The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the "Anti-Weaponization Fund," a $1.7 billion fund to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies as part of a settlement agreement in a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by President Trump.
According to a court filing, President Trump, his two elder sons – Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump – and the Trump Organization have voluntarily moved to drop their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS.
In exchange for dropping the suit and withdrawing two administrative claims, including for damages resulting from the raid of Mar-a-Lago and the "Russia-collusion hoax," the DOJ has agreed to establish the "Anti-Weaponization Fund," using the taxpayer-funded DOJ Judgment Fund.
“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,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”
Details of the Fund's Function
Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News, which first reported the story prior to the filing’s release, that the fund will seek to compensate allies of President Trump who claim the Biden administration wrongfully targeted them.
The commission established to oversee the fund would have the complete authority to issue $1.776 billion from the “perpetual appropriation allowing DOJ to settle and pay cases” provided by the Treasury Department to settle claims brought by anyone who claims to have been a victim.
Among those the funds can serve are the nearly 1,600 individuals who were charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and entities associated with the President himself.
In a DOJ press release related to the matter, it asserts that there is legal precedent for the fund, citing the “Keepseagle” case during the Obama administration, in which the government established a $760 million fund to remedy “various claims alleging racism against the federal government over a period of decades.”
