All articles tagged with #irs settlement
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche reached a deal with holdout senators to rescind the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund tied to an IRS settlement, issuing an order that the fund has no force or effect. The move comes ahead of Blanche’s permanent-A.G. nomination vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee and amid Trump pressure to revive the fund, with critics noting potential payouts to Jan. 6 rioters.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination, but Sen. John Cornyn hasn’t committed to supporting him until Blanche formally modifies the DOJ- brokered IRS settlement—narrowing an $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization fund' and ensuring the audit-immunity deal only retroactively applies. With a Thursday committee vote and a 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline discussed by Judiciary Chair Grassley, Blanche’s confirmation could be delayed if Cornyn withholds support, while Sen. Wyden’s amendment seeks to block the immunity deal and bids from other Republicans remain mixed.
President Trump implied that Sen. John Cornyn may be upset with him for not endorsing Cornyn, while Cornyn said he’s not prepared to back Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination until Blanche formalizes in writing a modification to a DOJ settlement tied to an IRS audit immunity and to an “anti-weaponization fund.” Blanche did not attend a planned White House meeting, and the Judiciary Committee vote looming on Thursday could hinge on Cornyn’s demands, making the nomination’s fate uncertain as other GOP-budget and debt-limit stories unfold.
Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general is in jeopardy as Sen. John Cornyn refuses to back Blanche until he receives a written modification to a DOJ-brokered $1.8 billion IRS settlement, tying it to Blanche’s pledge to curb an anti-weaponization fund; the vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee appears risky with Tillis as a potential swing vote, and time is tight before Congress's summer recess. The live updates also note GOP governors backing a new reconciliation bill, Rand Paul’s move to hold Fauci in contempt after invoking the Fifth, and other Senate actions like Graham’s Russia sanctions bill and North Carolina campaign ads.
Sen. John Cornyn says he will oppose Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination unless a written modification to the Trump-IRS settlement is signed—rescinding the proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund and restricting audit immunity—before Thursday’s Judiciary Committee vote.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, denounced a reported $1.776 billion fund intended to compensate Trump allies via an IRS settlement as a constitutional political slush fund that Congress never authorized; he argues it would pay nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 defendants and insurrectionists, potentially violating the Fourteenth Amendment, and says Democrats will sue to block the plan.