Acting attorney general Todd Blanche confirmed in writing on Sunday night that the Justice Department would not create Donald Trump’s terrorist slush to compensate the Jan. 6 terrorists who attacked our Capitol on his behalf. In reality, that memo isn’t worth the paper it is written on. But even if it was enforceable, Blanche should still not be confirmed!
All of this happened because Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had vowed that they would not confirm Blanche unless he provided written assurances that DOJ had formally killed a planned $1.8 billion fund. The only reason Blanche had not put that in writing is because he knows Trump still very much plans to do this.
In fact, Trump re-affirmed over the past few days his desire to pay the J6 terrorists. First on Friday, Trump said about the J6 attackers, “I’d like to see them compensated for the pain.” And on Sunday night Trump declared, “People were hurt so badly. They were destroyed. Their families were destroyed for doing things that, honestly, there’s never been an attack on any group of people in this country, in my opinion.” He added, “A lot of big supporters of Trump like it.”
But now we are to believe that a memo signed by Blanche will overrule Trump’s goals. And just to be clear, the memo Blanche wrote simply features the letter head of the DOJ that begins: “The Attorney General’s May 18, 2026, Order establishing the Anti-Weaponization Fund (”Fund”) is rescinded and shall have no force or effect.”
It continues, “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Order is intended to contradict or otherwise be contrary to prior representations by the Department of Justice that the Fund is not operative. No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid. Nevertheless, several frivolous lawsuits have been filed challenging the Fund, and at least one court has declined to dismiss those claims as moot.” He added, “This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”
Here is the reality: That memo is not enforceable anywhere. It’s not a contract that can be enforced by way of a lawsuit. Nor is it part of a legal settlement approved by the court which could be enforced later if Blanche violated it.
That is not just my opinion, but also Law Professor James Sample who made it clear in our conversation that this memo “would not be ironclad.” Rather, it would be something Sample noted that the press or opponent can use to shame Blanche saying, “you gave us your word, but your word means nothing.”
In reality, just as Blanche is reversing course on the memo creating the fund, he could just as easily write a new memo creating a new slush fund. And of course, Trump could replace Blanche in the future with a new AG who can simply rescind Blanche’s new memo and create a fund.
Or Trump could have another agency create the fund, like the Department of Homeland Security. As a reminder, in his first term, Trump diverted $3.8 billion from the Defense Department’s budget to build his border wall without congressional approval. Given that decision by Trump was upheld by US Court of Appeals, why wouldn’t Trump divert $1.8 billion from the DHS or DOJ budget to create a fund to pay off his poor J6 attackers?!
And just as corrupt as Trump’s terrorist slush fund is the sweetheart deal that Blanche gave Trump, his family and their corporate affiliates to avoid paying an estimated $100 million plus in back taxes. That deal has not been rescinded. Instead, Blanche in a second memo released Sunday night simply confirmed this corrupt deal only “applies only retroactively” to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the Trump from examination of future tax filings.
This more of Blanche’s corruption on display in the service of Trump. He is more concerned with protecting Trump then the United States.
That is also why Blanche’s response to the Epstein related crimes—of which there are more than 1,000 victims—is to literally say “move on.” Blanche knows that Trump has been implicated in this child sex and sex trafficking ring. But his top—make it, only—priority is protecting Trump who paid him $10 million in legal fees after Trump left the White House in 2021.
All of this is why in June, more than 100 former federal and state judges filed a detailed ethics complaint against Mr. Blanche with the Grievance Committee of the Appellate Division’s First Department and requested that it take appropriate disciplinary action against Blanche.
It’s also why the NY City Bar Association--in a July 13, 2026, letter to Senate Judiciary Committee—went into even more detail as they raised numerous red flags about why Blanche must be rejected. This damming line from their letter sums it up well: “Blanche’s actions, both as Deputy Attorney General and as Acting Attorney General, have repeatedly demonstrated that his primary loyalty is not to the United States Constitution or the rule of law but to President Donald J. Trump.”
The NY City Bar also slammed Blanche’s role in protecting Trump from Epstein crimes and more, writing that Blanche, “placed loyalty to President Trump over commitment to the rule of law in the Epstein investigation and the “settlement” of Trump v. I.R.S.” And they detailed how Blanche has weaponized the DOJ to target Trump’s political enemies and critics.
In sum, Blanche’s so-called promise to end Trump’s terrorist slush fund is BS. It’s simply to get himself confirmed. It gives the Republican Senators the cover they need to support him. And sure enough, GOP Senators Cornyn and Tillis issued a joint statement today that read, “We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon.”
Not even a hint of concern from these Republicans for the Epstein survivors not getting justice nor Blanche transferring convicted child rapist Ghisliane Maxwell to a cushy Club Fed. And no mention of Blanche’s use of the DOJ as a weapon to target Trump’s critics. Everyone is asking what did these Senators get in return for their vote?!!
Here’s the truth: Todd Blanche should never be confirmed as Attorney General. Instead, Todd Blanche should be disbarred!
We had a great discussion today on this topic on the latest episode of: “YOU are my guest!” Hope you check it out:
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.