WorldTodd Blanche, acting attorney general in Donald Trump's administration, will appear on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, and is expected to face intense scrutiny over Justice Department plans to create a $1.776-billion US fund to pay allies of the Republican president who believe they were targeted politically.Watchdog groups calls fund 'one of the single most corrupt acts in American history'The Associated Press · Posted: May 19, 2026 8:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Acting U.S. attorney general Todd Blanche is shown during a news conference on April 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Blanche will make his first appearance before U.S. Congress as acting attorney general after Pam Bondi was ousted from the role. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Associated Press)Todd Blanche, acting attorney general in Donald Trump's administration, will appear on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, and is expected to face intense scrutiny over Justice Department plans to create a $1.776-billion US fund to pay allies of the Republican president who believe they were targeted politically.Blanche's testimony before a Senate appropriations subcommittee is meant to address the department's annual budget request but it follows Monday's announcement about the creation of the "Anti-Weaponization Fund." Critics have decried it as an illegal abuse of power designed to line the pockets of Trump allies with taxpayer dollars. Blanche said Monday the fund will be for people who believe they were targeted for prosecution for political purposes."The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department's intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again," Blanche said in a statement. In defending the deal, the Justice Department pointed to a fund established by Barack Obama's administration to compensate Native American farmers who said they had experienced racial discrimination. But that fund was not created with a goal of benefitting allies of the president who had been previously investigated for potential criminal conduct."This is one of the single most corrupt acts in American history," Donald Sherman, the president of government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said in a statement after the fund was announced.In the weeks since assuming control of the Justice Department after the departure of Pam Bondi, Blanche has also moved aggressively to advance the president's priorities — pushing forward cases against public figures who've raised the ire of Trump, including former FBI director James Comey. 'I didn't do this deal': TrumpThe fund will be able to review claims of alleged government political targeting, issue formal apologies and award monetary compensation to approved applicants, the Justice Department said. A five-member commission appointed by Blanche will oversee the fund, with one member chosen in consultation with congressional leadership. According to the Justice Department, the president can remove any member of the commission.The Justice Department did not identify anyone by name who could theoretically benefit from the fund, but there were multiple investigations of Trump allies during predecessor Joe Biden's administration, including about 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump in his second term either pardoned them, commuted their prison sentences or ordered their cases dismissed.President Donald Trump is shown at the White House on May 18, 2026, where he indicated he had no involvement in the establishment of a fund to compensate those who believe they were targeted for prosecution by the federal government. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/The Associated Press)More than 250 people were convicted of assault charges for attacks on law enforcement officers, with the attacks in many cases captured on surveillance or body camera footage.Asked Monday if individuals who committed violence on Jan. 6, 2021, should receive compensation from the fund, Trump said, "It'll all be dependent on a committee." "I didn't do this deal. It was told to me yesterday," he added.Trump in 2nd term setting standard for self-enrichmentWhite House shifts explanation of why Homan took $50K in a paper bagOther prominent Trump supporters who were investigated and charged include Steve Bannon, who served a prison sentence for defying a congressional subpoena, and Peter Navarro, who was similarly convicted of contempt. A group of nearly 100 House members of Congress filed a brief teeing up a legal challenge to the case, while while Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called the fund "corruption on steroids." LISTEN | Tommy Vietor on Trump family deals during his presidency (Dec. 2025):Front Burner26:06Trump & corruption with Pod Save AmericaLawsuit over leaking of tax records endsThe fund announced Monday came after Trump and his two adult sons sued the IRS and the Treasury Department. The lawsuit alleged that a leak of confidential tax records caused them reputational and financial harm and negatively affected their public standing, among other allegations. Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a defence and national security tech firm, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to leaking tax information about Trump and others to two news outlets between 2018 and 2020.Kathleen Williams, the judge handling the Trumps' lawsuit, dismissed the case on Monday. In her filing, she admonished the Justice Department for not being transparent about the settlement deal.Williams had previously assigned a group of attorneys to determine whether there was a conflict in the case since, as sitting president, Trump was suing "entities whose decisions are subject to his direction."The second Trump administration has previously approved payouts to the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot while breaching the Capitol building on Jan. 6. 2021, and Mark Houck, a pro-life activist who was acquitted in a case brought during the Biden administration. Michael Flynn and Carter Page, Trump allies prosecuted as part of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, have also been compensated by the administration. Trump has insisted that the Justice Department during Biden's administration was weaponized against him and his allies. He faced criminal indictments for both his efforts to prevent a peaceful transfer of power to Biden after his 2020 election loss, as well as handling of classified documents are leaving the White House. Those charges against Trump were cast aside after U.S. voters elected him president again in November 2024.Merrick Garland, who served as attorney general during the Biden administration, denied allegations of politicization. A special counsel reporting to Garland brought tax and gun charges against Hunter Biden, the president's son, and congressional Democrats Bob Menendez and Henry Cueller were investigated for corruption.The department in Trump's second term, meanwhile, declined to press charges against Republican House Rep. Cory Mills after a domestic violence allegation, or Tom Homan, the border czar who accepted $50,000 from undercover agents months before being appointed for a second stint with Trump's administration.Blanche, meanwhile, said there was "no basis" for a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Minnesota activist Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in January.With files from CBC News