Donald Trump’s refusal to officially end a hugely controversial agreement giving him broad tax immunity and creating a $1.8bn slush fund underscored how the US president’s own self-interest takes precedence above all else in his government.
For weeks, Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, has said that the slush fund portion of the agreement was dead. And for a few brief hours on Wednesday, it seemed that the president might agree to a relatively modest request from two Republican senators to put in writing that there were certain limits on an extraordinary tax immunity deal. After all, it seemed like a small price to pay in exchange for getting Blanche, a staunch Trump loyalist who previously served as his personal lawyer, confirmed permanently as the US attorney general.
