WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� confronted skeptical questions at a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday about the creation of a and a as he aimed to lock down the Republican support needed to advance his nomination.
Blanche insisted that the $1.776 billion 鈥淎nti-Weaponization Fund,鈥� which was scrapped after fierce bipartisan backlash, was 鈥渘ot moving forward.鈥� But lawmakers, including Republican Sen. John Cornyn, conveyed concerns that the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead and could therefore conceivably be resurrected.
鈥淛ust to be clear, the president of the United States, who’s a plaintiff in this lawsuit, has not agreed in writing to delete the weaponization fund and there鈥檚 no guarantee that he or one of the other plaintiffs” won鈥檛 raise the issue in the future, Cornyn asked. Blanche replied that Trump has no power over the fund, which was to have been administered by the Justice Department but was never launched.
Cornyn’s questions were closely watched since Blanche requires the backing of all Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and the Texas senator has not committed his support.
The hearing arrived at a tumultuous time for the Justice Department, with mass firings and resignations and Democrats and other critics raising alarms that Blanche is still functioning as Trump’s personal lawyer. He has led the department on an interim basis since April, functioning as the public face of the and into perceived Trump adversaries. Even as he said the fund was shelved, he made clear that immunity from tax audits afforded to Trump this year remained in place despite a congressional outcry.
Those actions, plus the flawed release of files from the , received fresh scrutiny Wednesday.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e in charge of a Department of Justice I don鈥檛 recognize, prosecuting the president鈥檚 political enemies, firing rank and file prosecutors and FBI agents,鈥� Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware told Blanche. 鈥淭hese are some actions that in your previous confirmation hearing before us, you said you would not take.鈥�
Blanche, for his part, pointed to investigations into Trump during the Biden administration to argue that he had inherited a politicized Justice Department.
鈥淚n recent years, we watched the Justice Department turned against many of you and a former president, and it damaged the public鈥檚 faith in justice,鈥� Blanche argued. 鈥淲e are fixing that.”
Blanche will need the support of each Republican on the panel
Key to Blanche’s confirmation are Cornyn of Texas, who in May , and Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who has opted In the final stretches of their Senate career, both are seen as more likely than before to split from Trump and both have been outspoken critics of the Trump administration created to compensate people who feel unjustly persecuted by the criminal justice system.
After questioning Blanche, Cornyn told CNN he continues 鈥渢o have some concerns鈥� and is not 鈥済oing to make any decisions at this point.鈥� Tillis, meanwhile, indicated during questioning that he is likely to support Blanche, even as he said he wanted 鈥渢o stick a fork in this turkey of a 1776 fund.”
The death of South Carolina Republican , who was a member of the committee, left 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the panel. With Democrats united in solidarity against Blanche, =a no-vote by even a single Republican on the panel would scuttle Blanche’s nomination.
Blanche insists the fund is dead. Lawmakers aren’t so sure
The fund emerged from a settlement of Trump鈥檚 $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns. Blanche had initially defended the initiative only to later reveal that it was being scrapped amid fierce bipartisan backlash.
The judge handling the case said in a Monday that Trump had effectively engaged in self-dealing through the lawsuit. She said she was troubled Blanche had signed the settlement given his prior representation of Trump and was concerned the acting attorney general had given misleading testimony. Blanche said Wednesday that he disagreed 鈥渨ith the judge’s insinuations about me.鈥�
Blanche also defended of the settlement that afforded Trump and members of his family protection from tax audits and that, he has said, remains on track. He said the deal covers any existing audits but does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.
鈥淣obody is above the law,鈥� Blanche said. Such a settlement “doesn鈥檛 make any of those individuals above the law.鈥�
Epstein files are also under scrutiny
Blanche was also pressed on the department’s staggered release of the Epstein files, a process , including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims.
During a podcast interview with Joe Rogan released Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said the administration 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� mishandled the communications surrounding the files, distributed binders of Epstein documents at the White House to far-right influencers that contained already-public material.
Blanche acknowledged that 鈥渕istakes were made” in the release process but nonetheless defended the work.
鈥淚 want to make sure that the American people know that this administration, when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, has been more transparent than any administration,鈥� he said. The Justice Department only released additional files after Trump bowed to bipartisan pressure to sign a law forcing the department to do so.
A former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, Blanche arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. At one point, under friendly questioning from Republican Sen. John Kennedy about whether he and Trump are friends, Blanche responded: 鈥淚鈥檓 his lawyer,鈥� before quickly correcting himself to say he 鈥渨as his lawyer.鈥�
He ascended to the top job in April after Trump ousted Bondi, who had frustrated the White House by struggling to bring successful cases against Trump’s political opponents. Blanche has tried to satisfy Trump in that regard, including with of ex-FBI Director James Comey, another Trump adversary, on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of 鈥�86 47.鈥�
Comey has said the numbers were not a call to violence.
Blanche was also asked about Jan. 6 violence
Tillis, who has said he would not support for attorney general anyone who equivocates on the events of , when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, asked Blanche if he agreed that any Capitol Police officer assaulted that day was the 鈥渧ictim of a heinous crime.鈥� Blanche said he agreed.
Democrats, meanwhile, pressed Blanche on the violence and Trump鈥檚 sweeping clemency action benefiting more than 1,500 people, including those convicted of violently attacking police.
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse criticized Blanche for comments at a political conference this year where he appeared to characterize the Jan. 6 pardons as an administration accomplishment. Blanche replied that he has 鈥渘ever said that any sort of violence against law enforcement is appropriate.鈥�
鈥淗e has the absolute right to pardon anybody for any reason he sees fit,鈥� Blanche said of the president. 鈥淚 am not celebrating that. It is a fact.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.
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