President Donald Trump filed an appeal Friday in hopes of reinstating his controversial “anti-weaponization” fund, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers in both parties and derailed the confirmation process for his attorney general pick, Todd Blanche.
The president, his two eldest sons and the Trump Organization filed the notice of appeal in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, to review the decision a federal judge made earlier this month that ruled Trump and the Justice Department had manipulated the judicial process to benefit the president and his allies.
Critics are concerned the pool of money will be used to pay settlements to people who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and other allies of the president.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has declined to follow the judge’s orders to put in writing that the fund had been killed, instead saying his previous public verbal assurances that the agency would not issue payouts should be sufficient. Blanche’s Senate confirmation vote has been effectively delayed by two holdout senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both Republicans, who say they will withhold their votes until they get written assurances from the DOJ concerning the payout fund and a deal shielding the president and his businesses from future IRS tax audits.
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But Trump’s own comments on Friday illustrate how differently the president views the $1.8 billion pool of money. He said the Jan. 6 rioters’ lives had been “unfairly and illegally destroyed” by former President Joe Biden’s administration, adding that “perhaps there has never been a group of people treated so badly in our nation’s history.”
“I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said Cornyn had agreed with him before losing to the president’s preferred Senate candidate in a runoff this spring.
Tillis said the president’s post “is exactly why we are attempting to formally end” the fund, lamenting that Blanche’s confirmation has been held up “only because an incompetent personal advisor to the president refuses to amend the bogus settlement.”
Tillis and Cornyn have been working toward an agreement with Blanche and the DOJ this week. However, Trump has said he is fine with waiting on the nomination until the two are out of office. Both senators lost their reelection bids to Trump-backed opponents, and have used their remaining Senate leverage to force action to kill the “anti-weaponization” fund and the IRS settlement’s audit immunity deal.
“I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday as negotiations continued on the Hill.
“Maybe they think I’m just going to give up or go along, but they’re mistaken,” Cornyn said on Wednesday after the DOJ canceled a joint meeting.
Friday’s filing is a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit that it will be challenging Williams’ ruling and contains no legal arguments.
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