{"id":583,"date":"2026-08-03T18:41:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583"},"modified":"2026-08-03T18:41:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:41:20","slug":"blanche-killed-the-anti-weaponization-fund-but-loopholes-abound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583","title":{"rendered":"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

After months of mounting pressure, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally rescinded the so-called anti-weaponization fund and clarified the scope of the deal that grants immunity from existing IRS audits to President Donald Trump, the president\u2019s two eldest sons and the Trump Organization. But on their face, the documents appear limited in their effect, and questions remain as to whether the moves will end the effort to use federal funds to pay Trump supporters or to limit who the president\u2019s legal settlement can insulate from tax audits.<\/p>\n

Read more Deadline: Legal Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

The significant reversal marks a clear move to secure support from key Republican senators who have been resisting Blanche\u2019s confirmation to become attorney general. Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had maintained that they needed a formal, written termination of the nearly $1.8 billion taxpayer fund. Cornyn also advocated for a narrowed scope of the immunity agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blanche posted two documents online late Sunday night that purported to make both concessions, and it seemed to work. In a joint statement Monday morning, Cornyn and Tillis wrote, \u201cWe are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,\u201d adding, \u201cWe look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

But questions remain about whether these documents will actually quell public opposition to the provisions of Trump\u2019s IRS lawsuit settlement agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The so-called anti-weaponization fund<\/h2>\n

Following months of pushback, Blanche finally rescinded the so-called anti-weaponization fund in writing. In the first document posted Sunday, Blanche killed the fund in a single sentence, writing, \u201cThe Attorney General\u2019s May 18, 2026 Order establishing the Anti-Weaponization Fund is rescinded and shall have no force or effect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blanche wrote that the order is consistent with his previous statements \u2014 both before Congress and in court filings \u2014 that the fund is dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThis order establishes, beyond any reasonable doubt, that there is no Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the statement does not do is notable. Blanche did not write that no such fund would be created in the future. No part of this termination order indicates that the DOJ could not revive this or a comparable fund in some way, shape or form in the future. He simply has rescinded the fund, for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fund remains the subject of multiple legal challenges. In June, a federal judge in Virginia indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from taking steps to create the fund. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema signaled she would dismiss the suit should Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent submit a sworn declaration under the penalty of perjury that the fund had been terminated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They declined to do so, and the case has continued. It is not immediately clear whether Blanche\u2019s cancellation order will prompt Brinkema to revisit the possibility of dismissal. The Department of Justice asked her to last month, arguing the fund is dead. She is set to hear arguments on the dismissal later this month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Settlement agreement remains in effect<\/h2>\n

None of Blanche\u2019s new documents rescinded the original settlement agreement, which was reached after Trump moved to dismiss his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and a federal judge agreed to that dismissal. That settlement yielded the so-called anti-weaponization fund to redress individuals who claim they were harmed by \u201cweaponization\u201d of the justice system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s flailing Pentagon reportedly seeks \u2018creative and unconventional\u2019 tips on Iran strategy<\/a><\/p>\n

The agreement gives the attorney general the power to establish the fund and all relevant rules that govern it. Blanche did establish the fund, but he has maintained the department has not taken any steps to formally operate it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last month U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who presided over and dismissed Trump\u2019s lawsuit against the IRS, ripped the settlement agreement. In a scathing , Williams concluded that Trump sued the IRS for an \u201cimproper purpose \u2014 to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a \u2018settlement\u2019 that has no viable basis in law or fact.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She barred the parties to the case \u2014 Trump, his two eldest sons, the Trump Organization and the IRS \u2014 from referring to the settlement as evidence of the product of a legitimate judicial proceeding. She also issued sanctions against Trump\u2019s attorneys and forwarded a copy of her ruling to the New York Bar Association, of which Blanche is a member.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump moved to appeal her order on Friday evening. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has not yet intervened.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regardless, the settlement agreement remains alive, and that\u2019s by design. The agreement\u2019s terms clearly outline that it is \u201cenforceable and challengeable solely by Plaintiffs, Defendants, and the United States.\u201d That is, the parties to the case listed above, including the U.S. government. It also says the settlement \u201cmay be modified only by written agreement of the Parties,\u201d and it does not appear that the parties to the lawsuit have signed anything that officially modifies its terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

IRS immunity deal clarified\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Blanche also clarified the scope of the deal that granted the Trump family and businesses immunity from existing IRS audits. In the second document he posted, he addressed the May 19 addendum to the settlement, which announced the deal granting immunity to \u201cany of the Plaintiffs or related or affiliated individuals (including, without limitation, family or others filing jointly), or parties including trusts, parent, sister, or related companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries\u201d for existing audits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That is different from what Blanche wrote Sunday evening. The new, unsigned release says, \u201cIt is the DOJ\u2019s interpretation that the Order only has any effect, including on the release of claims, on the named parties in the lawsuit referenced in the order.\u201d Again, the named parties in the lawsuit only include Trump, his two eldest sons and the Trump Organization.<\/p>\n

Cornyn and Tillis have pointed to this new document as evidence of a narrowed immunity deal, writing in their joint statement, \u201cThe Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs.\u201d That is not the case, however, because the DOJ has not issued any new, signed order that officially narrows the scope of the relief. This new document merely broadcasts Blanche\u2019s interpretation of the May 19 order that established the immunity deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One outstanding question is whether the attorney general even has the authority to grant Trump immunity from IRS audits in the first place. No one has sued to challenge the immunity deal, likely because it is unlikely anyone has standing to bring a lawsuit of that nature.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That question, like many others, remains unanswered. But for the two senators who have been holding up Blanche\u2019s confirmation, these written assurances appear to have answered whatever questions they had about Blanche and the government\u2019s deal with Trump.<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Olympian weighs \u2018all remedies\u2019 after DOJ drops Reflecting Pool case, lawyer says<\/a><\/p>\n

Lisa Rubin contributed reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Republican senators say they will vote to confirm him, questions linger as to what acting Attorney General Todd Blanche actually did to the fund and the IRS immunity deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nBlanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound - Long Distance Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound - Long Distance Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Republican senators say they will vote to confirm him, questions linger as to what acting Attorney General Todd Blanche actually did to the fund and the IRS immunity deal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Long Distance Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-03T18:41:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0206dfa2bde56a4792f75b5b97027e43\"},\"headline\":\"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-03T18:41:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583\"},\"wordCount\":1181,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"US\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583\",\"name\":\"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound - Long Distance Movers USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-03T18:41:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0206dfa2bde56a4792f75b5b97027e43\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=583#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Long Distance Movers USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0206dfa2bde56a4792f75b5b97027e43\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound - Long Distance Movers USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound - Long Distance Movers USA","og_description":"As Republican senators say they will vote to confirm him, questions linger as to what acting Attorney General Todd Blanche actually did to the fund and the IRS immunity deal.","og_url":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583","og_site_name":"Long Distance Movers USA","article_published_time":"2026-08-03T18:41:20+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0206dfa2bde56a4792f75b5b97027e43"},"headline":"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound","datePublished":"2026-08-03T18:41:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583"},"wordCount":1181,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp","articleSection":["US"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583","url":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583","name":"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound - Long Distance Movers USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-03T18:41:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0206dfa2bde56a4792f75b5b97027e43"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3e40bbd64bd1ba48b2d579e7c5e8a92d.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=583#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blanche killed the \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, but loopholes abound"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/","name":"Long Distance Movers USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0206dfa2bde56a4792f75b5b97027e43","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com"],"url":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}