#january-6
12 entries with this tag
Two of Trump's Own Republican Senators Are Blocking His Personal Criminal-Defense Lawyer From Becoming Attorney General Until He Promises Not to Build a $1.8 Billion Fund to Pay January 6 Rioters — So Trump Vowed to Keep Him as Unconfirmed Acting AG Indefinitely and Force the Fund Through Congress Anyway
Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal criminal-defense attorney, acting attorney general since Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, and the lawyer a federal judge referred for bar discipline over the sham IRS settlement — cannot get confirmed as permanent attorney general, and it is Republicans stopping him. Two GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, are withholding their votes until they get written assurance that the Justice Department will not resurrect the "anti-weaponization fund": a $1.8 billion program to compensate people who claim the government was "weaponized" against them — built, in practice, to pay January 6 rioters Trump pardoned. That is the same fund a federal judge voided in July as an illegal product of a collusive lawsuit, and that DOJ had said it was abandoning. Rather than give the assurance, Trump escalated. On August 1 he posted that if "Senators Cornyn and Tillis … aren't going to approve Todd Blanche … then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill … PASSED." In other words: confirm my lawyer and let me pay the rioters, or I keep my lawyer running the Justice Department without confirmation and try to pay the rioters through Congress instead. Tillis said flatly that Blanche will not be confirmed as things stand. The standoff is a rare moment of Republican resistance — and a window into just how far the corruption had to go before even Trump's own party balked.
A Judge Voided the Sham Lawsuit Trump Filed Against His Own IRS to Launder Himself Tax Immunity and a $1.776 Billion "Anti-Weaponization" Slush Fund for His Allies — Finding "Bad Faith," No Real Case, and Referring Acting AG Todd Blanche for Discipline Two Days Before His Confirmation Hearing for the Permanent Job
On July 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams (an Obama appointee in the Southern District of Florida) issued a scathing 56-page order voiding the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the IRS and referring his lawyers — including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — for disciplinary action. The backstory: in January, Trump and his two eldest sons sued the IRS for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns. In May, "both sides" settled — except both sides were Trump. As president he controlled the IRS he was suing. The settlement created a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" to pay Trump allies (premised on January 6 and classified-documents claims) and, via a memo Blanche signed and quietly added to the DOJ announcement, granted Trump, his family, and his businesses sweeping immunity from IRS audits and other federal claims for past conduct. Nearly three dozen former federal judges from both parties — including Bush appointee J. Michael Luttig — intervened, calling it "the product of collusion" and "a fraud on the court." Williams agreed: "there was never adverseness between the Parties; there was never a case or controversy; and there was never a question as to who would prevail." She found Trump and his sons "acted in bad faith," said the tax-amnesty order "directly contravenes" the federal law barring presidents from influencing audits, and noted the $1.776 billion figure "speaks of a 'branding' effort rather than a deliberate and thoughtful calculation of damages." She was "extremely troubled" by Blanche's congressional testimony, calling one answer "at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous." She referred Blanche and Associate AG Stanley Woodward to the New York and D.C. bars (where disciplinary proceedings are already underway), referred private attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar, limited attorney Daniel Epstein's practice, voided the agreement so it can never be cited in any proceeding, and ordered sanctions. She closed by quoting John Adams: "Facts are stubborn things." The ruling landed two days before Blanche's Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing to become permanent attorney general.
Trump Hijacked America's 250th Birthday to Enrich Allies, Sell Access, and Harvest Data — $103 Million in No-Bid Contracts Flowed to a Shadow Organization Run by His Campaign Manager, the January 6 Rally Production Company Got $38.6 Million, Donors Were Allegedly Defrauded, Artists Fled, the Stage Collapsed, the Fair Was Empty, and Newborns Got Branded Social Security Cards
A 55-page House Democrats report titled "From Vanity to Insanity" reveals how Trump hijacked America's 250th birthday celebration. Congress created a bipartisan commission called America250 in 2016 to plan the semiquincentennial. Trump tried to pack it with loyalists. When that failed, he created Freedom 250 by executive order — an LLC housed inside the National Park Foundation, whose board he stacked with his 2024 campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita and fundraising director Meredith O'Rourke. Congress appropriated $150 million for the celebration; America250 received only $25 million while Freedom 250 got at least $68 million in taxpayer funds. Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project tracked $103 million in federal contracts flowing to "a network of politicized entities under the control of Trump administration officials and political allies." Event Strategies Inc. — the production company behind Trump's January 6, 2021, Ellipse rally — received $38.6 million in no-bid contracts, with a deal extending to 2030 with an option to 2045. Donors who intended to support the bipartisan America250 were allegedly given Freedom 250's banking information instead — conduct the report says could constitute wire fraud. Corporations with regulatory business before the government — ExxonMobil, Oracle, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, United Airlines — donated undisclosed sums. $1 million donors got a photo op with the president; $2.5 million donors got speaking roles. Keith Krach appeared to solicit foreign donations at Davos. The showcase event — the Great American State Fair on the National Mall — was a disaster: most booked artists (Martina McBride, The Commodores, Bret Michaels) pulled out when they learned it was Trump-affiliated; stage panels crashed onto dancers during rehearsal; crowds were sparse despite Trump claiming 45,000; a power outage melted food; extreme heat forced closures; a fifth of states refused to participate; and organizers misspelled their own name on a billboard. Trump staged his own birthday as a national event twice under the Freedom 250 banner. PragerU and Hillsdale College got $10 million for "Freedom Trucks" mobile museums. The Social Security Administration began issuing commemorative cards with the Freedom 250 logo to every baby born in the second half of 2026 — the first time in 90 years the card's design has been politicized. A UFC fight on the White House South Lawn cost $60 million. And Trump made himself chair of the whole operation.
Trump Plots to "Expunge" Both Impeachments from the Record — Constitutional Scholars: "You Cannot Un-Ring a Bell"
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump and allies are pushing a House resolution to expunge both impeachments — for abusing power to pressure Ukraine and for inciting the January 6 insurrection. Trump: "It should be done because I did nothing wrong. It was a rigged deal." Speaker Johnson: "I think it makes a lot of sense." Constitutional scholars say the Constitution contains no mechanism to undo an impeachment. Georgetown's Jonathan Turley: "It is not like a constitutional DUI. Once you are impeached, you are impeached." Hofstra's James Sample: "You cannot un-ring a bell." Rep. Darrell Issa introduced a resolution in April; Rep. Anna Paulina Luna announced another. GOP lawmakers privately say it won't be considered until after the midterms — because rehashing Trump's conduct would hurt them. Schiff: "There is no expunging the stain." Raskin: "There is a very easy way to not get impeached: stop committing impeachable offenses."
Pentagon Hires Convicted January 6 Rioter for Highly Sensitive Counterterrorism Job — He Has Zero Counterterrorism Experience
The Trump administration hired 24-year-old Elias Irizarry — who pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol through a broken window on January 6, was sentenced to 14 days in jail, and then pardoned by Trump — to work in the Pentagon's Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office, specifically the irregular warfare and counterterrorism section. The unit handles hostage rescue, embassy security, and personnel recovery. Every position requires a top-secret security clearance. Irizarry has zero counterterrorism experience. His LinkedIn lists "Patriot" as his profession. He ran for state office and lost. The Pentagon called him "a qualified, patriotic young professional." Staff internally question how someone convicted of assaulting American democracy can be trusted to defend it.
Trump's $1.776B Slush Fund Blows Up His Own Agenda: Republican Revolt Derails Immigration Bill
Senate Republicans revolted against Trump's $1.776B "Anti-Weaponization Fund," forcing leaders to delay the $72B immigration enforcement bill past Trump's own June 1 deadline. A two-hour meeting with acting AG Todd Blanche — described as a "shitshow" — failed to calm the rebellion. Sen. Tillis called the fund "a payout pot for punks." Sen. Johnson called it "a galactic blunder." Trump's slush fund to pay Jan. 6 rioters just torpedoed his top legislative priority.
Jan. 6 Officers Who Were Beaten by Rioters Sue to Block $1.776B Fund That Would Pay Their Attackers
Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and DC officer Daniel Hodges — both beaten defending the Capitol on Jan. 6 — filed a federal lawsuit to block Trump's $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." They call it an illegal slush fund to reward insurrectionists, citing the 14th Amendment's ban on paying debts incurred in aid of rebellion. The same pardoned rioters who attacked them could now be paid with taxpayer money — from a fund with no congressional authorization, no transparency, and no statutory basis.
Trump Drops His IRS Lawsuit, Creates $1.776B "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to Reimburse Jan. 6 Rioters With Taxpayer Money
Trump's DOJ officially established the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — taxpayer money to reimburse MAGA allies including Jan. 6 rioters. In exchange, Trump dropped his $10 billion IRS lawsuit over the Mar-a-Lago raid. The president settled a lawsuit with himself to create a slush fund he controls. A House Democrat: "the largest single act of grand larceny in American history."
Kash Patel's FBI Political Purge
FBI Director Kash Patel purged agents who worked on January 6 and Trump criminal cases — court filings revealed he said he needed to fire them "to keep his own job." He also used the FBI jet for personal trips.
Pardoned Nearly 1,600 January 6th Rioters
On his first day back in office, Trump granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 people convicted or charged in the Capitol attack — including those convicted of assaulting police with deadly weapons.
Only President Impeached Twice
The House impeached Trump a second time for "incitement of insurrection" — the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history. Seven Republican senators voted to convict, with even McConnell calling Trump "practically and morally responsible."
Incited the January 6th Insurrection
After months of election lies, Trump summoned supporters to Washington and directed them to march on the Capitol, resulting in a violent insurrection that left multiple people dead and injured over 140 police officers.