Topline
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended Tuesday the Justice Department’s decision to open a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to help Jan. 6 rioters and other allies of President Donald Trump, as he testified before Congress for the first time since replacing former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Hearing on Capitol Hill on May 19.
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Key Facts
Blanche testified Tuesday in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, in a hearing focused on the Justice Department’s 2027 budget.
Blanche was immediately criticized for his role in setting up the settlement fund, in which the Trump administration committed $1.776 billion toward helping “victims of lawfare and weaponization,” and will be run by a five-person committee made up of people appointed by the attorney general.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said it was “obscene” for Blanche to “reward” people who were convicted of crimes through the fund, and claimed the acting AG—who was formerly Trump’s personal attorney—was “solely focused on pleasing one man, no matter the cost.”
Under questioning from Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Blanche defended the fund, acknowledging the structure was “unusual … but not unprecedented” and claiming it was not limited to Republicans and political allies of the president.
Van Hollen asked Blanche if even people who had been convicted for assaulting police officers or committing violent crimes would be eligible for the fund, to which Blanche responded “anybody” will be eligible to apply, but it will be up to a board of commissioners to determine who gets relief.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked if people including Trump’s family members and campaign donors could receive funds, with Blanche answering “yes” when asked if Trump’s family members would be barred from receiving funds, but campaign donors “are not excluded from seeking compensation.”
Crucial Quote
Blanche claimed Tuesday that Trump “did not direct me to do anything” in terms of settling the IRS case and establishing the “anti-weaponization” fund. The acting AG acknowledged that the settlement was novel, but “there’s a lot of things that the president’s the first of,” pointing to the fact Trump was also the first former president to be criminally indicted.
Tangent
In addition to discussing the $1.8 billion fund, Van Hollen also asked Blanche if he would commit the Trump administration to not pardon people who were named in the government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein. While Blanche would not make that commitment, noting thousands of people were named in the Epstein files, many without doing anything wrong, he did claim the government would not pardon longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. “Yes I can commit to that, of course,” Blanche told Van Hollen.
Will Doj Make Public Who Gets Money From $1.8 Billion Fund?
While Trump’s settlement agreement says only that “confidential written reports” will be submitted to the attorney general detailing who gets money from the $1.8 billion fund, Blanche claimed Tuesday that those reports will be publicly released. The acting AG did not commit to making all information about the fund’s activities public, however, claiming that some information would remain private due to various privacy laws.
What We Don’t Know
There are still a number of outstanding questions about the “anti-weaponization fund,” including when payouts will start and who exactly will receive one. People who claim to have been victimized by the Justice Department can voluntarily apply for relief through the fund, which will provide both “formal apologies” and monetary compensation. Blanche said Tuesday that commissioners could come up with rules around who can and cannot apply for relief through the fund, but claimed he would play no role in determining those rules.
Blanche Faces Separate Senate Investigation
Blanche has also come under fire for playing a role in establishing and overseeing the $1.8 billion fund from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats opened a probe Tuesday into whether the acting AG had been advised to recuse himself from overseeing matters into Trump, including his former client’s 10-figure settlement, sending letters requesting documents to the Justice Department and the assistant attorney general.