WATCH: Blanche says he did not talk with Trump about IRS settlement, anti-weaponization fund
July 15, 2026
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1:16Now PlayingWATCH: Blanche says he did not talk with Trump about IRS settlement, anti-weaponization fund
YouTube Description
as posted by the channelActing Attorney General Todd Blanche said he and President Donald Trump did not discuss the Justice Department’s settlement to end a $10 billion lawsuit by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service over the leaking of his tax returns.
The settlement included the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund to pay people who say they were victims of government "weaponization.” The fund was scrapped after bipartisan criticism. On Monday, a federal judge said Trump’s lawsuit was filed for an "improper purpose" that misused the court system.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas asked Blanche during his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee whether he had spoken to Trump about the settlement.
“No. I did not. He had outside counsel. I did not discuss it with his outside counsel either,” Blanche said. “It was done by other people in the office.”
Blanche added that he spoke with Trump about the settlement when they determined the case would not move forward — "when it was dead.”
Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former defense attorney, stepped into the role of acting attorney general after Pam Bondi was fired in early April.
Since then, Blanche has faced the most scrutiny over the IRS deal. Senators also questioned Blanche on his relationship to the president, as well as his role in controversial decisions at the Justice Department, including high-profile indictments of Trump’s perceived foes and the government’s handling of the Epstein files.
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