Todd Blanche appeared to give skeptical Republican senators exactly what they demanded.

Late Sunday night, the acting attorney general released an order formally eliminating the Trump administration’s fiercely controversial “Anti-Weaponization Fund”—a nearly $1.8 billion pool that critics feared could reward January 6 defendants and other political allies of President Donald Trump.

But within hours, journalists examining the accompanying memorandum spotted what Blanche had not eliminated.

Trump’s separate immunity from certain IRS audits remained intact.

“Look what they just tried to sneak through at midnight,” MeidasTouch co-founder Brett Meiselas wrote, branding the maneuver a “scam.”

The documents reveal a carefully divided outcome.

Blanche’s August 2 order unequivocally rescinded the Justice Department’s May 18 directive establishing the fund. It declared that the earlier order “shall have no force or effect” and said no board members had been appointed, no money transferred, no claims process created and no payments made.

On that narrow issue, the language appears decisive: The fund created by the May 18 order is gone.

But the second half of the controversy involves a different document.

One day after establishing the fund, the Justice Department issued another order connected to the settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. That arrangement granted Trump, his sons and their businesses protection from certain audit-related claims.

Blanche’s new announcement did not rescind that May 19 order.

Instead, the accompanying memorandum defended the Justice Department’s interpretation of it, asserting that its effect is retroactive and limited to the named parties involved in the lawsuit.

That means the administration abandoned the politically explosive compensation fund while preserving the portion directly benefiting Trump and his family.

The distinction was confirmed by the Justice Department’s August 2 order and memorandum, which formally cancel the fund but reaffirm DOJ’s interpretation of the separate release.

The timing immediately intensified suspicion.

Blanche is seeking Senate confirmation as attorney general and had encountered resistance from Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Both threatened to withhold support unless he terminated the fund and addressed concerns surrounding the IRS arrangement.

After Blanche released the documents, the senators announced they would support him—potentially clearing the final obstacle to his confirmation. Reuters reported that the order opened Blanche’s path forward.

Critics, however, argue that Blanche resolved the politically inconvenient problem without sacrificing Trump’s personal protection.

“It appears Trump was willing to throw the Jan. 6 defendants under the bus while preserving his own IRS immunity deal,” MeidasTouch wrote.

That conclusion is political interpretation, but its factual foundation is visible in the documents: One order was rescinded; the other was not.

Ben Meiselas, another MeidasTouch co-founder, raised an additional legal challenge. He argued that Blanche’s order may not be sufficient to terminate every obligation associated with the fund because it was not signed by all parties to the original settlement.

“This is an unenforceable sham document,” he declared, citing a provision that he says requires broader agreement to undo the arrangement.

That claim has not been resolved by a court.

Blanche’s signed directive plainly eliminates the Justice Department order that created the fund. Whether it also extinguishes every contractual obligation contained in the underlying settlement could become a separate question if one of the parties challenges the cancellation.

The IRS immunity is already generating its own legal concerns.

The arrangement reportedly prevents specified audits involving Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization for periods covered by the settlement, though Blanche insists it does not protect them against future audits or extend beyond the named parties.

That limitation matters—but it does not mean the immunity disappeared.

The Associated Press reported that Trump’s retroactive audit protection remains in place, despite the termination of the fund. Legal experts and lawmakers have questioned whether the executive branch can legitimately restrict IRS enforcement through such an agreement.

The episode leaves Blanche with two competing narratives.

His supporters can say he listened to lawmakers, dismantled a fund that never became operational and clarified that Trump possesses no immunity from future tax scrutiny.

His critics can point to the same documents and reach a much darker conclusion: Blanche surrendered a benefit intended for Trump’s supporters only when it endangered his confirmation, while protecting the provision that directly shields Trump and his businesses from specified scrutiny.

The late-night timing made the contrast even more explosive.

The headline announcement said the controversial fund was officially dead. The legal fine print quietly confirmed that Trump’s separate IRS deal survived.

Blanche may have cleared his path to becoming attorney general.

But in doing so, he placed the arrangement critics consider most personally valuable to Trump directly under the spotlight.