwise receive financial benefits from, Check-Mate Industries or its subsidiaries or affiliate businesses,” and if so, if they will “divest all ownership or financial interests” in the company.
Other questions regard Blanche’s visit to the Check-Mate factory, whether he discussed “forthcoming regulations published by DOJ agencies” with anyone at Check-Mate, and his role in the Rare Breed Trigger settlement.
The letter concludes, “The Attorney General must be someone who puts public safety first — not gun industry profits. Given your track record so far at DOJ, I have strong concerns that you will do just the opposite.”