多名知情人士向 CNN 透露，代理司法部长托德・布兰奇发布行政令、正式撤销总统设立的规模 18 亿美元反武器化基金，整个过程白宫深度介入。
一名官员表示，白宫办公厅主任苏西・怀尔斯、白宫立法事务主管詹姆斯・布雷德全程 “深度参与” 此事。布兰奇在谈判全程与白宫保持沟通，持续向高层汇报磋商进展以及双方僵持的核心分歧。
这名官员称，特朗普知晓布兰奇与两名持反对立场的共和党参议员达成交易。这两名参议员分别是约翰・科宁与汤姆・蒂利斯，二人手握布兰奇提名能否闯关的关键一票。双方达成的协议内容包括：正式废除这项争议重重的基金；同时限定特朗普与国税局此前达成的税务调查和解协议，相关保护条款仅适用于过往追溯事项。
不过，特朗普周一向记者明确表示，他本人并未审阅这份协议。他在白宫椭圆形办公室受访时称：“我没有看过协议文本。”
“我听说双方已经达成共识，但我不知道具体条款是什么。” 特朗普补充说，据他了解，布兰奇只是 “再次确认了此前已经表态的内容”。特朗普仍认为设立该基金是一件好事，但他坦言，目前没有其他方案通过别的途径重启该基金。
总统表示：“据我所知，不存在其他可行渠道。”
在达成协议之前，白宫官员乃至特朗普本人都对两名参议员感到不满。白宫方面认为，两名参议员在借机施压；但一名白宫官员私下透露，两位议员也承认，布兰奇是司法部长一职最合适人选。
知情官员表示，虽然特朗普个人依旧看好这笔近 18 亿美元的基金，但高级顾问劝说他，做出让步是保障布兰奇提名顺利推进的唯一办法。
这名官员告诉 CNN：“他希望布兰奇顺利获得参议院确认，他清楚必须做出妥协。”
一名政府高级官员提出另一种说法：白宫、总统办公厅主任跟进提名流程属于常规操作，但实质性谈判仅在布兰奇与参议员之间展开，布雷德并未深度参与磋商。
布兰奇曾是特朗普私人律师，现任代理司法部长，在白宫内部广受认可，被视作特朗普忠实任命的官员。多位知情人士表示，即便布兰奇可以继续以代理司法部长身份履职，或是以副部长身份在特朗普剩余任期执掌司法部，他仍然希望获得参议院正式任命，白宫也愿意为此提供协助。
蒂利斯与科宁提出的诉求，尤其是针对国税局和解协议的限制条款，让布兰奇陷入两难：一旦落实成书面文件，很可能惹怒总统。数周以来，司法部持续与科宁的幕僚团队反复沟通，力求寻找折中方案。
得克萨斯州参议员科宁的首席法律顾问主导谈判。随着布兰奇提名表决日期临近，科宁是阻挠提名最坚决的议员。多名消息人士透露，布兰奇团队多次向这名律师发送备忘录修改版本，而对方每次都找出协议中存在的漏洞，要求加以完善。
周日深夜，布兰奇在 X 平台发文，公布双方达成最终协议，并附上两份文件。第一份是签署生效的备忘录，宣布司法部正式撤销设立反武器化基金的行政指令；第二份未签署的声明，厘清国税局相关保护条款细则。蒂利斯、科宁很快表态认可这份协议。
布兰奇在备忘录中写道，该基金 “不再具备任何法律效力”，文件 “毫无疑义地明确，这项基金不复存在”。他同时提及，这份成果得益于与参议员们开展的诚意磋商。
尽管如此，司法部内部部分律师质疑，布兰奇签署的这份文件是否具备法律约束力。这份废止备忘录由布兰奇单独签署，但原始和解协议是由特朗普私人律师与政府方面达成，相关律师并未在废止文件上签字。
外界质疑这份行政令法律效力存疑，但蒂利斯与科宁周一公开为这份协议辩护。
有记者追问，为何相信布兰奇正式就任司法部长后不会反悔，蒂利斯回应：“因为我相信他是正直之人。”
但他同时表示，总统理论上依旧可以重新设立新基金。这位即将卸任的北卡罗来纳州参议员说：“倘若他反悔，那就要向全体美国民众解释，为何没有诚意开展谈判。”
科宁则称：“废止反武器化基金具备法律约束力，这笔基金就此终结。” 谈及税务调查和解协议，他表示：“除非总统修改原始和解协议，否则我们没有办法让相关条款具备强制法律效力。”
这名得州共和党参议员表示：“我们能做到、并且已经完成的事，是让托德・布兰奇宣誓作证，同时让司法部正式书面记录，这是官方对于相关条款的正式解读。”
蒂利斯称，对于过去一周整个谈判过程，他仍存有不少疑问，还会审视所有参与其中的相关人员。
White House directly involved in Blanche order rescinding ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
The White House was directly involved in acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s order to formally rescind the president’s$1．8 billion “anti-weaponization”fund， multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN．
Specifically， White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and the director of legislative affairs， James Braid， were “deeply involved，” one official said． Blanche worked with the White House throughout the process， and kept top officials briefed on the negotiations and key sticking points．
President Donald Trump was aware of the deal struck between Blanche and the two key holdout Senate Republicans on his nomination， John Cornyn and Thom Tillis， toformally rescind the controversial fundand limit a prior agreement with the IRS regarding tax investigations into the president and his family members to retroactive actions， the official said．
Trump， however， made clear on Monday that he did not personally review the deal， telling reporters in the Oval Office， “I didn’t look at it．”
“I understand there’s been a sign-off， but I don’t know what they agreed，” he said， adding that his understanding was that Blanche “agreed to reconfirm things that he’s already said．” Trump said he viewed the fund “as a positive，” but said there were no other plans to revive it through another mechanism．
“There’s no other avenues that I know of，” the president said．
White House officials and Trump himselfhad grown frustratedwith the senators before a deal was reached． They believed the senators were trying to exert leverage， even though privately， one White House official said， the lawmakers acknowledged that Blanche was the best fit for the position．
While Trump personally continues to believe in the nearly $1．8 billion fund， he was convinced by his top advisers that this was the only way to ensure Blanche’s nomination for attorney general would advance， the official said．
“He wants Blanche confirmed，” the official told CNN． “He realizes he needs to do this．”
A senior administration official said it is typical for the White House — or the president’s chief of staff — to track the process of a nomination， but that negotiations took place only between Blanche and the senators． Braid was not deeply involved in the process， the official said．
Blanche， Trump’s former personal lawyer who is serving as the acting attorney general， is well-liked within the White House and is viewed as a loyal appointee of Trump． Multiple people familiar with the matter said Blanche wanted to win Senate confirmation — even though he could continue serving in an acting capacity or lead the Justice Department as the deputy attorney general for the remainder of Trump’s term — and the White House wanted to help him．
Tillis and Cornyn’s demands — specifically when it came tolimiting the IRS agreement— left Blanche in a difficult place， as putting them in writing could anger the president． So for weeks， the Justice Department went back and forth with Cornyn’s staff to try to find a middle ground．
Cornyn’s chief legal counsel led the negotiations for the Texas Republican， who appeared to be the most serious detractor as the vote approached to advance Blanche’s nomination． Blanche’s staff sent several versions of the memo to Cornyn’s counsel， according to several people familiar with the matter． In each version， the lawyer said she identified loopholes that needed to be addressed．
Late Sunday night， Blanche published two documentsin a post on Xto announce that a deal had been reached． The first document is a signed memo stating the Justice Department was formally rescinding the order that established anti-weaponization fund， and the second was an unsigned statement clarifying the terms of the IRS protections． Tillis and Cornyn quickly confirmed their approval of the deal．
Blanche said in his memo that the fund “shall have no force or effect” and that the memo “establishes， beyond any doubt， that there is no Fund．” He also credited “good faith discussions” with the senators．
Still， some attorneys inside the Justice Department have questioned whether the document Blanche signed was legally binding． The anti-weaponization memo is signed by Blanche， but it does not include the signature of Trump’s current personal lawyers， who would have entered into the original settlement with the administration．
Tillis and Cornyn on Monday defended their agreement with the Department of Justice， despite criticism that the order may not belegally binding．
Pressed by reporters on why they trusted that Blanche would not double back on the agreement once confirmed， Tillis replied， “Because I believe he’s an honorable man．”
However， he said， the president could simply always create a new fund． “Then he can answer to the American people for not negotiating in good faith，” the retiring North Carolina senator said．
“The rescission of the weaponization fund is legally binding， so it’s gone，” Cornyn said． Regarding the tax investigations agreement， he said， “There’s literally nothing we could do other than have the president change a settlement agreement to make that legally binding．”
“What we could do， and what we did do， is get Todd Blanche to testify under oath， and then to get the DOJ on the record that this is their official interpretation of those provisions，” the Texas Republican said．
Tillis said he still has questions about how the process played out over the last week， adding he’ll be looking at people “who played a role in it．”
