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US Senate questions Trump AG nominee over Epstein files and IRS settlement
Todd Blanche said the planned US$1.8 billion compensation fund was effectively “dead,” but he acknowledged the settlement has not been formally rescinded and would require court action to enforce.
US Senate Judiciary Committee lawmakers questioned Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, focusing on the rollout of the Epstein files and a Justice Department settlement that shields Trump and his family businesses from certain tax audits.
According to Reuters, Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, was pressed by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas on the creation of a since abandoned US$1.8 billion fund intended to compensate Trump allies for alleged prior government mistreatment, as well as an associated order related to tax immunity.
Blanche told the panel the planned fund was “dead,” while also acknowledging that the underlying settlement had not been formally rescinded. He said Trump’s lawyers would need to go to court to enforce the deal, and that his side had no plans to do so.
He defended the tax portion of the agreement as standard practice in IRS settlements, though tax experts have characterized the immunity for Trump as highly unusual, and Cornyn said his concerns were not resolved before a potential vote.