Acting US Attorney Todd Blanche described the fund as a “legal operation for victims of legal warfare and weaponization” allegedly implemented by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) during the Biden administration “to listen to them and seek redress.”
However, House Judiciary Committee Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) Named The settlement is “pure fraud and highway robbery,” noting that Trump supervises the agency that agreed to the settlement with him.
“No president can fabricate a phony case for $10 billion in damages against the government so he can be plaintiff and defendant and then settle his phony case against himself as judge,” Raskin said.
He added: “This case is nothing more than a shakedown designed to take $1.7 billion in taxpayer dollars from the treasury and pour it into Trump’s massive fund at the Department of Justice to distribute to his private militia of insurrectionists, rioters, and white supremacists, including those who brutally beat police officers on January 6, 2021, and sycophantic accomplices in his schemes to steal the election.”
The Democratic lawmakers’ amicus filing seeks to block the settlement, which could use taxpayer money to compensate pro-Trump figures like the nearly 1,600 Capitol insurrection defendants charged or convicted of crimes related to the Capitol attack, including seditious conspiracy, assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon, and other felonies.
“Trump filing a lawsuit against the IRS was never about fairness, it’s another self-enrichment scheme at the expense of hard-working taxpayers,” House Ways and Means Committee member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said Monday.
“Now, with the court set to hear it just days from now, Trump is scrambling to cut a deal behind the scenes and cement his position as judge, jury and executioner,” Neal added. “Reports detailing Trump’s interest in a $1 billion slush fund for J6 criminals and permanent immunity from further IRS scrutiny only deepen the stench of corruption.”
“It is against the law for the president to actually sue himself — and then accept a huge sum,” Matt Platkin and Norm Eisen, attorneys representing the Democrats, said Monday. “The court has the authority to put a stop to these shenanigans and must do so.”
Trump was accused of rewarding political violence when he granted a blanket pardon to the January 6 insurrectionists on his first day in the White House. According to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, dozens of pardoned or convicted Capitol attackers have since been charged with serious crimes, including child sex crimes, rape, grand larceny, burglary, home invasions, weapons violations, death threats against government officials, and fatal drunk driving crashes.
The president and other MAGA figures accused the Biden administration of “weaponizing” the Justice Department against Trump and his supporters. At the same time, Trump targeted political opponents; Federal officials involved in investigating and prosecuting him for alleged election interference and mishandling of classified documents; Pro-Palestine activists; Universities and companies resisting his anti-diversity, equity and inclusion campaign; journalists; Civil society groups; And others.
Progressive advocacy groups and legal experts joined Democratic lawmakers in condemning Trump’s settlement.
“Donald Trump and his Justice Department created a slush fund to pay off Trump supporters and associates,” Public Citizen co-presidents Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman said in a statement. statement. “This scheme amounts to the creation of the January 6 Payments Fund.”
“While Americans suffer from rising costs fueled by his economic mismanagement and the war with Iran, Donald Trump is teaching a masterclass in graft,” said Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and public affairs at Stand Up America.
“He negotiated with himself to create a $1.7 billion tax fund with no oversight, no transparency, and no accountability,” Edkins continued. “In simple terms, Trump is stealing $1.7 billion in taxpayer money to distribute to himself, his cronies, his donors, or anyone he deems sufficiently loyal — including supporters who were convicted by juries of assaulting police officers on January 6, 2021.”
He added: “This is truly unprecedented corruption, and American taxpayers will foot the bill.”
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