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The Situation Room
Acting A.G. Blanche Testifies on Capitol Hill; Three Killed in Mosque Shooting, Police Investigating as a Hate Crime. Aired 10-10:30a ET
Aired May 19, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): -- in the Epstein files?
TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: Can you repeat that question? I'm sorry. I didn't hear what you said.
VAN HOLLEN: Can you commit that the Justice Department, you, the acting attorney general, will not recommend a pardon for people named in the Epstein files?
BLANCHE: When you say people named, I have no -- There's tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of, quote, people named.
VAN HOLLEN: How about Ghislaine Maxwell? Can you commit that you will not give a pardon?
BLANCHE: Yes, I can commit to that, of course.
VAN HOLLEN: Okay. Let me go back to this slush fund, because there's also an individual who, after being pardoned by the president, went on to molest two children, and that person actually tried to buy the silence of these children by saying that he would pay them some of the funds that he was hoping to get from your slush fund.
Can you commit to making the rules so that person is not eligible for a payout under this fund?
BLANCHE: Well, you're obviously lying in your question because there's no way that this person committed to that. But the slush fund, as you call it, which is not, didn't exist.
VAN HOLLEN: I'm sure --
BLANCHE: But I can commit --
VAN HOLLEN: Mr. Attorney General, don't ever do that again. I am reporting --
BLANCHE: Do what again?
VAN HOLLEN: -- what he said. He said on the expectation that he hoped to get some of the funds from a payout. He's been very involved --
BLANCHE: Now, you said from the slush fund, Senator, and that didn't exist when he said that.
VAN HOLLEN: This is the fund that the president and all of you have been telegraphing all along that you're going to use to help the president's friends.
BLANCHE: Can you point to a single telegraph I made? What telegraph did I make?
VAN HOLLEN: I have a last question for you.
BLANCHE: Okay.
VAN HOLLEN: Do you know that it is a criminal offense to lie to Congress?
BLANCHE: I am very well aware of that.
VAN HOLLEN: I'm glad to hear that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Senator Kennedy.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
General, how are you?
BLANCHE: I'm great. Thank you, Senator.
KENNEDY: In America, unlike other countries where they let you die in a ditch, in America, if you're too poor to be sick, we'll pay for your doctor. Isn't that right?
BLANCHE: It is.
KENNEDY: And one of the programs we do that through is Medicaid.
BLANCHE: Correct.
KENNEDY: Okay. And this money for Medicaid, it didn't just fall from heaven. It -- we thank heaven for it, but it came out of people's pockets, didn't it?
BLANCHE: Every dime of it.
KENNEDY: And some of that money is stolen, isn't it?
BLANCHE: Yes.
KENNEDY: And the states, not all of them, but many of them, allow it to be stolen, don't they?
BLANCHE: Yes.
KENNEDY: Let's take Medicaid in California, for example. I don't mean to just pick on California but because this happens in other states. We saw it happened in Minnesota, for example. But in California, for every dollar that the California state government puts up for Medicaid, for the Obamacare portion of Medicaid, we put up -- the federal taxpayer puts up $9, don't they? And so -- is that right?
BLANCHE: That's correct, Senator.
KENNEDY: And so as a result, California has allowed thousands and thousands of these social assistants and healthcare providers pop up in California, haven't they?
BLANCHE: Yes.
KENNEDY: And some of those providers steal the money, don't they?
BLANCHE: Yes, we know that to be true. Yes.
KENNEDY: And the money never gets to the people they supposedly are trying to help. Isn't that correct?
BLANCHE: That's correct.
KENNEDY: And the other way that California and others abuse the fact that they're putting up $1 and the American taxpayer's putting up $9. Did I mention it was $9?
BLANCHE: I think some say it's even more, but, yes.
KENNEDY: Yes.
BLANCHE: Nine worked.
KENNEDY: They expand the services, don't they?
BLANCHE: Yes.
KENNEDY: Because some states, like California, and I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, it's not everybody in California state government, but it's a lot of them, they see this as free money, don't they?
BLANCHE: They're not paying for it, yes.
KENNEDY: Isn't it a fact that, for example, Medicaid in California will pay a provider to provide tribal prayers? I looked all this up.
BLANCHE: I mean, I'll accept that. I didn't know that, but, yes.
KENNEDY: That California will actually pay a healthcare provider, I didn't know this from some medical expertise, to pay for exorcisms, is that right?
BLANCHE: I'll accept that, Senator, but that's --
KENNEDY: They pay -- the California Medicaid program will pay for herbal medicines, meal deliveries. [10:05:01]
They'll pay for housing. I don't know what housing has to do with healthcare. Is that correct?
BLANCHE: Yes.
KENNEDY: Were you aware that the Medicaid program using federal money, taxpayer money, will pay for an in-home chef?
BLANCHE: Yes.
KENNEDY: Okay.
BLANCHE: If it's a family member, yes.
KENNEDY: Yes, they'll even pay for gymnasium fees through Medicaid in California. They'll pay for bicycles, scooters, gym memberships. Did you know that?
BLANCHE: Yes, several states do, but California does for sure.
KENNEDY: They'll even repay your student loans. Were you aware of that?
BLANCHE: I was not aware of the student loans repay.
KENNEDY: Yes. Yes, they'll repay somebody's student loans to encourage them to become a healthcare provider.
I mean, California, they're just setting all kind of records. These folks are -- they're wild people. They -- California's got 12 percent of the population. In the last ten years, they're responsible for half of these so-called new health providers to provide exorcisms and other things.
Now, what the hell are we doing about it? Why has this gone on for so long?
BLANCHE: Senator, listen, it's a great question. And what you just described are programs that are allowed under the program. You have a whole other issue in California where a lot of these folks are just stealing the money, not even running it through for exorcism --
KENNEDY: They're thieves, aren't they?
BLANCHE: They're thieves, correct. Correct.
KENNEDY: And California just watches it happen, don't they? Not everybody in California. The government does though, doesn't it?
BLANCHE: Well, that's the challenge in a lot of states is that we don't have a state government which we -- you all have entrusted to run these programs and take care of the money that you all give them. There's state structures that, that absolutely do not do any compliance, and they don't do their job and -- KENNEDY: Because they don't have no incentive to. They're getting free money. Isn't that right?
BLANCHE: Yes, I think so. Yes.
KENNEDY: We got to change this, General.
BLANCHE: We're trying. I call this a slush fund. If you want to talk about slush fund, this is a tier one slush fund that's been going on for years and years and years. Billions and hundreds of billions of dollars is stolen.
BLANCHE: Yes, Senator, and that's why, look, this department stood up a whole new fraud division, and AUSAs around the country prosecute fraud every day. So, it's not as if we weren't -- we didn't have the work out there. But it's so systematically taking money from the American taxpayer that we very much believe that it needs its own standup structure, and I think it's true for the reasons that you just said.
KENNEDY: If you need an exorcism, you can go to California camp.
BLANCHE: Thank you, Senator.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Thank you, Chairman Moran, Ranking Member Van Hollen. Thank you, Acting Attorney General Blanche for appearing before us today. I want to talk about some areas where I think we're making progress and we can work together, and then raise some real concerns I have.
I do think it's worth recognizing the hard work of the men and women of the department, and the progress you're making on combating fentanyl and violent crime. I've long been involved in criminal justice reform talked with and worked with your predecessor on this. I was pleased to see the president's message during Second Chance Month where he said he wants to ensure those who take responsibility and seek to rebuild their lives have a chance to succeed.
Senator Lee and I have a bill called the Safer Supervision Act that's co-sponsored by Senators Tillis, and Wicker, Cramer, and Lankford. It's got strong law enforcement and conservative support, and it fits squarely in that framework.
Currently, federal supervision is imposed in nearly every case, leading to badly overworked federal probation officers who then can't properly supervise --
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is on assignment. You're in The Situation Room.
We're following the breaking news of this Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, answering questions, especially some tough questions from Democratic members, including Chris Coons. I want to bring in CNN's Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid. She's monitoring the hearing up on Capitol Hill. So, what are we learning so far from this hearing? Because sensitive subjects are clearly either coming up or already have come up.
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Wolf. This is Todd Blanche's first appearance before lawmakers since taking the reins at the Justice Department. And while this is a standard budget hearing, it was expected that a lot of the questions would be focused on what Blanche announced yesterday, this nearly $2 billion fund for anyone who believes that they have been wrongly targeted by federal investigators to apply for a monetary award and/or an apology.
Now, it was very much expected that he would face tough questions from Democrats, but I will note that the hearing kicked off with Republican Senator Susan Collins.
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She really pressed him on the precedent for this fund. She had a lot of concerns about oversight. It was a pretty civil exchange, but then he was grilled by Democratic Senator Van Hollen.
Let's take a listen to some of that exchange.
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VAN HOLLEN: Attorney General, this is an outrageous, unprecedented slush fund that you've set up. Simple question, will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?
BLANCHE: Well, as it makes plain, anybody --
VAN HOLLEN: Will they be -- just let me know if they're eligible for the fund.
BLANCHE: As was made plain yesterday, anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they're a victim of --
VAN HOLLEN: Mr. Attorney General, let me ask you this, are there going to be rules that say that if you've assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer or committed a violent crime, you will not be eligible? Why not make that a rule?
BLANCHE: I expect that the -- well, because I'm not one of the commissioners setting up the rules, I expect --
VAN HOLLEN: But you're appointing four of the five members, aren't you, Mr. Attorney General?
BLANCHE: Pardon me?
VAN HOLLEN: You're appointing four of the five members.
BLANCHE: I am appointing all five members. VAN HOLLEN: You can certainly set up the rules. I would hope you would make a rule that anyone convicted of assaulting a police officer of violent crime is simply not eligible. They should not apply.
BLANCHE: Well --
VAN HOLLEN: let me ask you this, because you compared it to the Keepseagle case, but I think you know full well that in that case, the settlement agreement was approved by a federal judge, including the payments to people who were not originally parties to the lawsuit.
No federal judge has approved this fund, have they, Mr. Attorney General?
BLANCHE: No. No federal judge did approve this.
VAN HOLLEN: So, that's a big difference between this case and the case that you compared it to?
BLANCHE: No, it's not.
VAN HOLLEN: did a judge sign off on this case?
BLANCHE: No.
VAN HOLLEN: A judge did sign off on the other one?
BLANCHE: Yes, but your question was whether it's a big difference. It's not.
VAN HOLLEN: Of course it is, because that allows for an independent person to look at it, rather than the --
BLANCHE: There was no independence. There was no independence. There was a single commissioner. A judge signed off on it. A judge had nothing to do with dividing the money.
VAN HOLLEN: There was a judge who looked at it and signed off on it. So, to compare that case to this one is incredibly deceptive.
Let me ask you this --
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REID: All right, a lot to unpack there. First of all, the acting attorney general really dodged the question of whether anyone would not qualify for some funds if they make a claim. Specifically, he was asked about individuals who had assaulted police officers on January 6th.
He also sort of obfuscated on who exactly oversees this fund, because there's not a lot of oversight outside of the Justice Department for this fund. The attorney general selects five members to oversee it. They're volunteers. One of those members will be selected in cooperation -- BLITZER: Paula, I just want to interrupt for a moment. Chris Coons, the Democratic senator, is asking some tough questions to the attorney -- acting attorney general, Todd Blanche. Let's listen in.
BLANCHE: That's true. It wasn't the case -- the underlying case is not the same. The structure of the commission is the same as the Keepseagle Commission.
COONS: Has it ever happened that a sitting president sued his own government for $10 billion and then directed the settlement of the case and the establishment of a payout fund?
BLANCHE: Not that I'm aware, but there's a lot of things that President Trump's the first of. No president had been indicted one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight times either.
COONS: Correct, no president's been indicted. And will you commit that none of this money will go to President Trump's campaign donors?
BLANCHE: I am not committing to anything beyond the settlement agreement itself, when you say campaign donors, that they are not excluded from seeking compensation if they were weaponized.
COONS: Last question. During Police Week, I heard from a number of law enforcement friends who found it appalling that there was the possibility that folks like the peace -- the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, who had assaulted Capitol Police officers, could receive multimillion-dollar payouts from this fund. Will you commit that no one who has been convicted of assaulting a police officer will receive a payout from this fund?
BLANCHE: So, I share the concerns that apparently members of law enforcement gave to you last week, although none of this was announced last week, so that's surprising. But I accept that --
COONS: They had heard rumors there would be a settlement fund.
BLANCHE: Okay. But anybody can apply. The commission will set -- the commissioners will set rules, I'm sure. That's not for me to set, that's for the commissioners. And whether an individual, an Oath Keeper, as you just mentioned, applies for compensation is -- anybody in this country can apply.
COONS: Well, we'll be watching this very closely as this goes forward. I don't think the settlement fund should be set up this way or for these purposes. I appreciate your answers today. Thank you, Mr. Attorney General.
BLANCHE: Thank you.
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Attorney General, thank you for being here this morning and responding to our questions.
I want to follow on a couple that have been asked with regards to the Department of Justice's state and local law enforcement programs, $1.2 billion in proposed cuts.
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We're looking at it very carefully because many of these grants and programs have significant impact on our state, small population, large area to deal with. The budget also calls for consolidation of the office of violence against women, the community-oriented policing services and the OJP programs.
Is the Office of Tribal Justice one of the offices that are also intended to be consolidated?
BLANCHE: No, we're just consolidating the grant component, so OJP cops, and then -- and, by the way, we're not combining them. We're just making them more efficient. So, they will still maintain their own independence and brand, for lack of a better word. But what we heard from --
BLITZER: All right, we're going to continue to monitor this Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, answering some tough questions on a variety of issues. We'll stay on top of it. We'll take a quick break. Much more right after this.
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BLITZER: We're going to continue to monitor the breaking news, the testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee by the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche. We'll stay on top of that. We'll monitor it, but there's other important breaking news happening right now as well.
The security guard killed in that deadly shooting rampage at San Diego's largest mosque has been identified as this man, Amin Abdullah, the father of eight, is one of three people killed. Authorities are investigating it as a hate crime.
The suspects, two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, are also dead. Police say they were found inside a car near the scene in what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds. A school on the mosque grounds was full of children at the time of the attack. Here is how a nine-year-old boy described the terrifying moments the gunshots rang out.
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ODAI SHANAH, STUDENT AT ISLAMIC CENTER OF SAN DIEGO: I felt a bit scared. My legs were shaking and my hands, and my head was like hurting me a lot. I felt like a rock.
I heard like a bunch of bad stuff, like gunshots, and plus I went inside the closet with my whole class. We heard like 12 or like 16 gunshots, and then the SWAT team said, FBI, open up, and they opened the door, and they went inside.
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BLITZER: Fortunately, no children or teachers were killed in the attack. And this morning, police are crediting Amin Abdullah's heroic actions for saving lives.
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SAM HAMIDEH, FRIEND OF SECURITY GUARD KILLED IN MOSQUE SHOOTING: I truly know in my heart from knowing that man that he was sacrificing his life, and took that bullet knowing that, I rather take it than the kids. And that is what makes me emotional.
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BLITZER: CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah is on the scene for us, has been in San Diego. Kyung, authorities say they're investigating this attack as a hate crime. Tell us why.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: They are treating it as a hate crime. They are going to investigate it as such, in large part because they're zeroing in on the 17-year-old suspect and everything they've been able to collect so far.
So, what do we know about him? He's 17-year-old Cain Clark. He actually lives nearby, not far away from this mosque. And we have learned that he was enrolled in an online school, but this was only recently. He had gone to a traditional school in 2024 and 2025. He had wrestled, you know, like any other kid involved in sports. He was on track to graduate. He did not have any major disciplinary issues. And Clark's teammate on that wrestling team said that he had never heard him say anything racist or share any overt views that might, you know, call him out as being Islamophobic.
So, all of this is adding up to a very mixed and confusing picture. And then came the call from Clark's mother just two hours before this active shooting yesterday. I want you to listen to how the police chief described this call went.
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CHIEF SCOTT WAHL, SAN DIEGO POLICE: She believed her son was suicidal, and she began to share information that several of her weapons were missing. Her vehicle was missing, in addition to her son. She also said that she was -- her son was with a companion, and that they were dressed in camo.
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LAH: And the police chief said there wasn't a specific threat to any particular school or any mosque, that it was just a generalized threat and concern that this young man could act out in some way with that 18-year-old companion. And so they did reach out to the school. They did try to find him, but then that shooting started to take place.
And so a lot of this is going to focus now on what happened, Wolf, what happened with that 17-year-old that would cause him to do this. We did have our CNN producer, Scott Glover, did reach out to the grandparents who said that they were simply stunned that this happened to their grandson. Wolf?
BLITZER: The suspect's mother, Kyung, contacted authorities hours before the attack.
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She said he was suicidal with -- and was with another person at the time. Do we know how the two attackers were connected?
LAH: At this point, we don't. It's a little hard to discern from what the police chief was saying, Wolf, on the exact relationship. It definitely seems like they did have one, that they were in contact, and especially because they were dressed in camo together. That's about as specific as we're getting on what this relationship was, and that is something that is certainly going to be a large part of the investigation today.
BLITZER: Kyung Lah on the scene for us, we'll stay in very close touch with you. Thank you very much.
This deadly attack comes as reports of Islamophobic incidents are clearly rising across the country. The Council on American Islamic Relations says complaints of anti-Muslim discrimination have spiked since the war in Gaza began. More than 8,600 complaints were filed last year alone. That's the highest number ever recorded since the group started tracking these cases 30 years ago. We'll stay on top of this story.
And still ahead, other important news we're following. It's primary day for several key states, but one of the most watched races is in Kentucky. That's where we find our Jeff Zeleny. Jeff?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is one of the most expensive House primary races in U.S. history. More than $32 million has been spent on a Republican primary. President Trump and the White House are fixated on trying to unseat Congressman Thomas Massie. Voters in Kentucky today are going to the polls as we speak. We'll have more next.
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