Justice Department scraps Trump's 'anti-weaponization fund' after pushback from Congress

By — Lisa Desjardins Lisa Desjardins By — Ali Schmitz Ali Schmitz By — Kyle Midura Kyle Midura Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/justice-department-scraps-trumps-anti-weaponization-fund-after-pushback-from-congress Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Editor’s Note: Despite the understanding by some Republicans on Capitol Hill, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was not sworn in during his testimony to a House subcommittee on Tuesday. While he was not under oath, it is still a crime to lie to Congress. Transcript Audio Acting Attorney General Blanche told lawmakers Tuesday that the Justice Department is scrapping plans to create a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund.” It’s a setback for Trump, after Republican senators made clear they did not have the votes to advance a Homeland Security funding bill unless the White House either scaled back or eliminated the fund. Lisa Desjardins has more. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Geoff Bennett: We turn now to another Trump administration proposal that has drawn criticism from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said today that the Justice Department is scrapping plans to create that $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund. It's a setback for President Trump after Republican senators made clear they did not have the votes to advance a Homeland Security funding bill unless the White House either scaled back or scrapped the fund entirely. We're joined now by our congressional respondent, Lisa Desjardins. So, Lisa, start by walking us through what the administration is proposing here. What happens to this proposed fund? Lisa Desjardins: This is news. We have just been getting this in the last couple hours from acting Attorney General Blanche himself, and it is the most clear statement that we or Congress has gotten about the future of the fund. Listen to what the acting attorney general told Congress. He said very clearly this fund is not moving forward. Todd Blanche, Acting U.S. Attorney General: The reasons for the fund, I think, were -- remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY): Not moving forward ever? Todd Blanche: Correct. Lisa Desjardins: Now, Senate Republican sources tell me their understanding from the White House is that no money will be disbursed from this. But, of course, this doesn't really answer all the questions we have. Among them, remember, this comes from a three-part settlement that President Trump personally had with his own administration. So I want to go through that settlement. One, that $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is out. What is still in, however, is a retroactive immunity deal with the IRS for President Trump, his sons, and his businesses. Also still in, a formal apology that he expects