Blanche rescinds $1.8 billion fund for Trump supporters

Key Points:

• Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally terminated President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” after weeks of negotiations with Republican Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who were blocking his nomination.
• The Justice Department clarified that no funds were transferred, no claims were paid, and no process was established for the fund, officially ending the compensation program for those claiming unfair prosecution related to Jan. 6 Capitol events.
• The order also limits the scope of the tax audit immunity provision in Trump’s IRS settlement, applying it only retroactively to claims open at the time of settlement and not to future tax filings.
• Cornyn and Tillis, both Judiciary Committee members, withheld support for Blanche’s confirmation due to concerns over the fund, despite Blanche’s efforts to align with Trump’s agenda and their negotiations with the Justice Department.
• Trump continues to support the fund and criticized its termination, claiming it would have compensated individuals affected by Jan. 6 prosecutions, while his legal team plans to appeal a judge’s ruling that condemned the IRS settlement as improper self-dealing.