US Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Reject Trump’s Fund Against Judicial Abuse

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose path to a full-term appointment is being blocked by two senators from his own Republican Party, formally decided today to abandon the creation of the “Fund Against the Weaponization of the Judiciary,” which was conceived and advocated by US President Donald Trump.

With this, Blanche fulfilled the condition set by the aforementioned senators to secure majority support for his appointment.

The controversial fund, valued at $1.778 billion, stemmed from an equally controversial legal settlement between Republican Trump and the US Internal Revenue Service. When the fund was announced, it provoked outrage not only among opposition Democrats but also among ruling Republicans, which became especially evident when Blanche—Trump’s former attorney and now head of the US Department of Justice—left the door open for Trump supporters who, on January 6, 2021, attacked the Capitol, broke into the US Congress building, and injured numerous police officers, to be compensated from the fund.

After the senators’ outrage, Blanche stated in June that the fund was dead, but this did not satisfy the two Republican senators, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who, in order to support Blanche’s candidacy in the Senate Judiciary Committee, insisted that the Department of Justice formally renounce the fund in writing, especially since Donald Trump continued to support its creation. The fund would have compensated the president’s political allies, alleged victims of judicial persecution during the presidency of Joseph Biden, a Democrat.

In a statement issued early this morning, Blanche said that the written renunciation of the fund came as a result of “good faith discussions.”

“My team and I have met several times over the past few weeks with committee members (of the Judiciary Committee) and senators, and addressed all concerns or issues of exceptional importance,” Blanche wrote in his decision.

In a statement accompanying the decision, the Department of Justice wrote: “Although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly stated before Congress, through testimony, including under oath, as well as through written statements, that there will be no continuation of the fund’s formation, and although the Department has indicated to federal courts that there will be no continuation of the fund, today’s decision formally rescinds the May 18 decision.”

Blanche’s decision also meets Senator Cornyn’s demand that the settlement between Trump and the IRS limit the provision granting broad immunity to Trump and his family from tax audits. It is specified that the agreement applies “exclusively retroactively,” meaning it pertains to claims from the time when the settlement was concluded, and not to future tax audits that could target Trump and his family.

Previously, a federal judge determined that the settlement agreement was manipulative and constituted an abuse of the judiciary, as it was concluded between parties not in legal conflict. The judge even filed a disciplinary complaint against one of Trump’s attorneys.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is evenly split between Democratic and Republican senators and formally nominates the Attorney General. Given the conditions set by Senators Cornyn and Tillis, there was a risk that Blanche would not be confirmed as the new Attorney General. A vote scheduled in the Committee last week was postponed to Thursday because Cornyn and Tillis refused to confirm Blanche without a written withdrawal from the controversial fund and a clear limitation on the scope of the $10 billion settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS.

The situation was complicated by the White House, despite Blanche’s loyalty to Trump, and Trump himself, during negotiations between the two senators and the Department of Justice, supported the creation of the fund and in this context mentioned that the Capitol attackers had “suffered.” Ultimately, he also stated that the fund was “dead.”

Todd Blanche, Trump’s former attorney, became Acting Attorney General after his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was dismissed. Trump dismissed her because she was not aggressive enough in acting against his political opponents.