Todd Blanche, nominee for Attorney General, is facing accusations from senior senators that he privately admitted creating a $1.8 billion DOJ fund was a mistake and then denied it in writing.
The fund in question, formally titled the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” was personally created by Blanche to compensate individuals who claimed they had been wronged by the federal government.
Multiple senators who met with Blanche behind closed doors said he openly acknowledged the fund was an error during private conversations held ahead of his confirmation process.
When Senator Dick Durbin put the matter to Blanche directly in written questions for the record, the denial was unambiguous and categorical, contradicting what senators say they heard firsthand.
On page 8 of those written responses, Durbin asked directly: “In our meeting this week, you said, ‘I made a mistake’ by creating this slush fund. Do you stand by this characterisation?”
Blanche’s written response was: “I contest the accuracy of this statement,” a reply that has since drawn sharp criticism from those who were present during the private meetings.
Durbin’s reaction was measured but pointed: “I verified it with several of my staffers who were present. I stand by it.”
Durbin also offered a theory for why Blanche appeared to be walking back his private admission, saying: “That’s not proper MAGA talk.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal was even more specific about what Blanche said in their private meeting, telling HuffPost: “He said it to me in my office. He acknowledged that it was a mistake. He said, basically, he took the blame for it.”
Blumenthal also recalled Blanche having coined a name for the fund during their conversation, with the senator recounting that Blanche told him: “It will be known as the Blanche Slush Fund.”
The episode has sharpened questions about Blanche’s credibility and character at a critical moment in his confirmation battle before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Former colleagues from the Southern District of New York, who once vouched for Blanche’s character, have since distanced themselves from him following his conduct during the confirmation process.
The gap between what senators say Blanche admitted privately and what he has now stated on the public record has become the defining tension of his path to the nation’s top law enforcement role.
Critics argue that Blanche, once regarded as fundamentally decent by his SDNY peers, is now publicly calling two United States senators liars in written congressional testimony to protect his political standing.
The phrase “That’s not proper MAGA talk” has drawn particular attention as a candid encapsulation of the political pressures shaping Blanche’s public statements throughout this process.