Democrats unleashed sharp attacks on Tuesday, May 19, on a new $1.776 billion Justice Department fund, calling it a taxpayer giveaway to President Trump’s allies and even some January 6 defendants.
A few Republicans joined in the criticism, raising fresh questions about the unusual settlement that ended Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
The fund, named the Anti-Weaponization Fund, emerged from a quick settlement announced Monday. Trump and his family dropped their lawsuit over the 2019 leak of their tax returns.
In return, they got a formal apology from the government but no cash. The bigger prize was the creation of this new pot of money to pay people who say the Biden administration targeted them.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who once served as Trump’s personal lawyer, signed off on the deal.
The money comes from the federal Judgment Fund, which pays legal claims without needing new approval from Congress.
Anti-Weaponization Fund Sparks Anger on Capitol Hill
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said the settlement is a smart plan to ensure taxpayers’ money goes into individuals’ pockets.
“This case is nothing but a racket designed to take $1.7 billion of taxpayer dollars out of the Treasury and pour it into a huge slush fund,” he said.
Raskin warned the fund could go to “insurrectionists, rioters, and white supremacists” who took part in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Nearly 100 House Democrats filed court papers trying to block the fund. They called the whole arrangement unconstitutional self-dealing. One lawmaker after another described it as “corruption in plain sight” and “taxpayer theft.”
Other Democrats said the timing could not look worse, with many families still struggling with high food and gas prices.
“The very same Americans who are struggling with groceries and gas are now being forced to bankroll this billionaire’s legal shakedown and the enrichment of his family empire,” said Rep. Richie Neal (D-MA), top Democrat on the House Ways & Means Committee.
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Even some Republicans voiced concern, with Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who just lost his primary, calling the fund a “slush fund” with no clear legal precedent.
“It is as if somebody sued themselves and agreed upon a settlement with themselves that’s going to be funded by the rest of us,” he told reporters.
Cassidy added that voters on the campaign trail care more about paying their bills than creating new government payouts.
Lawyer Resigns
A top Treasury Department lawyer, Brian Morrissey, General Counsel, resigned over the deal, according to reports.
Watchdog groups also piled on. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called it “one of the single most corrupt acts in American history.”
The Justice Department officials said the fund aims to help Americans who faced unfair investigations or prosecutions. Any leftover money will go back to the government when the fund ends.
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Claims will be reviewed by a commission appointed by the attorney general. Trump himself said he had no direct hand in setting up the fund and would not receive money from it.
Still, the lack of detailed rules on who qualifies has fueled concerns, with critics noting that nothing in the agreement explicitly bars January 6 defendants from applying.
The fund operates only through the end of Trump’s term, and he can remove commission members.
The settlement also includes broader protections, whereby the U.S. is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons, and the Trump organization’s current tax issues, according to a one-page document posted to the Justice Department’s website Tuesday.
House Democrats say they will keep fighting in court and may push new legislation to require congressional approval for such funds.
