Acting attorney general Todd Blanche told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the May 19 release order he signed remains in effect, answering Chris Coons with one word: “Yes.” The exchange sharpened criticism over whether Blanche should be confirmed as attorney general while serving in President Donald Trump’s top Justice Department role.
The order, published by the Office of the Attorney General on May 19, went beyond the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund and provided IRS and other government immunity benefits to Donald Trump, his family, businesses, and affiliates. Blanche was the only signatory.
Chris Coons and Richard Durbin
Coons’ written question focused on whether the release order still had force after the criticism surrounding it. Blanche’s answer kept the document alive as a live issue in the confirmation fight, not a closed episode.
Richard Durbin pressed Blanche on a different point, asking whether it was appropriate for him to sign a document that attempted to grant criminal immunity to his former client and his family. Blanche replied: “It would be inappropriate for me to comment on internal deliberations that may or may not have occurred in conjunction with any official act by the Department of Justice. The document speaks for itself and does not extend to potential criminal charges.”
Kathleen M. Williams on Donald Trump
The criticism grew stronger because Kathleen M. Williams effectively prohibited Donald Trump from relying on the settlement agreement. In her finding, she said the lawsuit was “brought for an improper purpose — to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.”
That leaves Blanche’s written defense at odds with the judge’s view of the underlying deal. Blanche says the release order still stands, while Williams treated the settlement as lacking a valid legal basis for Trump to use.
John Cornyn’s hearing question
John Cornyn had already raised the release order during Blanche’s confirmation hearings last week, putting the issue in front of Senate Republicans before the written exchanges arrived. Blanche also has said that Donald Trump has outside counsel for the IRS lawsuit and that he did not speak to Trump about the settlement before it was mooted.
The confirmation fight now turns on whether Senate Republicans will accept Blanche’s explanation or treat the written answers as further reason to oppose him. The Senate Judiciary Committee has already shown that the release order, not just Blanche’s broader record, is central to the decision in front of it.
