The Department of Justice has permanently abandoned a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization compensation fund that was created to settle a lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House panel on Tuesday.
Blanche made the announcement while testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, according to CNBC.
"We are not moving forward with the fund, period," Blanche told Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York who serves as the ranking member of the subcommittee. He later refused to put that promise in writing despite telling Meng the DOJ would never relaunch the fund. Blanche also told Meng the fund would not be restarted regardless of the outcome of three pending lawsuits that have challenged it.
The fund had already been blocked by a federal judge. The DOJ said the day before Blanche's testimony that it would not proceed with the fund to comply with that court order. Critics said that statement left unclear whether the department had truly abandoned the effort.
Opposition to the fund came from both parties, including Republican senators who objected to the lack of legislative oversight and raised concerns that the fund could end up paying people convicted of attacking police officers during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
While the fund itself appears dead, Trump and his family members and related business entities remain protected from tax audits and enforcement actions connected to tax returns filed before last month's out-of-court settlement. Blanche personally signed the DOJ's May 19 addendum to the settlement, one day after the deal was announced.
The addendum also bars the DOJ from prosecuting Trump and others for cases that would be based on what it calls "Lawfare and/or Weaponization," without defining those terms or identifying what specific conduct by the named individuals might be covered.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, pressed Blanche on his refusal to rescind the addendum.
"Simply put, you just gave the president's family a tax immunity to the tune of about $100 million," DeLauro said, referring to an estimate published by The New York Times last month about the potential tax liability Trump could have faced under a previously pending IRS audit.
Blanche replied: "Not true."
DeLauro continued: "Well, yes, you have, my friend," over his objections.
She then raised the question of Blanche's prior legal work for Trump. "You know, look, and I just want to say this: the Save America PAC [political action committee controlled by Trump] paid you nearly $10 million between March of 2024 and December of 2024 to serve as President Trump's personal defense attorney," she said.
Blanche previously served as Trump's criminal defense attorney before taking the role of acting attorney general.
