By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to face tense questioning from a Senate panel on Wednesday as the president’s former personal lawyer seeks to become the chief U.S. law enforcement official.
Blanche, Trump’s attorney general nominee, will likely be grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee over a since-abandoned plan to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies for alleged prior government mistreatment,
along with an associated agreement to give Trump broad tax audit immunity.
The Justice Department’s rollout of investigative files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which Blanche oversaw as the DOJ’s second-in-command, is also expected to be a central topic of conversation. Advocates for Epstein’s victims have opposed Blanche over what they contend was a botched release of the files that exposed some victims' identities.
Senators in Trump’s Republican Party lambasted Blanche over the “anti-weaponization fund” only weeks ago and the backlash sparked questions about whether Blanche could win support in a closely divided Senate. But Blanche allies and Republican insiders now expect the acting attorney general will be confirmed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Tuesday that Blanche's meetings with Republican senators were "really strong" and he hoped there would be a “path forward” for him.
Some Republicans on the Senate panel have remained non-committal about supporting Blanche and their questioning could reveal any potential opposition in a Senate that has in recent weeks become more willing to defy Trump.
One of those lawmakers, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, said on Tuesday that he was still undecided and planned to question Blanche about the tax immunity agreement after Blanche gave him a briefing on the matter.
"I'm still weighing," he told Reuters on Tuesday.
Blanche, who defended Trump in three criminal cases he faced in his years out of power, took over as acting attorney general in April after Trump fired his predecessor, Pam Bondi.
Blanche, a former career prosecutor who some in the DOJ expected would be a moderating influence, has shown a willingness to deliver on Trump's demands to prosecute adversaries. The DOJ has brought criminal cases against a prominent liberal civil rights group and former FBI Director James Comey over a photo of seashells that the prosecutors argue threatened Trump.
Blanche has won support from law enforcement groups as he has focused on combating public benefits fraud and violent crime while reducing the DOJ’s historic focus on corporate misconduct and corruption. His experience defending Trump in court endeared him to many in the president’s orbit.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said Blanche was doing a "phenomenal job" as acting attorney general, crediting him for lowering violent crime and making good on a slew of Trump's culture war priorities. Trump, who called on each Republican senator to vote for Blanche, also praised the acting attorney general for defending him as his personal lawyer when he was federally indicted.
Democrats have assailed Blanche, arguing that he has acted as Trump’s personal defender at the expense of protecting the public interest. More than 1,200 former DOJ staffers have signed a letter opposing him.
The anti-weaponization fund emerged as a particular flashpoint. Blanche signed off on a plan to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS, which he oversees as president, by creating the fund and granting Trump and his family businesses sweeping protection from tax audits.
The deal immediately drew allegations of self-dealing. A federal judge on Monday concluded that Trump and lawyers in his administration improperly used the case to benefit Trump and his allies and referred lawyers involved, including Blanche, to state bar authorities to investigate any legal ethics violations. Cornyn called the judge's finding "troubling" and said he planned to ask Blanche whether there truly were two sides to that case.
Blanche has said the fund will not proceed and previously brushed off allegations of a conflict of interest, saying he has complied with all ethics rules.
(Reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Andrew Goudsward. Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and David Morgan; Editing by Alistair Bell)
