Washington — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told senators Wednesday that the Justice Department will not move ahead with a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund included in a disputed settlement involving President Trump and the IRS, even as the language of the agreement filed in federal court remains unchanged.
“It is a moot issue, meaning there is no weaponization fund. The weaponization fund is dead,” Blanche said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he appeared as the nominee to serve as Attorney General.
The settlement has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers in both parties. It called for creating a new Justice Department fund to compensate alleged victims of government “weaponization” and granted immunity to Mr. Trump, his two eldest sons, his company and affiliated businesses from future tax claims. Earlier this week, a federal judge in Miami rebuked the Justice Department and sanctioned one of Mr. Trump’s attorneys in the IRS lawsuit, concluding that the president brought the case “for an improper purpose.”
That ruling intensified scrutiny of whether Blanche and Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department’s third-ranking official, violated ethical obligations. The judge also barred them from relying on the settlement provisions as evidence of an agreement in any formal court filing or government proceeding.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Democratic and Republican senators repeatedly pressed Blanche over the Justice Department’s handling of the matter. Several pointed out that the settlement itself says any revisions must be approved by all parties. So far, neither government lawyers nor Mr. Trump’s personal legal team has filed a formal amendment to the agreement in federal court.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, read directly from the settlement, emphasizing the clause stating that the terms “may be modified only upon the written agreement of the parties.”
“Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?” Cornyn asked.
“No, the settlement fund is just not moving forward,” Blanche replied. “There’s no modification. It never started. No money went from the Treasury to any other account.”
When pressed, however, as to whether the settlement agreement may be enforceable by the parties, Blanche conceded that the president could challenge it down the road.
“Yes, it’s an enforceable document, so I suppose if President Trump’s counsel sought to enforce it, that they potentially could … try to enforce the contract. They can’t force the Department of Justice to move forward with the weaponization fund. They could potentially say that we breached by not moving forward,” Blanche said. “They haven’t done that, and I’m not aware that they’re planning on doing that.”
