Apparently, Blanche has a memory just like Trump does, that is, not at all. He’s tripping himself up and, by extrapolation, tripping up the DoJ. So far it seems he’s not doing any better than Bondi did. That’s saying something because she was horrible. Incidentally, have you noticed that neither Bondi nor Noem has been in the news at all? Good riddance? Okay, point taken. Blanche is still making a mess, and Epstein hasn’t really shown back up. Yet. Respect to Raw Story:
A pair of legal experts was astounded on Monday while discussing a trap the Trump Department of Justice may have laid for itself in a recent case. One of the arguments Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made when the DOJ created the $1.776 billion settlement between the Trump administration and the IRS was that Trump had been irreparably harmed by a government contractor or employee, which is why they sought such a large payout. However, that argument could get the Trump DOJ into trouble in other cases where privacy matters are concerned, according to Lisa Graves, co-host of the “Court Accountability Action” podcast, and Christopher Swartz, the senior ethics counsel for the Democracy Defenders Fund.
Okay, give me a few moments to blurt something out here. How can you sue the IRS? And irreparably harmed by ONE set of OLD returns? Does this mean anyone can sue the IRS by claiming that? Is there even a statute of limitations? Because this is effing ridiculous.
*ahem* Back to our legal experts and the slush fund. Irreparably damaged? HOOEY. They aren’t even relevant anymore. But now, what has Blanche gotten himself into? What is he trying to do with that?
The two legal experts reacted to the trap in a new episode on Monday. “This is a clear case of failure of those baseline duties of any lawyer, whether they’re a first-year lawyer or a lawyer who’s been out practicing for 20 or 30 years,” Graves said about the settlement agreement. “The misconduct, the failure to defend the interests of the United States, the IRS, and the other agencies, is jaw-dropping.” The $ 1.776 billion settlement was initially established to pay claims from people who were wrongfully prosecuted by the federal government. However, the idea was quashed after it received strong bipartisan pushback. Even so, the Trump administration has refused every attempt to make it put in writing that the fund will never be established.
In other words, the DoJ is trying to figure out a different way to get the money, so they won’t commit to writing. And there was (is) a whole lot wrong about the whole case. But who on earth could push back on it? Not SCOTUS. They’ve done their one good-ish deal of the year. If this thing never made it before a judge, there isn’t much we can see being done unless the IRS countersues. Nah, knowing our luck, that’s not possible either. So, the fund remains in limbo. Dammit.
Swartz, whose organization filed an ethics complaint against Blanche over the IRS settlement, argued that Blanche’s argument “prejudices the government’s position” in other cases that involve privacy matters. The ethics complaint was filed at a time when Blanche was seeking confirmation for the full Attorney General role. Some Republicans have already said they won’t support Blanche’s nomination, which sets the stage for a contentious confirmation battle.
Republicans won’t support him? What kind of miracle is this? Contentious battle? Sounds like fun! Maybe someone will bring up the whole bit with Ghislaine. That has the potential to make it even more interesting. Too bad it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see the committee-level questions. Can’t remember offhand if those were live viewings or not. Whenever it happens, we already know it’s going to be a barnburner. Sounds fun!
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