The Justice Department has permanently abandoned plans for a $1.8 billion Anti-Weapons Compensation Fund created to resolve President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified before a House committee on Tuesday.
But Blanche told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Judiciary, Science and Related Agencies that Trump, his family and related entities are still protected from tax audits and enforcement actions related to tax returns filed before the out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit last month.
Mr. Branch, who previously served as Mr. Trump’s criminal defense attorney, personally signed the Justice Department’s May 19 addendum to the lawsuit settlement that provides protections for Mr. Trump and his family the day after the agreement was announced.
The addendum also prohibits the Justice Department from prosecuting Trump and others in cases based on “legal conduct and/or use of weapons,” without defining what those terms mean or what the alleged conduct by the targets entails.
“We are not moving forward with the plan for the fund,” Blanche told Rep. Grace Meng (New York), ranking member of the subcommittee. But even though the Justice Department later told Meng it would never reopen the fund, she refused to put that promise in writing.
Blanche’s response came a day after the Justice Department said it would not “continue” to operate the fund in order to comply with a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking its operations in one of three lawsuits against the fund. Blanche told Meng that the Justice Department would not administer the fund regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a House Appropriations Committee Commerce, Judiciary, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice on June 2, 2026, at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski AFP | Getty Images
Critics of the fund said the Justice Department statement did not say whether the department had withdrawn its plans for the fund.
Those critics, including Republican senators, opposed the fund citing a lack of legislative oversight over the fund and concerns that the fund would end up paying rewards to people convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., was furious that she told Blanche she would not revoke an addendum that granted protection to Trump and his family from regulatory and law enforcement actions related to his past repatriation.
“Simply put, we’ve given the president’s family about $100 million in tax relief,” DeLauro said, referring to the New York Times’ estimate last month of the tax bill Trump would face in a pending Internal Revenue Service investigation.
Blanche replied, “Not really.”
Overcoming objections, Mr. DeLauro continued, “Well, that’s right, my friend.”
“Look, look, I just want to say this: Save America PAC (President Trump’s political action committee) paid you nearly $10 million between March 2024 and December 2024 to serve as President Trump’s personal attorney,” she said.
“Oh my god, don’t you think there’s no conflict of interest in what you’re doing here as acting U.S. attorney general?” DeLauro asked Branch.
He replied, “What do you mean by conflict?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Blanche.
“It’s not an exemption,” Blanche said, arguing that “it’s common to exclude past ongoing audits” as part of a settlement with the IRS.
“This is not a forward-looking document,” Blanche said. “It does not give the president, his family, or his organization any immunity in the future.”
“I’m not convinced that the Weaponization Fund can’t move forward,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), speaking alongside Mr. Branch’s testimony on CNBC’s CEO Council Summit.
