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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is disputing he told Sen. **** Durbin (D-Ill.) that he “made a mistake” by creating a $1.7 billion slush fund for payouts to people claiming they were wronged by the government, like Jan. 6, 2021 rioters.
Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, shared this tidbit with reporters last Tuesday, right after a meeting with Blanche. He and a top aide, who attended the private meeting with Blanche, even said it was a direct quote.
But in his written responses to follow-up questions from the committee, where he’s awaiting a vote to be confirmed to his post, Blanche denied Friday that he said that.
“In our meeting this week, you said, ‘I made a mistake’ by creating this slush fund,” Durbin asked in his written questions. “Do you stand by this characterization of this slush fund?”
“I contest the accuracy of this statement,” Blanche replied.
The acting attorney general created Trump’s so-called anti-weaponization fund in May, instructing the Treasury Department to direct a payment of $1.7 billion into an account for payouts to Jan. 6 rioters and others. But the proposal drew sharp bipartisan opposition and the administration said it wouldn’t pursue it anymore.
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Blanche still won’t rescind his May memo, though, telling senators in his written responses, “As I testified at my confirmation hearing, the Fund is dead.”
