Former Trump Lawyer Ty Cobb Calls Anti-Weaponization Fund Deal 'Pure Theater' as Blanche's Commitment to Senators Falls Away
Key Takeaways
- •Ty Cobb, a former Trump White House special counsel, stated that the agreement to eliminate the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund carries no legal force and was drafted by Todd Blanche himself rather than by senators.
- •The proposed fund was designed to compensate individuals who allege they were wrongfully prosecuted by the federal government, and several prominent Trump allies have signaled interest in seeking payouts.
- •Trump indicated in Oval Office remarks that the fund's survival depends on Attorney General Blanche, reinforcing Cobb's assertion that Blanche will act according to the president's wishes.
- •The original agreement involving the president, his family, and other parties regarding the fund and associated IRS immunity provisions reportedly cannot be amended without signatures from all participating parties.
- •Trump has shifted strategy by urging Republican lawmakers to create the fund through legislation, though narrow Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress could pose a significant obstacle.
A former lawyer for President Donald Trump raised concerns on Monday after it became apparent that Attorney General Todd Blanche would leverage careful "wordsmithing" to sidestep commitments he made to senators during his confirmation process.
Ty Cobb, who served as special counsel during Trump's first term, told CNN's Erin Burnett that an agreement Blanche reached with Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — which ostensibly declared the demise of a $1.776 billion so-called "anti-weaponization" fund — amounted to "pure theater."
Blanche served as Trump's personal defense attorney in the Manhattan criminal case before being nominated as attorney general, a background that informs Cobb's assessment of his independence from the president.
President Trump signaled as much on Monday when a reporter in the Oval Office asked whether the fund was dead.
"That's up to Todd Blanche," Trump replied.
Those remarks immediately caught Cobb's attention.
"We all know that Todd Blanche is going to do whatever the president asked. That's his history," Cobb said on CNN's "OutFront." "Keep in mind that Todd Blanche drafted that order. Not the senators. The wordsmithing in it is very, very clear. It's really not worth anything more than a press release. It has no legal force in effect."
Cobb elaborated on the underlying arrangement, noting that the agreement among the president, his family, and other parties regarding the fund and associated IRS immunity provisions cannot be revised without the signatures of all parties involved.
"That document has no force in effect. It was pure theater," Cobb reiterated.
The controversy traces back to Blanche's confirmation proceedings, during which senators pressed the attorney general nominee for a binding assurance that the anti-weaponization fund would never be established. The proposed fund was designed to compensate individuals who claimed they had been wrongfully prosecuted by the federal government. Several prominent Trump allies have publicly stated their intention to seek payouts from such a mechanism. The fund is part of a broader push by Trump and his allies who have alleged the Justice Department was weaponized against them during the Biden administration.
Following the collapse of the executive arrangement, Trump has urged Republican lawmakers to create the fund through legislative action instead. Any such legislation would need to clear both chambers of Congress, where narrow Republican margins have already complicated other priorities.
