Blanche faces Senate doubts over Trump fund and tax deal
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended Justice Department actions as senators questioned his independence from President Trump.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced sharp questioning Wednesday as senators weighed his nomination to lead the Justice Department. The hearing centered on whether Blanche can separate the department’s work from President Donald Trump’s personal and political interests.
Blanche told the Senate Judiciary Committee that a proposed $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” will not proceed. The fund, according to the Associated Press, was tied to a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns and would have compensated people who said they were unfairly targeted by the criminal justice system.
Republicans and Democrats have criticized the plan. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican whose vote could be decisive, pressed Blanche on whether Trump had agreed in writing to abandon the fund and whether it could return later.
Blanche said Trump has no authority over the fund, which would have been run by the Justice Department and was never started. Cornyn later told CNN he still had concerns and was not ready to decide whether to support the nomination.
Tax settlement draws scrutiny
Senators also questioned Blanche about a separate part of the IRS settlement that gives Trump and some family members protection from tax audits. Blanche said the provision remains in effect but applies to existing audits and does not cover future tax filings.
“Nobody is above the law,” Blanche told senators, adding that the settlement did not place anyone beyond legal scrutiny.
The case has already drawn criticism from the judge who oversaw it. According to the Associated Press, the judge wrote Monday that Trump and his lawyers had misused the court system through the lawsuit and settlement, and she raised concerns about Blanche’s role because he previously represented Trump. Blanche told senators he disagreed with the judge’s suggestions about his conduct.
Blanche previously served on Trump’s criminal defense team while Trump faced four indictments, and later joined the Justice Department as deputy attorney general. During friendly questioning from Republican Sen. John Kennedy about whether he and Trump are friends, Blanche answered, “I’m his lawyer,” then corrected himself and said he “was his lawyer.”
Committee math leaves little room
Blanche needs support from every Republican on the Judiciary Committee, according to the Associated Press. The death of South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham left the panel with 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, meaning one Republican no vote could block the nomination in committee.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is not seeking reelection, also criticized the fund. During the hearing, he said he wanted “to stick a fork in this turkey of a 1776 fund,” though he indicated he was likely to back Blanche.
Democrats used the hearing to argue that the Justice Department under Blanche has pursued Trump’s opponents and removed career personnel. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said Blanche was overseeing a department he did not recognize, citing prosecutions of political enemies and firings of prosecutors and FBI agents.
Blanche said he was correcting damage from Justice Department investigations of Trump during President Joe Biden’s administration. “We are fixing that,” he told the committee.
Epstein files and Jan. 6 pardons
Blanche also addressed the Justice Department’s release of files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. He acknowledged errors after redactions failed to fully hide some identifying information and nude images showing faces of potential victims, but said about 1% of the records needed correction.
Senators questioned him as well about Trump’s clemency for more than 1,500 people charged or convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including people convicted of assaulting police. Blanche said he has never said violence against law enforcement is acceptable and described the pardons as an exercise of presidential power rather than something he was celebrating.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.