Democrats question Blanche’s independence from Trump
WASHINGTON—Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday told the Senate Judiciary Committee that a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund created through an IRS settlement with President Trump is “dead,” but key holdouts—including Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis—said they remain unconvinced.
The fund and a related order halting tax audits of Trump, his family, and his businesses have become the central obstacles to Blanche’s confirmation to serve as permanent attorney general. Trump nominated Blanche, his former personal defense lawyer, for the post after firing Pam Bondi in April. Blanche has served as acting attorney general since then.
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Blanche said the fund is “a moot issue.” He told senators, “The weaponization fund is dead. It is not moving forward.” He added that the Justice Department would not object to legislation that would permanently block the fund and would help lawmakers draft it.
But Cornyn, emerging from the hearing, told reporters he was not persuaded. “The argument was that the weaponization fund is dead, and what he confirmed is that it’s not,” Cornyn said. During the hearing, Cornyn displayed a poster-size copy of the order creating the fund and used a pointer to highlight his concerns. He noted that the settlement agreement requires all parties—including the IRS, the Justice Department, and Trump in his personal capacity—to agree to any change, and that none had agreed in writing to delete the fund.
Blanche acknowledged that Trump could theoretically sue the government for breach of contract for failing to create the fund. “I suppose they could bring a lawsuit, and we would litigate it,” Blanche said. “But even if we were litigating it, there’s no fund and the results of such litigation would not be the revival of the fund.”
Tillis said he wants to vote for Blanche but would not do so without a vote on legislation to definitively end the fund. “I want to stick a fork in this turkey,” Tillis said, and added that he wants Trump to endorse such legislation as a way to get Republicans on board.
The administration backed off the fund in June after lawmakers raised concerns that it could be used to compensate supporters of Trump who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. A federal judge also criticized the agreement earlier this week.
The fund originated from a lawsuit Trump filed over the illegal leak of his tax returns by an IRS contractor. A related order Blanche signed also halted any pending tax audits of Trump, his family, and his businesses. Under questioning from Cornyn, Blanche said the order applies only to Trump, his two sons, and the Trump Organization—the plaintiffs in the lawsuit—and does not extend to other government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cornyn said the written order could be read more broadly. “He said he didn’t read it that way, but I can read, too, and it could be read that way,” Cornyn said.
Democrats pressed Blanche on his close relationship with Trump and the Justice Department’s independence. Senator Cory Booker said Blanche’s career had been spent protecting Trump rather than the public. “The attorney general’s client is not the president, it’s the American people,” Booker said. “You’ve been protecting one man for most of your career.”
Senator John Kennedy asked Blanche directly, “Are you and Trump friends?” Blanche responded, “I’m his lawyer,” before quickly correcting himself to say, “was his lawyer.” Democrats pointed to the remark as evidence that Blanche still views himself as Trump’s defender.
Blanche also addressed Trump’s blanket pardons for individuals involved in the January 6 attack, saying that people who assaulted police that day should have been prosecuted—and were—but that the pardons were Trump’s decision. Tillis has previously said he would vote against any attorney general nominee who condones the actions of the rioters.