(AFP) – President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Todd Blanche appeared on track Monday to become the next US attorney general after two Republican senators dropped their opposition to his nomination. Blanche’s Senate confirmation has been held up by concerns from senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis over a $1.8 billion fund for alleged victims of politically motivated prosecution and a tax audit immunity deal with the Republican president.
Blanche issued a written order over the weekend scrapping the so-called “anti-weaponization fund” and said the audit immunity agreement with Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization would only apply “retroactively” to past tax years and not future filings. Cornyn and Tillis, both of whom are leaving the Senate in January, welcomed Blanche’s moves in a statement on Monday and said they “look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon.”
A vote in the committee, where Republicans hold a narrow 12-10 majority, is scheduled for Tuesday, and the full Republican-controlled Senate is expected to weigh in on Blanche’s nomination later in the week. Senate Democrats are united in their opposition to Blanche’s nomination amid concerns he has treated the Department of Justice as an extension of the president’s legal team.
Blanche has also come in for criticism from victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his handling of the release of investigative files about the convicted sex offender, a one-time close friend of Trump. Blanche, who has served as acting attorney general since Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, has overseen prosecutions of presidential adversaries and helped negotiate the extraordinary legal settlement between Trump and the government he controls.
The out-of-court settlement stems from Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the illegal disclosure of his tax records by an agency contractor. It proposed immunity from audits for past tax years and a $1.776 billion fund for people who say they were unfairly targeted by the Department of Justice, potentially including Trump supporters convicted over the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
– ‘There is no Fund’ –
Federal judges have separately blocked the fund and condemned the tax settlement, which according to US press reports could help the president avoid past liabilities of up to $100 million. One judge ruled that Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS had been brought for an “improper purpose” and sought to use the courts to legitimize benefits unavailable to ordinary taxpayers.
In his Sunday statement, Blanche said the “Order establishing the Anti-Weaponization Fund is rescinded and shall have no force or effect.” “This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund,” it said. Blanche has been closely tied to what Democrats have dubbed a “retribution” campaign by the president against his perceived political enemies.
Former FBI director James Comey, an outspoken Trump critic, is among those who have been targeted under Blanche. Comey was indicted in April for allegedly threatening Trump’s life in an Instagram post. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Blanche represented Trump in his New York trial over alleged “hush money” paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.
He was also on the legal defense team in two federal cases brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith — for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House and for seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
– Chris Lefkow
© 2024 AFP
