Washington — Washington (AFP) – Acting Prosecutor Todd Blanche He is scheduled to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after the Trump administration indicated it had paused controversial plans to move forward A fund worth approximately $1.8 billion That could compensate for allies of President Donald Trump who believe they were unfairly investigated and prosecuted.
The hearing before the House Appropriations Committee was scheduled to discuss the Justice Department’s budget, but lawmakers are certain to focus their questions on the creation of a fund that has sparked outrage over the mere possibility. Violent pro-Trump rioters Those who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 may be eligible for compensation.
The Republican president is now reconsidering whether to move forward with creating the fund to resolve his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, a person familiar with his thinking said Monday, in the face of Republican backlash and legal setbacks. The Justice Department also said Monday that it would abide by a Virginia court’s decision to temporarily ban the administration’s “gun control fund,” effectively agreeing to pause the plan for at least two weeks.
Another judge in Florida raised the possibility of reopening the IRS case over “serious allegations” of improper dealings against the administration by critics of the settlements.
The Trump administration has defended the fund as an appropriate measure to make up for what officials insist was the Justice Department being used as a weapon during the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden, an allegation the Biden administration has strongly denied. Although some Trump supporters, including participants in the Capitol riot, celebrated the announcement, the reaction among Republicans in Congress was decidedly more hostile, forcing Blanche to try to placate a GOP constituency that generally works in close alignment with the administration.
The uproar has particularly complicated matters in the Senate, where Republicans are based He defiantly left town 10 days ago Without passing legislation to fund Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies. Republicans who returned to Washington on Monday said they would not get the votes needed to pass a homeland security spending bill until the White House worked with them to set parameters for the fund. Many have pushed the administration to impose limits or scrap the idea altogether.
At a Senate budget hearing last month. Blanche refused to rule out this possibility Those who carried out the violence on January 6 may be eligible for compensation, and they have repeatedly said in interviews that anyone who feels persecuted by the criminal justice system is free to apply. The payments will be determined by a five-member committee appointed by Blanche.
But he clearly struck a more conciliatory tone in private when faced with Republican wrath.
Blanche faced a groundswell of opposition last month in a tense private meeting with GOP senators, with more than half of them voicing concerns, including yelling at the top Justice Department official, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said on a recent episode of his podcast.
“There were fireworks on an epic scale, and I have to say it was one of the most difficult meetings I’ve seen in my entire time in the Senate,” Cruz said.
Behind closed doors, Blanche was “adamant” that anyone who assaulted police at the Capitol should not receive compensation, according to Cruz.
“He didn’t just say ‘no,’ he said ‘no,’” the senator recalled.