{"id":591,"date":"2026-08-04T10:42:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=591"},"modified":"2026-08-04T10:42:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:42:21","slug":"blanche-killed-the-slush-fund-but-trump-still-wins-big-in-his-irs-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=591","title":{"rendered":"Blanche killed the slush fund but Trump still wins big in his IRS case"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It took weeks of arm-twisting and a stalled confirmation process, but Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina got what they wanted from Todd Blanche. The acting attorney general signed a document Sunday evening rescinding a previous order setting up a nearly $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund, better understood as a slush fund, to be doled out to President Donald Trump\u2019s supporters. The move leaves a clear path for Blanche\u2019s nomination to lead the Justice Department to finally advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

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But crucially, neither the document Blanche signed nor another unsigned press release issued from his office Sunday alters the other part of the supposed \u201cSettlement Agreement\u201d between Trump and the IRS. Left untouched is the addendum that barred the IRS from carrying out, or completing, audits of the president, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as the Trump Organization. Without forcing Blanche to also strike down that part of the agreement, Cornyn and Tillis have, in effect, provided the go-ahead for one of the most apparently corrupt schemes to ever emerge from the White House.<\/p>\n

The second document released by Blanche\u2019s office only gestures toward the IRS audit ban his May 19 order announced. It merely confirms that Blanche stands by his testimony last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee and \u201crestates that\u2026the Order only has any effect, including on any release of claims, on the named parties in the lawsuit.\u201d In other words, it is only Trump, his co-plaintiffs and the IRS that are party to this agreement despite the sweeping language of the announcement.<\/p>\n

Blanche also confirmed during his testimony that the deal was only retroactive in nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not forward-looking, so to the extent there are taxes filed by the president or his sons or the Trump organization after the date of that agreement, there\u2019s no protection,\u201d he told Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., during questioning. But any ongoing or potential audits for tax filings up to then are still off-limits \u2014\u00a0including those covering Trump\u2019s first year back in office despite the family\u2019s crypto windfall and other potentially shady business deals that they have undertaken.<\/p>\n

With its massive and highly symbolic total, and potential payout for Jan. 6 rioters and other far-right extremists, it makes sense that the slush fund part of the deal drew more attention and outrage. The surprise settlement proved to be a major wrench in congressional Republicans\u2019 plans, prompting many to line up in opposition to it. Only 15 days after announcing it on May 18, Blanche was forced to confirm during a June 2 hearing that the DOJ was \u201cnot moving forward with the fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche reiterated that claim during his confirmation hearing \u2014\u00a0but that wasn\u2019t enough to satisfy Cornyn and Tillis.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a common trope in horror, mystery and related genres of fiction: \u201cAlways check the body.\u201d No matter how certainly a mortal wound has been landed, or how unsurvivable a fall might seem, there\u2019s no substitute for putting eyes on the corpse of whatever villain has apparently been laid low. And there was every reason to be skeptical of Blanche\u2019s claims, even those provided under oath, when Trump has repeatedly hinted that the fund could be resurrected.<\/p>\n

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To their credit, both GOP senators refused to advance Blanche\u2019s nomination without something in writing affirming that the fund was dead and would not be resuscitated. But though their campaign was laudable, it also focused on an easy target.<\/p>\n

While the Senate GOP majority demurred when given the chance to formal blocking it, Cornyn and Tillis were doing their colleagues a favor in holding up Blanche\u2019s nomination. The reaction to the slush fund\u2019s creation was wildly negative, with one showing only 24% of Republicans supporting it and 45% of self-described MAGA Republicans opposing the scheme. In effect, the fund was all but indefensible politically, but it still fell to two retiring senators to hold the line against any potential resurrection of the fund.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the IRS audit ban has benefitted from the massive shadow the slush fund cast, leaving it less politically radioactive. But while Trump has floated the idea of the slush fund coming back, and threatened to veto any limitations on it, his outrage over its death has been relatively muted.<\/p>\n

The same can\u2019t be said of the president\u2019s likely response if Blanche were to sign off on removing the audit protection part of the deal. As The New York Times has noted, an audit launched in the aftermath of an IRS inquiry before his first presidency could have resulted in Trump owing $100 million or more for double-dipping on certain tax breaks. (Eric Trump told the Times that the matter was previously settled and \u201conly to be brought back to life once my father ran for office.\u201d) Getting Blanche to cave on something that could affect his boss\u2019 wallet would have been a much harder lift.<\/p>\n

If anything, Sunday\u2019s statement confirms that the part of the deal that most directly stands to benefit Trump will remain in place despite resulting from a case where, as a federal judge ruled, Blanche and his subordinates \u201cignored ethical norms, court rules, and legal authority to manipulate the judicial process.\u201d And as my colleague Jordan Rubin noted, once confirmed, there\u2019s little stopping Blanche from continuing \u201cto use his position to benefit Trump personally, whether through this specific agreement or any new schemes that the attorney general and the president concoct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche\u2019s mea culpa on the slush fund may be enough to convince Cornyn and Tillis to clear him through committee \u2014 but it can\u2019t be the end of this story. Those GOP senators who remain skeptical of Blanche\u2019s fitness to run the nation\u2019s top law enforcement agency must not overlook this massive benefit he\u2019s provided the president. Even though he\u2019s no longer collecting fees as Trump\u2019s personal attorney, it\u2019s hard to see his nomination as anything but payment for a job well done.<\/p>\n

Read more Nevada election chief says Trump\u2019s voter crackdown is about fear, not fraud<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The IRS is still banned from auditing Trump and his eldest sons\u2019 most recent taxes. That alone should be disqualifying for Todd Blanche.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nBlanche killed the slush fund but Trump still wins big in his IRS case - 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=591\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blanche killed the slush fund but Trump still wins big in his IRS case - Long Distance Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The IRS is still banned from auditing Trump and his eldest sons\u2019 most recent taxes. 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