Blanche on a Glide Path to Confirmation After Promising To Never Establish the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’

The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, has all but guaranteed that he will be confirmed as the 88th Attorney General after he put in writing that he will never try to establish an “anti-weaponization fund” to pay individuals who had been investigated or prosecuted during Democratic administrations. President Trump had threatened to establish such a fund if GOP senators did not move quickly to confirm his choice for attorney general. If confirmed, Mr. Blanche may have the closest relationship with the sitting president of any attorney general in modern memory. Before being nominated to serve as deputy attorney general, Mr. Blanche spent several years as Mr. Trump’s personal defense attorney as he navigated a number of post-presidency lawsuits and criminal charges. Over the weekend, Mr. Trump began playing hardball with two Republican holdouts in the Senate who wanted Mr. Blanche to guarantee, in writing, that no such “anti-weaponization fund” would be established in the future. Mr. Trump told those GOP lawmakers — Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn — that he would simply revive the fund if they did not swiftly confirm Mr. Blanche. Given he was already confirmed by the Senate as deputy attorney general, Mr. Blanche is legally entitled to remain as acting attorney general so long as Mr. Trump wants him in the role.“Todd Blanche was a voice of reason,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, threatening the senators. He called Mr. Blanche “one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country.”Late Sunday night, Mr. Blanche announced that he had come to an agreement with Messrs. Tillis and Cornyn on blocking the creation of any anti-weaponization funds going forward. “My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions,” Mr. Blanche said in a statement. “The Department always welcomes and appreciates productive engagement with all members of Congress.”The creation of the anti-weaponization fund was precipitated by Mr. Trump’s lawsuit settlement with the IRS. The president was also granted immunity from any audits going forward. Mr. Blanche on Sunday released the text of an addendum to that settlement between Mr. Trump and the federal government which now states that the anti-weaponization fund is off the table.“For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Order is intended to contradict or otherwise be contrary to prior representations by the Department of Justice that the Fund is not operative. No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid,” Mr. Blanche wrote. “This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”Mr. Blanche also guaranteed to Messrs. Cornyn and Tillis that the IRS audit immunity applies only to Mr. Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization. That promise is enough to win their votes, Messrs. Cornyn and Tillis say. “We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund. Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written document that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit,” Mr. Cornyn said in a statement Monday on behalf of himself and Mr. Tillis. Mr. Cornyn says both senators “look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of” the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Mr. Blanche is unlikely to win the support of any Senate Democrats once his nomination comes to the floor. Back when he received a vote to be deputy attorney general — long before his handling of the Epstein files release and the attempted creation of the anti-weaponization fund — Mr. Blanche received zero Democratic votes. During his confirmation process, many women who claim to be victims of Jeffrey Epstein have been meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, urging them to reject Mr. Blanche for his handling of the release of the files. Mr. Blanche was the one who first met with Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, while she was in prison. The New York Sun first reported that Ms. Maxwell was later transferred to a lower security women’s prison in Texas after telling Mr. Blanche in an interview that she never saw Mr. Trump do anything inappropriate. Mr. Blanche denies having any involvement in moving Ms. Maxwell.

Blanche on a Glide Path to Confirmation After Promising To Never Establish the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’

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