Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, overcame a decisive vote in Congress this Tuesday to secure his final appointment. The acting Attorney General obtained the votes of Republican senators who had expressed doubts about his candidacy and threatened to block his nomination.
Finally, Blanche’s appointment to lead the United States Department of Justice was resolved with 12 Republican votes against 10 Democrats after Blanche committed to burying the million-dollar fund promoted by the president to compensate his friends and allies who felt persecuted by Joe Biden’s government.
Several analysts say that Blanche’s commitment to withdraw the compensation fund and limit immunity can be easily reversed. Dick Durbin, Democratic senator from Illinois, stated: “He can reactivate the fund easily with a new Department of Justice order 15 minutes after Blanche is confirmed as Attorney General.” He insists that the order also does not prevent the Republican administration from finding other legal ways to compensate Trump’s allies, including the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Blanche’s appointment is not yet final and is pending further procedures in Congress. After approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee, it must still be validated by the full Senate, which could vote on it this week. It is expected to face few problems overcoming this last hurdle, although several Republican legislators are pending confirmation of their vote. Conservatives have a fragile majority in the chamber and cannot afford more than two dissenters.
Blanche is a familiar figure to Trump. He was his lawyer in some of the most thorny cases affecting the U.S. president, such as the payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep silent and two other cases initiated by special prosecutor Jack Smith.
Blanche’s appointment is seen as an effort by the White House to strengthen control over the U.S. justice system. Trump seeks to relaunch his judicial offensive against his political enemies and defend his policies against attacks from other judicial bodies.
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Blanche will take the position left vacant last April by the previous Attorney General, Pam Bondi, who was fired by Trump for her chaotic handling of the declassification of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s files. Since then, Blanche, who handled the publication of the last block of documents in the Epstein case, has served as acting Attorney General.
Blanche gained the support of Republican senators John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (North Carolina), who warned they would block his appointment if he did not withdraw the Department of Justice agreement with the IRS, the equivalent of the U.S. Tax Agency, in exchange for Trump dropping a $10 billion lawsuit (about 8.7 billion euros) over the leak of his tax records. The agreement provided for the creation of the so-called instrumentalization fund to compensate the Republican politician’s allies, including some who participated in the Capitol assault. It also included tax immunity for Trump, his family, and his businesses.
After several days of negotiations, Blanche posted a message on social media Sunday night accompanied by two documents in which he committed to ending the $1.8 billion instrumentalization fund. In the second document, unsigned and undated, he stated he would limit the immunity granted by the IRS to Trump.
Cornyn acknowledged this Tuesday that Blanche’s commitment to withdraw the compensation fund is not definitive but trusts the former federal prosecutor’s ability as a “stabilizing force.” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley admitted that Tillis and Cornyn’s demands “made sense” and said they had more support among Republican ranks.
