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In Effort to Get Confirmed, Blanche Signals Termination of Trump “Slush Fund”

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has formally rescinded a proposal for a nearly $1.8 billion slush fund that had been part of a settlement agreement between President Donald Trump and the IRS, intended to provide supposed victims of political prosecutions with financial compensation.

Among those who could have qualified for the fund were participants in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, which sought to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election after Trump lost to former President Joe Biden.

Blanche issued a written order ending the slush fund on Sunday night, stating that the decision came as part of an agreement with holdout Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee — Sens. John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (North Carolina) — who previously stated they would not vote to confirm Blanche as the next attorney general if the fund remained in place.

“My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions,” Blanche’s statement said.

On Monday, Cornyn and Tillis both indicated that the announcement from Blanche was sufficient for them to approve his nomination, advancing it to a full Senate vote that will likely take place this month.

Blanche Says Trump “Slush Fund” Payouts Could Include Jan. 6 Participants

Plans for the slush fund came about in May, after Trump and the IRS settled a $10 billion lawsuit the president had filed over a leak of his tax........

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