New Limits on Trump’s I.R.S. Deal, and Prosecutors Say Reflecting Pool Work Was ‘Botched’

**Tracy Mumford** (0:00)
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Pay testimonials. Results may vary. From the New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Monday, August 3rd. Here's what we're covering.
To start, two updates on the Trump administration. Last night, Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, confirmed in writing that the Justice Department will abandon some elements of a highly controversial deal it reached with President Trump earlier this year. The deal, which came out of a lawsuit Trump filed against the federal government for a leak of his tax returns, included two elements, sweeping immunity from IRS audits, and a $1.8 billion pool of money to pay people the administration claimed were unfairly persecuted by the government. That fund, in particular, fueled bi-partisan outrage with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling it a slush fund for Trump allies.

**SPEAKER_5** (1:29)
What we're talking about is nothing short of the sitting president of the United States looting from the Treasury for his own gain.

**Tracy Mumford** (1:37)
Blanche's involvement in this deal had threatened to sink his chances of being officially confirmed as Attorney General, with key Republicans threatening to withhold their votes over it.
Even though Blanche had already walked back the plan for the fund, the holdout senators demanded that he kill it, formally, in writing. They also wanted him to narrow the scope of the IRS immunity agreement. In orders that Blanche posted online last night, he did both, which could clear the way for a vote on his nomination in a Senate committee tomorrow. Still, when it comes to the audit deal, the narrower agreement between the president and the Justice Department remains unprecedented and possibly illegal. It requires the government to abandon any audits of past tax returns from Trump, his two older sons, and the Trump Organization, which could potentially save them a hundred million dollars in IRS penalties.
And in a dramatic reversal, federal prosecutors who claimed for weeks that the reflecting pool in DC had been vandalized, now say the damage was caused by contractors hired by the Trump Administration. Earlier this year, the Interior Department gave a no-bid contract to a small firm to help overhaul the pool, with Trump initially saying he personally chose the company because it had done some work at one of his golf clubs. Soon there were signs of trouble, with bubbles and holes appearing in the new blue coating at the bottom of the pool.
Trump started claiming left-wing criminals had slashed the coating with knives, and the Interior Department said quote, deranged vandals were to blame. Eventually, seven people were arrested, including one former Olympic athlete who was facing up to ten years in prison. But prosecutors now say they're moving to drop the charges against him, and that the damage was all a result of a flawed, rushed installation job. They also said their office had been misled by the Interior Department. It's not immediately clear what will happen to the rest of the people facing vandalism charges. On social media, Trump made clear he was unhappy with the reversal from prosecutors and doubled down on his accusations, writing quote, There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by vandals.
In Ceuta, the Spanish enclave at the northern tip of Morocco, the immediate crisis set off by a huge influx of migrants has eased, but a lot of unanswered questions remain. Late last week, at least 50,000 people, most of whom were young Moroccan men, rushed into the small Spanish territory. The scene was chaotic, with migrants risking their lives, some swimming to get there. At least 72 people died, according to the Spanish government. Now, most have left, going back to Morocco, after being pushed back by authorities or leaving on their own when they realized there was no food, water or anywhere for them to stay. There are still questions, though, about what set off the surge in the first place. Far-right leaders across Europe, as well as the White House, accused Spain's prime minister of inspiring the crossings by promoting migrant-friendly policies. Spain's prime minister has pushed back on that, though, saying migrants were misled by disinformation. And some of the migrants themselves told the Times that Moroccan authorities had encouraged them to cross. An opportunity they felt they couldn't turn down.