Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche looks on during a subcommittee hearing May 19 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Blanche said Tuesday the Department of Justice will not operate a planned "anti-weaponization" fund. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
June 2 (UPI) -- Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a congressional hearing Tuesday that the Department of Justice will not operate a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that had been criticized as a way for the Trump administration to reward its allies.
"We are not moving forward with the fund, period," Blanche said during a House subcommittee meeting.
He also said that President Donald Trump, his family and their business entities are still protected against tax audits and enforcement connected with tax returns filed before the out-of-court settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The fund was created to settle that lawsuit.
On Monday, the Justice Department said it would abide by a federal court ruling putting the fund on hold, although it "disagreed strongly" with the ruling. Blanche said the fund was defunct regardless of what happened with lawsuits against it.
