With weaponization fund in doubt, Trump will keep tax audit immunity, sources say
By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Nandita Bose and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department's agreement with President Donald Trump to bar future audits into his or his family's past tax records will remain in place even as his weaponization fund has been
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department's agreement with President Donald Trump to bar future audits into his or his family's past tax records will remain in place even as his weaponization fund has been put on hold, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that Trump has not decided if the $1.8 billion fund has been officially closed, but said that White House officials spent much of Monday calling lawmakers to assure them there'd be no payouts after a Republican revolt.
That assurance has done little to quiet Republican demands ahead of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's House subcommittee hearing Tuesday afternoon, where lawmakers are expected to press him for a definitive promise that the fund is dead.
"Right now it's a multi-vehicle pile-up," said Republican Senator John Kennedy, adding that his colleagues want clarifications from Blanche before moving forward on a $72 billion immigration enforcement bill.
Blanche faces a Congress furious at the Trump administration over the fund, created as part of a settlement between DOJ and Trump in which he agreed to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
Officials familiar with the White House's thinking said Blanche's hope of being appointed attorney general is tied to how he responds.
"He has to come back with some answers," one of the officials said.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. On Monday, DOJ said it would abide by a court order that temporarily paused the fund until June 12 but did not say what that would mean for the fund's permanent future.
