Snapshot · Up First from NPR
The DOJ agreed to set up a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund as part of a settlement with Trump to end his IRS lawsuit, but the fund has since been scrapped.
Where this was said
At 3:40 · chapter starts 1:49
Ryan Lucas opens this segment with a blunt assessment: today's hearing is tense because the Justice Department has been in the eye of a political hurricane since Trump's return. Blanche, who served as Trump's personal attorney before becoming the DOJ's number two, is seen as the president's loyalist in chief. Democrats have a formidable list of grievances: they accuse him of dismantling the DOJ's independence, weaponizing it against Trump's political enemies, mishandling the Jeffrey Epstein files, and shepherding a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund that was eventually scrapped — but not before agreeing to shield Trump and his family from IRS audits of past tax returns [1] — Ryan Lucas "The $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is dead, but the clause shielding Trump and his family from IRS audits of past tax returns is stil…" 03:40 . A federal judge this week called Trump's IRS lawsuit 'bad faith' manipulation of the courts. Former FBI director James Comey, indicted twice under this DOJ, is the most glaring symbol of what critics call political prosecution. On the Republican side, North Carolina's Tom Tillis pushed back hard on the anti-weaponization fund and sits on the very committee hearing Blanche today — his vote is uncertain [2] — Ryan Lucas "Todd Blanche walks into the Senate judiciary committee today with Democrats unanimously opposed and a razor-thin Republican majority offeri…" 01:49 . With Democrats united in opposition, even one or two GOP defections could sink the nomination.
Todd Blanche walks into the Senate judiciary committee today with Democrats unanimously opposed and a razor-thin Republican majority offering almost no margin for error. NPR's Ryan Lucas lays out why this is one of the most consequential confirmation hearings of the Trump era.
The $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is dead, but the clause shielding Trump and his family from IRS audits of past tax returns is still very much alive. A federal judge called the original lawsuit 'bad faith' designed to manipulate the courts.
A federal judge this week called Trump's IRS lawsuit 'bad faith' and said it was brought to manipulate the judicial process and use the court to legitimize the eventual settlement.
Republicans hold a very slim Senate majority, and with Mitch McConnell absent due to health issues, only a couple of GOP defections could kill Blanche's nomination.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
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