On Monday, May 25, Trump backed off his recently announced creation of a $1.8 billion fund by the Justice Department that would send money to allies of President Donald Trump deemed to be “victims of lawfare and weaponization.” This comes after backlash from his own Republican party, which threatened to team up with Democrats to block the funding.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said it would be a “major victory” if the Trump administration “abandoned its illegal slush fund” but said they would continue challenging for the time being. “Until the administration fully abandons the scheme, it’s beyond dispute that it will not recur, and our clients’ harm is remedied, we will be in court challenging it,” she said. “We look forward to the government’s response to the courts and to our filings and to prevailing on behalf of our clients.”
The creation of the fund happened after President Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, LLC, filed suit against the Treasury and IRS in the Southern District of Florida federal court following the leak of their tax returns. Per the settlement, plain-tiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind.
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”
In a statement, the Justice Department cited a ruling blocking the fund on a temporary basis, saying it “disagrees strongly” but “will abide by the Court’s ruling.”
The federal judge issued an order temporarily blocking the DOJ from taking any further actions on the fund until the court fully assesses the arguments from both parties; it did not permanently block the fund. A hear-ing on the issue had been set for June 12.
“If Trump and Republicans are truly abandoning this corrupt scheme, they should have zero problem banning it in law,” Senator Chuck Schumer said. “This week, Senate Democrats will push legislation to ban this slush fund and ensure no president can ever do this again. Trump’s word is nowhere near enough.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune did not directly say whether Republicans would support a standalone bill to shut down the weaponization fund.
“I don’t know, but I do think that the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,” Thune said.
