‘Outright theft’: legal experts decry $1.8bn Trump anti-weaponization fund
Summary
The Justice Department under President Donald Trump created a $1.776 billion fund to pay people who claim they were unfairly targeted by government actions, called “lawfare.” Critics say the fund lacks transparency, may help January 6 insurrectionists, and blocks IRS tax investigations into Trump and his family. Courts have temporarily blocked the fund, and legal experts are challenging its legality.Key Facts
- The fund was announced on May 18 to settle a $10 billion lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS about leaking his tax returns.
- The fund is meant to compensate alleged victims of “lawfare,” a term for using legal actions to damage political opponents.
- Critics, including former Department of Justice officials and legal scholars, call the fund corrupt and a political payoff for Trump supporters.
- A special addendum to the fund prevents the IRS from continuing tax investigations into Trump and his family.
- A bipartisan group of 35 former federal judges asked a Miami judge to reopen Trump’s lawsuit and investigate possible fraud related to the fund.
- The Miami judge reopened the case on May 29 to examine whether the court was misled during the lawsuit settlement.
- A Virginia federal judge temporarily blocked fund payments until a hearing scheduled for June 12.
- President Trump said he will comply with court rulings and noted the court has currently stopped the fund.
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