The Justice Department has completely abandoned plans for a $1.8 billion weapons compensation fund created to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified before a House panel Tuesday.
But Trump, members of his family and related business entities remain immune from tax audits and tax enforcement measures filed before his impeachment last month, Blanche told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
Blanche, who once served as Trump’s criminal defense attorney, personally signed the DOJ’s May 19 addendum to the settlement that granted Trump and his family that immunity, a day after the deal was announced.
The amendment also bars the DOJ from prosecuting Trump and others on charges that would be based on “Legal and/or Military,” without specifying what those terms mean or what the alleged conduct might involve.
“We’re not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche told Rep. Grace Meng, DN.Y., the ranking member of the subcommittee. But he later refused to write down that promise even though he told Meng that the DOJ would not launch the fund again.
Blanche’s response came a day after the DOJ said it “will not continue” with the fund to comply with a federal judge’s order that temporarily barred it from operating as one of the three opposing cases continues. Blanche told Meng that the DOJ will not use the fund regardless of the outcome of the cases.
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies before the House Appropriations Committee Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies subcommittee on oversight of the Department of Justice, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 2, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
Critics of this fund say that the DOJ’s statement does not clarify whether the Department has canceled the plans for this fund.
Those critics, including Republican senators, opposed the fund because of a lack of rules to oversee the fund, as well as concerns that it would pay people convicted of assaulting police officers during the attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., angered Blanche after she told him she would not revoke an amendment that gave Trump and his relatives immunity from regulatory or enforcement actions related to their previous returns.
“He just gave the president and his family a $100 million tax exemption,” DeLauro said.
Blanche replied, “It’s not true.”
“It’s not immunity,” Blanche said, before adding that “it’s common to get rid of past audits” as part of an IRS settlement.
“It’s not a forward-looking script,” said Blanche. “It’s not something that gives any kind of future immunity to the president or his family or his organizations.”
Sena. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who was speaking at the CNBC CEO Council Summit as Blanche testified, said, “I’m not sure that the weapons fund won’t go forward.”
