Trump defends DOJ weaponization fund and attacks Cornyn, further imperiling Blanche nomination

By Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche “should be immediately approved” as his permanent pick for for the role and defended a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that’s at the crux of why the nomination has not yet moved forward.

Trump’s comments in a social media post on Friday come a day after the president said he wouldn’t object to “temporarily withdrawing” Blanche’s nomination until after the Republicans who are withholding their support, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, are out of office.

While Blanche has already said the controversial fund is “dead” and the Justice Department told courts the program was abandoned, Cornyn has demanded written assurances that the fund will not be revived.

Cornyn has been adamant that he also wants Blanche to clarify an addendum to that agreement which offers the president and members of his family tax immunity. The senator wants Blanche to explicitly acknowledge that it only applies to past tax investigations against the president and those listed in the lawsuit that was settled. He wants assurances that it wouldn’t also apply to potential investigations into unrelated past conduct that could still be unknown.

The demands have left Blanche in a difficult place, as putting limits on the tax addendum could anger the president.

In the Friday post, the president again criticized Cornyn and insisted that the fund, which was the result of a settlement agreement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service, would not have benefitted him personally. Rather, he said it was intended for those “whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed” by the Biden administration.

“I felt that they should be given compensation for what has been done to them,” Trump said.

While he stopped short of calling for a renewal of the fund, Trump defended its imposition and claimed that Cornyn “never had a problem” with it. He continued to suggest the reason Cornyn is withholding support for Blanche is personal — given that Trump endorsed Ken Paxton, his primary opponent in Texas, who went on to win the race.

Trump suggested earlier this week that Cornyn was putting up a fight in the Senate, since he didn’t offer his endorsement.

“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him. I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem,” the president said from the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Cornyn has denied that Trump’s endorsement of his primary opponent factored into his decision. He also said the president’s potential withdrawal of the nominee would not solve any problems.

“I think the DOJ needs a Senate-confirmed attorney general, and Todd Blanche is probably about as good as we’re going to get, and so I just think they need to do what Todd Blanche swore that this deal meant. They need to put that in writing so it’s enforceable. And so far, they have been unwilling to do that,” Cornyn said on Thursday.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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