WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday for his first congressional testimony since taking the reins at the Justice Department as the law enforcement agency faces intense scrutiny over its plans to create a who believe they were targeted politically.
Blanche’s testimony before a Senate appropriations subcommittee follows Monday’s announcement about the creation of the 鈥淎nti-Weaponization Fund,鈥� which critics decried as an illegal abuse of power designed to line the pockets of Trump supporters with taxpayer dollars.
In the weeks since , Blanche has moved aggressively to advance the president’s priorities 鈥� against Trump’s political foes, cracking down on leaks to media outlets and establishing the new fund to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by the Biden administration Justice Department.
Tuesday鈥檚 hearing is meant to address the Trump administration’s budget request for the Justice Department but is likely to delve into other controversies that have escalated concerns about the from the White House.
Blanche is expected to face tough questions from lawmakers about the fund designed to resolve Trump’s lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns. Nearly 100 Democrats in the House of Representatives signed onto a legal brief urging a judge to block what they described as an unprecedented resolution that they said would unjustly enrich people close to the president and open the door to meritless claims of political persecution.
鈥淟et鈥檚 call this what it is: a billion-dollar slush fund for Trump to reward felons, insurrectionists, and cronies, paid for by YOUR taxpayer dollars,鈥� Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, a member of the subcommittee from Delaware, wrote on X. 鈥淚t鈥檚 bad enough that this DOJ believes it works for Donald Trump. Now, it鈥檚 giving him its budget to use as his piggy bank.鈥�
Blanche said Monday the fund will allow for people who believe they were targeted for prosecution for political purposes to apply for payouts, creating what he described as 鈥渁 lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.鈥�
鈥淭he machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department鈥檚 intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,鈥� Blanche said in a statement.
The fund is a further demonstration of the administration鈥檚 eagerness to reward allies who before Trump came to power were investigated and in some cases charged and convicted. Most notably, the sentences of supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His Justice Department since then has and
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