WASHINGTON — Traci Feit Love, Founder and Executive Director of Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), issued the following statement after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally rescinded the proposed $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and issued an unsigned clarification of the tax protections granted to President Trump, his family, and his businesses:
“Rescinding this plainly corrupt and unlawful fund is an obvious necessity if we are to uphold our Constitution and the rule of law. But the idea that Todd Blanche has now done enough to earn confirmation as Attorney General is a farce. It falls far short of the standard we should expect from our nation’s top law enforcement officer and a representative of equal justice on behalf of the American people.
“All this agreement does is withdraw an indefensible order that Blanche himself helped create, while leaving extraordinary tax protections for his former client largely intact. If this is all the Senate holdouts were seeking, their standards are far too low.
“These last-minute assurances do not erase the conflict at the heart of Blanche’s nomination. Reversing course on this settlement of President Trump’s frivolous lawsuit only when his confirmation was threatened should be disqualifying in itself. Nothing in these documents guarantees that Blanche will not pursue the same corrupt objectives through another mechanism once confirmed.
“If Congress truly believes this fund and tax deal represent an abuse of taxpayer money and federal power, it should not settle for a memo signed to secure their votes. It should introduce and pass binding legislation prohibiting both schemes and subject the entire agreement to congressional oversight. The standard for confirming Todd Blanche as America’s Attorney General must be higher than temporarily cleaning up a scandal of his own making.”
Last month, Lawyers for Good Government Action Fund collected over 2800 signatures on an attorney sign-on letter opposing Blanche's nomination, citing his rejection of DOJ independence, conflicts of interest, and use of prosecutorial power to advance the president's political interests.
Together with more than 30 organizations, L4GG is a part of the Not Above the Law Coalition’s Block Blanche campaign, calling on the Senate to oppose Todd Blanche’s nomination as Attorney General of the United States.
Tell Your Senators: Block Todd Blanche’s Confirmation
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) is a nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of 125,000 lawyers, law students, and advocates in the fight for justice. We identify where lawyers can make the greatest impact and mobilize them to defend democracy and the rule of law, protect civil and human rights, and advance environmental justice through coordinated legal action and advocacy efforts that create meaningful change for all Americans. lawyersforgoodgovernment.org