It took weeks of arm-twisting and a stalled confirmation process, but Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina got what they wanted from Todd Blanche. The acting attorney general signed a document Sunday evening rescinding a previous order setting up a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, better understood as a slush fund, to be doled out to President Donald Trump’s supporters. The move leaves a clear path for Blanche’s nomination to lead the Justice Department to finally advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
But crucially, neither the document Blanche signed nor another unsigned press release issued from his office Sunday alters the other part of the supposed “Settlement Agreement” between Trump and the IRS. Left untouched is the addendum that barred the IRS from carrying out, or completing, audits of the president, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as the Trump Organization. Without forcing Blanche to also strike down that part of the agreement, Cornyn and Tillis have, in effect, provided the go-ahead for one of the most apparently corrupt schemes to ever emerge from the White House.
There’s a common trope in horror, mystery and related genres of fiction: “Always check the body.”
The second document released by Blanche’s office only gestures toward the IRS audit ban his May 19 order announced. It merely confirms that Blanche stands by his testimony last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee and “restates that…the Order only has any effect, including on any release of claims, on the named parties in the lawsuit.” In other words, it is only Trump, his co-plaintiffs and the IRS that are party to this agreement despite the sweeping language of the announcement.
Blanche also confirmed during his testimony that the deal was only retroactive in nature.
“It’s not forward-looking, so to the extent there are taxes filed by the president or his sons or the Trump organization after the date of that agreement, there’s no protection,” he told Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., during questioning. But any ongoing or potential audits for tax filings up to then are still off-limits — including those covering Trump’s first year back in office despite the family’s crypto windfall and other potentially shady business deals that they have undertaken.
With its massive and highly symbolic total, and potential payout for Jan. 6 rioters and other far-right extremists, it makes sense that the slush fund part of the deal drew more attention and outrage. The surprise settlement proved to be a major wrench in congressional Republicans’ plans, prompting many to line up in opposition to it. Only 15 days after announcing it on May 18, Blanche was forced to confirm during a June 2 hearing that the DOJ was “not moving forward with the fund.”
Blanche reiterated that claim during his confirmation hearing — but that wasn’t enough to satisfy Cornyn and Tillis.
There’s a common trope in horror, mystery and related genres of fiction: “Always check the body.” No matter how certainly a mortal wound has been landed, or how unsurvivable a fall might seem, there’s no substitute for putting eyes on the corpse of whatever villain has apparently been laid low. And there was every reason to be skeptical of Blanche’s claims, even those provided under oath, when Trump has repeatedly hinted that the fund could be resurrected.
To their credit, both GOP senators refused to advance Blanche’s nomination without something in writing affirming that the fund was dead and would not be resuscitated. But though their campaign was laudable, it also focused on an easy target.
While the Senate GOP majority demurred when given the chance to formal blocking it, Cornyn and Tillis were doing their colleagues a favor in holding up Blanche’s nomination. The reaction to the slush fund’s creation was wildly negative, with one Economist/YouGov poll showing only 24% of Republicans supporting it and 45% of self-described MAGA Republicans opposing the scheme. In effect, the fund was all but indefensible politically, but it still fell to two retiring senators to hold the line against any potential resurrection of the fund.
Meanwhile, the IRS audit ban has benefitted from the massive shadow the slush fund cast, leaving it less politically radioactive. But while Trump has floated the idea of the slush fund coming back, and threatened to veto any limitations on it, his outrage over its death has been relatively muted.
Getting Blanche to cave on something that could affect his boss’ wallet would have been a much harder lift.
The same can’t be said of the president’s likely response if Blanche were to sign off on removing the audit protection part of the deal. As The New York Times has noted, an audit launched in the aftermath of an IRS inquiry before his first presidency could have resulted in Trump owing $100 million or more for double-dipping on certain tax breaks. (Eric Trump told the Times that the matter was previously settled and “only to be brought back to life once my father ran for office.”) Getting Blanche to cave on something that could affect his boss’ wallet would have been a much harder lift.
If anything, Sunday’s statement confirms that the part of the deal that most directly stands to benefit Trump will remain in place despite resulting from a case where, as a federal judge ruled, Blanche and his subordinates “ignored ethical norms, court rules, and legal authority to manipulate the judicial process.” And as my colleague Jordan Rubin noted, once confirmed, there’s little stopping Blanche from continuing “to use his position to benefit Trump personally, whether through this specific agreement or any new schemes that the attorney general and the president concoct.”
Blanche’s mea culpa on the slush fund may be enough to convince Cornyn and Tillis to clear him through committee — but it can’t be the end of this story. Those GOP senators who remain skeptical of Blanche’s fitness to run the nation’s top law enforcement agency must not overlook this massive benefit he’s provided the president. Even though he’s no longer collecting fees as Trump’s personal attorney, it’s hard to see his nomination as anything but payment for a job well done.
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