Justice Department Creates $1.776B Anti-Weaponization Fund After Trump Drops IRS Lawsuit

The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday that it was establishing a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” after President Donald Trump moved to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns.

The settlement resolves Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS and includes dropping “other claims of damages” tied to the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago and the Russian collusion scandal, in exchange for creating the fund.

ABC News

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department would set up “a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare,” and the fund was established ahead of court deadlines in the IRS case.

The DOJ said the fund will stop processing claims by Dec. 15, 2028, and the $1,776,000,000 available for the fund was based “upon the projected valuation of future claimants’ claims.”

Trump told reporters Monday that the fund was meant to reimburse “people that were horribly treated,” and he said he wasn’t involved in the fund’s creation.

When asked whether people who committed violence against Capitol Police officers should be eligible for compensation, Trump said “it’ll all be dependent on a committee being set up of very talented people, very highly respected people.”

AP News

House Democrats and government watchdogs derided the arrangement as corrupt and unconstitutional, with Rep. Jamie Raskin calling it “pure fraud and highway robbery.”

The AP reported that the fund would allow people who believe they were targeted for prosecution for political purposes, including by the Biden administration Justice Department, to apply for payouts, and it said the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns.

The Justice Department said the attorney general would appoint five members of the commission to oversee the fund, including one member to be chosen in consultation with congressional leadership, and Trump could remove any member.

“Justice Department announces a $1”

AP News

The BBC reported that the fund will be overseen by a five-member commission, with four appointed by the Attorney General and a fifth appointed “in consultation” with congressional leadership, and it said Trump’s plaintiffs would receive an apology but no monetary compensation.

The Guardian said the settlement money would be overseen by five commissioners, four of whom would be appointed by the attorney general and removable by Trump, and it described the fund as loosely controlled.

Critics also challenged the deal in court, with the BBC saying Monday’s settlement came two days before a 20 May deadline for both sides to address whether a legitimate legal dispute existed, given that Trump now oversees the IRS through his administration.