Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Sen. John Cornyn of Texas that while the anti-weaponization fund is “dead,” the underlying settlement agreement remains an “enforceable document.”
A critical Republican vote needed for Blanche’s attorney general nomination to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Cornyn appeared at the Wednesday confirmation hearing accompanied by a poster-sized version of President Donald Trump’s settlement agreement with the IRS.
Cornyn pointed to page four, which states that “this settlement agreement may be modified only upon the written agreement of the parties.”
Blanche replied that there has not been a written agreement to modify the settlement fund while emphasizing that “it’s not moving forward” after sharp backlash from members of both parties, fearful it would be a slush fund to make payments to Trump’s political allies and rioters involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attacks.
The settlement agreement, however, remains an “enforceable document,” Blanche acknowledged, noting that Trump’s counsel could potentially seek to enforce the contract by a breach of contract lawsuit.
“They can’t force the Department of Justice to move forward with the weaponization fund,” Blanche said. “They could potentially say that, I suppose, that we breached by not moving forward,” but added, “They haven’t done that and I’m not aware that they’re planning on doing that.”
Cornyn has said he needs assurances from Blanche that there is no way the anti-weaponization fund could ever go into effect. It’s not clear whether Blanche’s response will be satisfactory toward that end. A single Republican vote against Blanche in committee could thwart his chances of being confirmed, assuming all Democrats vote “no.”
The $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” originally floated by the Justice Department was born out of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit Trump brought against the IRS after a contractor for the agency leaked his tax information. The other outcome of that settlement was the guarantee of IRS audit immunity for Trump, his business and family members — also a subject of intense scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Blanche noted earlier in the Wednesday confirmation hearing that the IRS audit shield is “not an exemption to comply with the tax laws of the United States,” but “an agreement that any past audits would end.”
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