Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made an admission ahead of his confirmation hearing that has experts reeling, reports show.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters Wednesday that Blanche, about to face a confirmation hearing to potentially serve permanently as attorney general, confessed to him "I made a mistake," per PBS' Lisa Desjardines.
Blanche was one of the key architects of the so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund," a $1.776 billion payout scheme the Trump administration set up for any of the president's allies who were subject to criminal investigation — though the administration for its part insisted that people of any political persuasion were invited to apply. It was the supposed "settlement" of President Donald Trump's lawsuit against the IRS.
Federal courts found the fund invalid after the Trump administration itself put the fund on hold amid public backlash. Then, this week, a federal judge held the IRS suit itself was invalid because Trump controlled both the plaintiff and defense side at the same time — and the judge referred Blanche for possible disciplinary investigation by the New York Bar.
When asked about the saga of the IRS lawsuit and the weaponization slush fund, Blanche made his admission to a mistake.
This confession, and the seemingly casual nature of it, stunned legal observers, who weighed in on social media.
"That’s a pretty big whoopsie for someone who wants to lead DoJ," wrote former GOP campaign staffer turned anti-Trump activist Amanda Carpenter on X. "No take backs, do not confirm."
Cal State Fullerton philosophy professor Amy Coplan agreed.
"It’s great that he claims to recognize this, but his doing so after a judge has ruled on it and during a confirmation hearing raises serious questions about his sincerity," she wrote. "Given everything else we know about him & the way he has treated Congress, the American people, Ghislaine Maxwell, & especially the survivors of Maxwell & Esptein’s crimes, his claims are worth very little. His actions, on the other hand, have been quite meaningful."
