Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told senators he would support legislation to foreclose the creation of a $1.8 billion government weaponization fund in an apparent concession to win the support of skeptical lawmakers considering his nomination to be the nation's top law enforcement officer.
Blanche committed to helping craft the legislation during a hearing Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on his nomination by President Donald Trump to be attorney general. The fund to compensate victims of alleged government weaponization was part of a broader settlement to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit that Trump filed against the IRS over a 2019 leak of his tax information.
Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas questioned whether there has been a written agreement to modify the settlement to ensure the weaponization fund can't go forward.
"I have talked extensively with you and other colleagues about potentially codifying so there's no weaponization fund, which is certainly something that could be done," Blanche said. "We very much are OK with that."
In response to intense political and public opposition, Blanche previously said the fund, which was set at $1.776 billion, wouldn't go forward. However, under questioning from senators, Blanche conceded that Trump and his lawyers could try to revive the fund by claiming the Justice Department breached the agreement.
"I want to stick a fork in this turkey of a 1776 fund," Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said during the hearing. Tillis said the Senate Appropriations Committee is already working on language to officially kill the fund.
Meanwhile, Cornyn led criticism about another part of the settlement that protects Trump and his family from past audits, although there was no talk about drafting legislation to prevent that provision from going forward.
In an astonishing moment, Blanche said he didn't know who at the Justice Department wrote the language providing immunity from tax audits, even though he signed the
Nomination vote
Senators questioned whether Blanche can operate independently from Trump, who he previously represented in criminal cases while in private practice.
"I'm his lawyer — was his lawyer," Blanche said at one point during the hearing.
While the questioning grew testy at times, Blanche mostly remained calm and Tillis even complimented him on his performance. Blanche can't afford to have any Republicans on the committee vote against his nomination to advance to the floor for a final vote. Democrats on the panel appear united in voting against his nomination.
Cornyn said after the hearing he was still undecided and that he won't make a decision until the vote is called.
"When he says the weaponization fund is dead, I disagree, and others may disagree as well," Cornyn said. "It's a very difficult position to be in to be the president's personal lawyer, and then to end up being a member of the Cabinet and the president could fire him today if he wanted to. I think in the case of this tax settlement, they leaned in pretty far in favor of the president."
Tillis said after the hearing he believes that if Blanche supports the Senate codifying the demise of the weaponization fund that is a sign that the Trump administration also supports doing so.
Senator questions
Blanche came under fire during the hearing over decisions he's made that appear to favor Trump and his allies.
Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, said "in less than 18 months at the Department of Justice, you've shown you're still President Trump's personal attorney."
Senators also focused attention on the work of former Special Counsel Jack Smith. Blanche said the Justice Department is investigating whether Smith obtained and shared the content of texts from senators during his probes into Trump's actions.
Smith was appointed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his handling of classified documents. Both of those cases were dropped when Trump was elected to his second term.
Blanche touted work under his tenure at DOJ to lower murder and crime rates, deport migrants who aren't lawfully in the country and prosecute fraud. He accused his predecessors at the Justice Department of damaging the public's faith in justice.
"Members of this committee — on both sides — have fair questions about the hard debates of this past year, and I welcome them," Blanche said. "Above all, we are restoring American trust."
