Attorney General Todd Blanche wasted no time. The day after his swearing-in, his Justice Department filed a brief backing Trump's private lawyers in their effort to overturn a federal judge's sanctions order — an order that had put Trump's IRS settlement in serious jeopardy.
That settlement, struck in May, gave Trump, his family members, and his businesses protection from IRS audits in exchange for dropping a $10 billion lawsuit against the agency. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams threw the deal into question in July, sanctioning Trump's legal team for fraud on the court and issuing a gag order barring any reference to the settlement in official proceedings.
The move tracks almost exactly what Democrats predicted during Blanche's contentious confirmation fight. Sen. Cory Booker warned from the floor that Blanche would become Trump's sword against his adversaries and protection against scrutiny, while Sen. Adam Schiff argued Blanche would serve Trump's interests rather than the public's.
Even Republicans on the Judiciary Committee balked. Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis held up the nomination until Blanche put in writing that the audit immunity would be narrowly scoped to the lawsuit's plaintiffs and that the deal's proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" was dead. Blanche gave those assurances before his narrow 50-49 confirmation on August 8, and was sworn in Monday.
Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter signed the brief defending the settlement, arguing the underlying lawsuit — over a government contractor's leak of Trump's tax returns — reflected genuine harm, not a political favor. He noted the deal took 109 days to negotiate and produced no payout, just an apology, calling that pace inconsistent with a collusive arrangement.
What a coincidence that the audit shield, the dropped lawsuit, and the overnight DOJ rescue mission all landed on the same guy. McCotter says it wasn't collusive. The calendar says otherwise.
