President Trump’s anti-weaponization fund faced growing political challenges
The rare criticism from Republican lawmakers adds two legal challenges to the political and legal storm surrounding President Trump’s $1.8 billion IRS settlement.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a June 2 Congressional hearing that the Justice Department will not move forward with President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” that could provide funding to people convicted of assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Justice Department said in a June 1 statement that it would comply with a judge’s ruling that ordered the funds to be suspended ahead of a June 12 court hearing. But he did not respond to follow-up questions ahead of Mr. Blanche’s testimony about whether he was permanently abandoning the $1.776 billion effort.
The fund has sparked widespread anger and a standoff between the White House and Congress, as Senate Republicans have refused in recent days to move forward with an immigration enforcement spending bill until the fund is limited or eliminated.
Following the Justice Department’s June 1 statement on suspending the fund, some Republican senators said they wanted a clearer message that the Trump administration was done pursuing the fund.
“We are not moving forward with plans for the fund,” Blanche said in testimony to Congress.
Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) told Mr. Branch that she expected a written statement from the Justice Department that it would not proceed with administering the fund, even after the June 12 court hearing.
“So I think what I say here will be recorded, so it will be in writing,” Blanche said.
Nevertheless, the acting attorney general left open the possibility that the Justice Department will fight any legal challenges brought in court against the fund.
“Despite what we’re doing in these cases, defending our rights and making sure our rights are protected, we’re not going to proceed with the operation of the fund,” he said.
How was the Anti-Weaponization Fund born?
The Department of Justice announced the creation of the fund as part of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit brought by President Trump and his two eldest sons against the IRS for failing to protect their tax returns. The contractor leaked tax return information from 2019 to 2020, along with that of hundreds of thousands of other taxpayers.
Later, Justice Department lawyers and lawyers for Trump and his two sons settled the case, agreeing for the government to establish a fund and relieve the family of any previous tax liability.
The New York Times reported in 2020 that President Trump is engaged in a decade-long audit battle with the IRS over his $72.9 million tax refund claim. Losing the battle could cost the company more than $100 million, according to the Times.
Blanche said in a subsequent hearing that the Justice Department was not waiving the tax portion of the settlement.
“Nothing has changed since then,” Blanche said.
“As with all IRS settlements with individual taxpayers and other businesses, it is standard and typical to exclude past ongoing audits as part of the settlement,” he added.
The agreement raised widespread ethical concerns. Government watchdogs argued that it was inappropriate for a Justice Department lawyer, presumably under the president’s control, to enter into such a contract with the president’s personal lawyer without judicial oversight.
Dozens of former federal judges have asked the Miami federal judge who closed Trump’s case against the IRS to reopen the case. They said the government had been fighting “nearly identical claims” filed against the IRS by others and said the disparate treatment of Trump showed the settlement was unethical.
While the justices consider what to do next, he asked Trump to respond by June 12 to allegations that he improperly colluded with the Justice Department.
(This article has been updated with additional information.)
