The administration of US President Donald Trump has created a nearly $1.8 billion fund to settle claims that the Justice Department improperly targeted his political allies. This move comes in exchange for the president voluntarily dismissing his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Anti-Weaponisation Fund
The settlement establishes an "Anti-Weaponisation Fund" designed to pay out legal claims to individuals who can demonstrate they suffered "weaponisation" by the US government. The Justice Department stated that there are no partisan requirements to file a claim, though the term "weaponisation" has frequently been used by Trump and his allies to describe criminal cases against them, including those involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Acting Attorney General's Statement
"The machinery of government should never be weaponised 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. Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump who defended him in three criminal cases, will appoint four of the five members of the commission that will decide the merits of the claims.
Background of the Lawsuit
Trump, along with his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organisation, sued the IRS, arguing that the agency should have done more to prevent a former contractor from disclosing their tax returns to the media during the president's first term. These returns, reported by the New York Times in 2020, showed that Trump paid little income taxes in many years. Trump filed the lawsuit personally, not in his capacity as president.
