Blanche Posted Documents Sunday Withdrawing an 18 May Order Creating a $1.8Bn Weaponization Fund and Clarifying That Tax Immunity Granted

Blanche posted documents Sunday withdrawing an 18 May order creating a $1.8bn weaponization fund and clarifying that tax immunity granted to Trump applied only retroactively to the president, his sons, and businesses. The deal with Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had threatened to block the nomination, led both to announce support ahead of Tuesday's Senate judiciary committee vote. Critics argued the assurances are not binding and leave room for Trump to revive the fund.

Brandon DeBot, policy director at the Tax Law Center at NYU, said the documents do not stop ongoing attempts to give the president unauthorized immunity from tax audits. Jamie Raskin, ranking Democrat on the House judiciary committee, called the words hollow and designed to lull the senators into a false sense that concerns were addressed. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, noted the deal does not prevent payouts to January 6 defendants through other legal avenues. Trump praised the fund over the weekend and said he had not seen the agreement.