Todd Blanche formally withdraws Trump's 'anti-weaponisation' fund plan

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has formally withdrawn President Donald Trump's plan for a fund that could have been used to compensate people prosecuted over the US Capitol riot by Trump's supporters in 2021.The move clears the way for Blanche to be confirmed by US senators to his job on a permanent basis. Trump's Republican Party previously lacked the votes for this to happen because a pair of senators were not sufficiently satisfied by verbal assurances from Blanche that the planned fund was dead.In a post on X late on Sunday, Blanche said he had "met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions".Attached to Blanche's post was a copy of the written order signed by Blanche. The text says: "This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund."The proposed $1.8bn "anti-weaponisation" fund was announced earlier this year to settle a lawsuit by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his tax returns.It would have allowed Trump allies to claim compensation for what they say were politically motivated prosecutions by previous administrations.A second concern held by the ...