Senators drop objections to Blanche confirmation
A gentlemen's agreement with Blanche lets Trump pursue cash bounties for Jan. 6 rioters and $100 million tax amnesty.
Look out for my Substack Live with Andrew Weissmann on this development at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and subscribe now to receive the archived video of the discussion.
Two outgoing Republican senators abandoned their core demand standing in the way of Todd Blanche’s confirmation for attorney general.
During his confirmation hearing in mid-July, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas sharply questioned Blanche about whether a purported settlement agreement between Donald Trump and the government agencies he controls would be enforceable without a signed modification.
“Is the settlement agreement enforceable as a contract by the parties?” Cornyn asked.
“Well, yes, it's an enforceable document,” Blanche replied.
After the hearing, Cornyn conditioned his support for Blanche’s nomination on his modifying the purported settlement to eliminate the creation of a fund to reward Jan. 6 rioters. He also wanted the revised agreement to rein in the sweeping tax amnesty to Donald Trump and his family members, valued at an estimated $100 million. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined in that demand.
Late on Sunday evening, Blanche announced that he and the senators “addressed any concerns and outstanding questions,” but the documents that Blanche released appeared to fall far short of the senators’ terms. Blanche issued an order purporting to rescind the fund and stated that the relief from tax audits would be retroactive.
Only Blanche’s signature appeared on the documents, and the original terms of the purported settlement agreement had been unaltered. The documents indicate that nothing had changed: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this order is intended to contradict or otherwise be contrary to prior representations of the Department of Justice that the fund is not operative.”
Blanche frequently declared the fund “dead,” but Cornyn previously found those claims hollow without a modification to the settlement agreement, signed by Trump and government representatives.
The gentlemen’s agreement between Blanche and the senators lets Trump keep his enforceable agreement. Trump openly declared that he still wants to carry out its terms, and his Justice Department is actively trying to clear any hurdles standing in the way of that outcome.
On Friday, Trump called Jan. 6 rioters “great American Patriots” and declared that they “should be given compensation.” That same day, the Trump Justice Department formally sought to overturn an obstacle preventing that outcome, appealing a judge’s ruling forbidding the parties from using the purported settlement agreement in “any judicial, administrative, regulatory, arbitration, or any other official proceeding.”
For now, two judicial rulings prevent Trump from moving ahead on the fund. A federal judge in Virginia issued a preliminary injunction preventing the government from taking any action to create the fund or distribute payments, and another federal judge’s ruling in Florida targets the underlying settlement agreement more directly.
Cornyn and Tillis released a statement that they were “pleased” by the “formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund” and “look forward to voting to advance his nomination.”
But Cornyn previously acknowledged in his questions that such an order has no binding force without Trump’s signature.
“The President of the United States, who was a plaintiff in this lawsuit, has not agreed in writing to delete the weaponization fund, and there’s no guarantee that he or one of the other plaintiffs might raise that issue by way of a lawsuit and a breach of contract lawsuit in the future,” Cornyn said last month.
The Texas Republican’s sharp scrutiny of the Trump v. Internal Revenue Service agreement reflects his training as a lawyer, who previously served as an attorney general and judge in the Lone Star State.
Blanche’s nomination comes to a vote before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Well I suspected they’d cave. Blanche would find a way to get his votes and still keep the “slush fund”. Worse is the tax immunity. Trump has bragged not paying taxes “makes me smart” if I remember the correct words he used in debate with Clinton. Wouldn’t we all like to not pay taxes? That the very wealthy already pay less tax than most and rather than use their wealth to help others, as only a few do, they buy politicians to give them and their businesses more relief. Shame on them and shame on the rest of us for allowing it.
It’s pretty hard to squeeze good news out of this slimy announcement since everyone involved in it is as trustworthy as their leader. It ain’t over yet!