Acting attorney general Todd Blanche said Tuesday he intends to make public details of payments issued through the Trump administration’s unusual $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund designed to compensate people who claim they’ve been unfairly targeted through a politicized justice system.
The pledge came as Blanche testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of the Justice Department’s $41.2 billion 2027 budget request.
But Democrats quickly sought to focus the hearing on the separate taxpayer-funded pot of money announced Monday, which they described as an “outrageous, unprecedented slush fund” designed to award Trump’s supporters, including those involved in violent incidents during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The “anti-weaponization fund” is the central plank of a broader settlement agreement to resolve three pending claims President Donald Trump had filed in his personal capacity against the government he leads.
Under the terms of the agreement – which was not approved by a federal court – awards would be decided by a five-member commission, largely appointed by the attorney general. There is no requirement in the deal that the commission publicly report how the money is disbursed.
“There will be full transparency,” Blanche told senators on Tuesday. He added: “There’s privacy laws that exist, so I don’t want to sit here today and say every scintilla of data will be released. … But I very much anticipate that the claims that are awarded – the basis and the amount – will for sure be made public along the way.”
Tuesday’s hearing – Blanche’s first appearance on Capitol Hill since assuming the role of the nation’s chief law enforcement officer – capped off his dizzying first six weeks on the job, in which he’s delivered a breakneck series of announcements sure to please a president who has sought to exert unique control over the Justice Department.
The weaponization compensation fund announced Monday is only the latest of those efforts to draw lawmakers’ scrutiny. Legal experts and ethics watchdogs have raised concerns about the deal, given it was negotiated between Trump’s personal attorneys and government lawyers representing the agencies he was suing but who ultimately work for him.
Blanche, in his short tenure, has also drawn criticism from Democrats over the prosecutors’ decision to indict former FBI director James B. Comey on a charge of threatening the president; moves to undo the last remaining convictions tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol; and other payouts to Trump allies who have claimed they were wronged by the justice system under Democratic administrations.
“Here you are at a budget hearing asking for taxpayer funds to pursue the department’s mission, when you’re using those funds to punish Trump’s adversaries, reward his friends and pursue his personal vendettas,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) said.
Of the “anti-weaponization” fund, the senator added, “Every American can see through this illegal, corrupt and self-dealing scheme.”
In a Monday statement, Blanche cast the fund as a means “for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Blanche faces Capitol Hill grilling on $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
Reporting by Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
