Peter Welch calls for Todd Blanche's resignation over Trump DOJ settlement

Senator Peter Welch called for the resignation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday. Welch accused Blanche of failing to ensure that no one was above the law as he granted President Donald Trump a "get-out-of-jail-free card." The post comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) expanded Trump's compensation in his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including a pledge that the IRS would never audit the President, his family, and his businesses' previous tax transactions.

The settlement also included a $1.7 billion fund meant for people who believe they were mistreated under previous administrations. Welch said that the President was "sending taxpayer dollars to his political allies." According to a Washington Post report, some of President Trump's allies are already preparing to apply for compensation from the fund. As per Florida-based attorney Peter Ticktin, several January 6 defendants are "hoping for a payday."

In an interview with CNN, Acting Attorney General Blanche said that it was not unusual for the IRS to settle a case and not go ahead with an audit. "The unsurprising fact that an existing President does not have to go through more and more audits, which has been happening for years and years and years in exchange for settling, shouldn't surprise the American people," he said.

"My job is to do the right thing. It's to do the right thing, no matter who is on the other side. And the fact that it was President Trump and his sons and his company played no role in my decision except to do the right thing," he added. At an earlier Senate hearing, Democrats accused Blanche of acting like the President's personal attorney, leading to heated exchanges.

Speaking about the compensation fund, Blanche refused to believe that American taxpayers would be against their tax dollars going toward it. "If you said to the American taxpayer that there is a horrible wrong committed by your government. And now, you can apply, you can have your lawyers' fees back. You can be compensated for what you lost financially. What American would say, 'Oh my gosh, that's terrible?'" he asked.

Blanche said that American taxpayers would want their money used in such a manner, but Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick disagreed. "Over half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. That has got to be at the forefront of every single House and Senate member's mind with every dime that we appropriate. So, for that and many other reasons, I am completely objecting to this, and I will do everything I can to fight it," he said.

Speaking to the media earlier, Blanche had said everyone would be eligible to apply, including Democrats and independents. However, he also said that the cause for the application had to be solid enough for compensation to be issued.