参议院司法委员会办公室周三晚间通报，原定周四举行的托德・布兰奇司法部长提名表决会议将推迟。
表决推迟之前，共和党参议员约翰・科宁表态，他仍存有多项疑虑，尚未得到满意答复，而他在委员会内的支持，是布兰奇提名能否推进的关键。科宁关注的核心问题是特朗普与美国国税局（IRS）达成的和解协议，以及政府设立的所谓“反武器化基金”。
委员会发布声明称：“主席格拉斯利致力于推动总统提名人选在委员会顺利过关，而非遭遇挫败。科宁与蒂利斯参议员要求美国司法部就特朗普和国税局的和解协议出具书面保证文件。”
委员会补充道：“为争取委员会内部足够票数、推动提名合格上报，周四的审议表决会议决定延期。司法部长提名候选人布兰奇具备充分履职资质。”
周三早些时候，科宁宣布取消与布兰奇的会面。原因是司法部尚未提供符合他要求的书面文件。科宁提出两点诉求：撤销反武器化基金，并且缩小和解协议中国税局税务审计豁免条款的适用范围。
布兰奇周三前往国会山，陆续与多名参议员会晤。但这场至关重要的科宁会谈在最后一刻取消，能否获得科宁支持直接决定提名能否闯关。
另一位持保留态度的共和党参议员、北卡罗来纳州的汤姆・蒂利斯表示，虽然与司法部的磋商取得一定进展，但双方尚未达成最终共识。
蒂利斯在参议院议事厅外对记者说：“事情还没有谈妥。在这件事上，我完全支持科宁的诉求。科宁吸纳了我的主张，同时结合法官、律师专业视角完善诉求文本，力求形成一份完整、终局性质的书面承诺。”
特朗普与国税局达成和解协议时，时任代理司法部长布兰奇签署了一份补充协议。协议条款规定，联邦政府不得继续开展针对特朗普本人、其家人及其名下企业现存的税务审计工作。这一条款引发科宁、蒂利斯等共和党参议员强烈担忧。
科宁在会面取消后向记者表示：“道理其实很简单。他们只需出具一份修订后的书面声明，就能回应我的诉求。但不知出于何种原因，无论是司法部工作人员还是其他相关方，明明清楚需要做什么，却拒不落实。”
“只要他们拿出我们要求的文件，这场会面其实没有必要举行。相关内容也是布兰奇在提名听证会上宣誓作证时承诺过的。” 科宁说道。
7 月 15 日参议院司法委员会提名听证会上，布兰奇称这项争议巨大的 “反武器化基金” 已经 “宣告作废”。科宁要求对方将这一承诺落实为正式书面文件。
原定周三会面之前，司法部并未向科宁提供修订版和解协议草案。不过司法部向科宁提交了一份司法部长办公室行政命令草案，内容是撤销这笔规模 18 亿美元的 “反武器化基金”，同时附上相关说明。
然而这份修订命令，完全没有改动和解协议里有关税务审计豁免的内容。时间不断流逝，司法部给出的方案依旧无法满足科宁提出的全部要求。
科宁表示：“我至今没有看到任何一份书面文件能够完整回应我的诉求。”
周三下午截止期限到来前，科宁对记者称：“你们不妨致电司法部，告知他们还有 1 小时 50 分钟时间拿出我需要的文件。我们已经把修改标注文本发给他们，他们只需要做出决定。如果能够达成，我们就按原计划举行明天的审议表决。”
周三晚间科宁透露，司法部仍在与他沟通，但给出的答复无法令人满意。
“他们的回应没有解决我的核心关切。我们确实收到了司法部的反馈，但他们拒绝将布兰奇宣誓作出的承诺落实成书面文件。我们的要求并不过分。我们愿意协助他们解决提名困局，对方却不愿接受协商方案。”
被问及僵局根源，科宁认为白宫正在幕后介入此事。 “我推测，布兰奇受到总统律师团队的阻力。”
记者提到，特朗普周三公开表态，科宁之所以阻拦布兰奇提名，只是因为特朗普当初在参议员党内初选中公开反对过科宁。听到这番言论，科宁笑了。
“这只是对方不愿配合司法委员会履行协商职能而找的借口。”
Vote on Blanche＇s confirmation as AG postponed， Grassley＇s office says
The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its scheduled Thursday vote on Todd Blanche＇s nomination for attorney general， committee chairman Sen． Chuck Grassley＇s office said Wednesday evening．
Before the postponement， Republican Sen． John Cornyn， whose support on the committee is essential for Blanche to advance， said he was still waiting for answers over his lingering concerns about Trump＇s settlement with the IRS and the administration＇s so-called ＂Anti-Weaponization Fund．＂
In a statement， the committee said， ＂Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee， not failure． Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement．＂
＂Tomorrow’s markup is postponed as work continues to secure sufficient support in committee to favorably report Attorney General-nominee Todd Blanche， who is highly qualified for the job，” the committee added．
Earlier Wednesday， Cornyn said he canceled a meeting with Blanche because the Department of Justice has yet to provide him with satisfactory documentation to meet his demands that the fund be rescinded and that the scope of the IRS audit immunity agreement in the settlement be narrowed
Blanche was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with a series of senators． But a pivotal meeting with Cornyn， whose support on the committee is essential for Blanche to advance， was canceled at the last minute．
Republican Sen． Thom Tillis of North Carolina， another holdout， said while progress has been made with the DOJ， nothing has been finalized yet．
“We＇re not there yet， and on this issue， I＇m in full support of what Cornyn＇s trying to do． Cornyn took what I had and added what a former judge and an attorney would to， making sure that it be a complete and final，” Tillis told reporters off the Senate floor．
As part of Trump＇s settlement with the IRS， the DOJ issued an addendum， signed by Blanche in his role as acting attorney general， that would bar the government from continuing any existing audits of tax returns filed by Trump， his family and their companies -- concerning Cornyn and some other Republicans such as Tillis．
＂To me， it＇s pretty simple． They could state that in a modified release form， and that would be responsive to my request． But for some reason， I don＇t know whether it＇s the staff of the DOJ or who it is， but they simply -- they know what they need to do， but they simply refuse to do it，＂ Cornyn told reporters after the meeting with Blanche was canceled．
＂There＇s no real need to have a meeting if they will just produce the documentation that we＇ve requested， and that he testified to under oath during his hearing，＂ Cornyn said．
Blanche said during a July 15 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the controversial so-called ＂Anti-Weaponization Fund was ＂dead．＂ Cornyn had demanded that commitment be put in writing．
It doesn＇t appear that the DOJ provided Cornyn with a draft of the revised settlement paperwork ahead of Wednesday＇s planned meeting． But the agency did provide Cornyn with a draft order from the Office of the Attorney General rescinding the $1．8 billion so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund＂ and an explanation about why it was being rescinded．
However， the revised order does not change anything related to the audit portion of the settlement． With time ticking down， the DOJ＇s actions have yet to appease Cornyn＇s demands．
＂I haven＇t seen a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I＇ve requested，＂ Cornyn said．
＂Why don＇t you call over to the Department of Justice and tell them they have 1 hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for？＂ Cornyn told reporters on Wednesday afternoon before the deadline． ＂We actually sent them a red line strikeout of what we need， and they just need to make a decision． And if they do， then we＇ll proceed with the markup tomorrow．＂
Cornyn said Wednesday evening that the DOJ has been communicating with him， but their responses have been unsatisfactory．
“It was not responsive to my concerns． I mean， we＇ve heard from them． It＇s just that they refuse to commit to writing what he testified to under oath， and it＇s not a big ask． We＇re trying to help them get this solved， but they refuse to accept our help，” he said．
Asked why there has been a holdup， Cornyn said he believes the White House is getting involved behind the scenes．
“Well， I assume he＇s getting some pushback from the president＇s lawyers，＂ he said．
Asked about Trump’s comments Wednesday that Cornyn was only taking a stand against Blanche because Trump campaigned against him in his Senate primary， Cornyn laughed．
“I think that’s a convenient excuse for not cooperating with the Judiciary Committee＇s appropriate role in the compromise．”
