RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Good Morning America ShopGMA Interest Successfully Added We'll notify you here with news about Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Off On Stream on Cornyn cancels meeting with Blanche ahead of key committee vote on AG nomination The Republican senator has concerns over Trump's settlement with the IRS.
Just one day before the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general, his future as the nation's top law enforcement official remains uncertain.
Blanche was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with a series of senators. But a pivotal meeting with holdout Republican Sen. John Cornyn, whose support on the committee is essential for Blanche to advance, was canceled at the last minute over lingering concerns over President Donald Trump's settlement with the IRS and the administration's so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund."
Cornyn said he canceled the meeting because the Department of Justice has yet to provide him with satisfactory documentation to meet his demands that the fund be rescinded and that the scope of the IRS audit immunity agreement in the settlement be narrowed.
As part of Trump's settlement with the IRS, the DOJ issued an addendum, signed by Blanche in his role as acting attorney general, that would bar the government from continuing any existing audits of tax returns filed by Trump, his family and their companies -- concerning Cornyn and some other Republicans such as Sen. Thom Tillis.
"To me, it's pretty simple. They could state that in a modified release form, and that would be responsive to my request. But for some reason, I don't know whether it's the staff of the DOJ or who it is, but they simply -- they know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it," Sen. Cornyn told reporters after the meeting with Blanche was canceled.
"There's no real need to have a meeting if they will just produce the documentation that we've requested, and that he testified to under oath during his hearing," Cornyn said.
Blanche said during a July 15 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the controversial so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund was "dead." Cornyn had demanded that commitment be put in writing.
It doesn't appear that the DOJ provided Cornyn with a draft of the revised settlement paperwork ahead of Wednesday's planned meeting. But the agency did provide Cornyn with a draft order from the Office of the Attorney General rescinding the $1.8 billion so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund" and an explanation about why it was being rescinded.
However, the revised order does not change anything related to the audit portion of the settlement. With time ticking down, the DOJ's actions have yet to appease Cornyn's demands.
"I haven't seen a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I've requested," Cornyn said.
It remains unclear if the Senate Judiciary Committee will move forward with Blanche's nomination vote on Thursday.
Cornyn said that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley needed to know by 4 p.m. Wednesday what Cornyn's decision is in order to decide whether there will be a vote tomorrow or not.
"Why don't you call over to the Department of Justice and tell them they have 1 hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for?" Cornyn told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. "We actually sent them a red line strikeout of what we need, and they just need to make a decision. And if they do, then we'll proceed with the markup tomorrow."
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