Not So Fast
Blanche Will Not Put Abandonment of Anti-Weaponization Fund In Writing
Also on today’s menu at the News Café:
If Government Website Is a Joke, It’s In Very Bad Taste
Air Strikes Continue While Talks Do Or Do Not Take Place
Just as the “productive” talks on a ceasefire in Iran have not changed anything, Acting US Attorney-General Todd Blanche’s assurances that the Trump administration will not be moving forward with its $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund are meaningless. When Representative Grace Meng asked whether Blanche would put that in writing, he asked, “Why do I need to put something in writing?” When Meng pointed out that the “settlement” creating the fund was in writing, Blanche flatly responded, “I’m not committing to doing anything in writing.”
News outlets like NHPR disappointingly omitted that exchange, stopping with Blanche’s statement to the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, “We are not moving forward with the fund, period.” As Michael Sellers put it, “The ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ did not arise from an informal conversation or a stray public comment. It was created through written settlement machinery tied to Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. … [I]f a written order was necessary to create the fund, a written rescission would seem to be the cleanest way to end it. Blanche may be correct that his testimony will appear in the congressional record, but a hearing transcript is not the same thing as a formal DOJ rescission, a court filing, or a binding stipulation.”
That is far cry from NHPR’s reporting, “On Monday, the Justice Department issued a statement saying it would abide by that federal court ruling [temporarily blocking the creation of the anti-weaponization fund] while the legal challenge played out in court. But that didn’t rule out the possibility the DOJ would restart the fund after the temporary ban was lifted. Now, Blanche has made it official: The fund is done.” A disappointing conclusion, given the Justice Department’s record of false statements during President Donald Trump’s current term in office.
Sellers points out, “A formal written rescission would create a clean record that could be used by plaintiffs, courts, Congress, and future litigants. It would make it harder for the administration to revive the fund later under a different name, through a different mechanism, or through individual settlements with selected claimants.”
Discussion: At least NHPR reported that “Blanche said the DOJ will uphold the rest of the settlement — which includes provisions that shielded Trump, his family and his companies from any tax audits or enforcement for prior tax returns….” Even if Trump truly does abandon the Anti-Weaponization Fund that would reward criminals like those convicted in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, he would be getting what is most important to him: immunity from prosecution for tax fraud. That is, if Judge Kathleen Williams, who handled the Trump v. IRS case, determines — as a group of 35 retired federal judges asserted — that the case was never legitimately adversarial, but rather, a fraud on the court because — as Trump himself admitted after initiating the lawsuit — he would have to “work out a settlement with myself. … We could make it a substantial amount. Nobody would care because it’s going to go to numerous very good charities.” And, as always, the “good charities” have turned out to be payments to himself.
If Government Website Is a Joke, It’s In Very Bad Taste
The “declassified” information on the website, aliens.gov, speaks of the threat of “aliens walking among us” while the opening credits play the theme of “The X-Files” in the background. It goes on to say, “they do not belong here...Countless presidents, congressmen, and senior officials knew exactly what was happening. Instead of protecting American citizens, they chose to cover it up.”
It turns out that the “aliens” being referred to are not extraterrestrials; they are “the millions of ILLEGALS...Deport them all. THEY WEREN'T LITTLE GREEN MEN.”
The 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts gave the president the power to arrest, imprison, and detain noncitizens during wartime and restricted the freedom of expression for citizens. The National Archives note that the laws were passed out of concern that noncitizens would sympathize with the French, should that country go to war with the United States.
Discussion: The Trump administration is relying on the fear of “aliens” to justify its roundup of undocumented people and citizens alike, with the website stating, “If you’ve witnessed an Alien abduction, do not be alarmed. We will take care of it… and return it safely to its place of origin.”
Air Strikes Continue While Talks Do Or Do Not Take Place
While President Donald Trump maintains that negotiations to end the Iran war are continuing, Iranian news agencies say that country has stopped communicating with mediators in the wake of Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Iran maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz while the US continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
Today, Kuwait briefly shut its main airport after Iranian drones heavily damaged a terminal building. Authorities said one person was killed and 63 wounded, including passengers and workers.
The US military said it launched strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that a telecommunications tower had been struck, labeling that and previous strikes as “acts of aggression” that violated the ceasefire agreement that had been in place.
Discussion: Trump maintains, “The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today. Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal.’”