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The idea of this seems crazy and corrupt. How is this even being debated?
The fund is corrupt by design: a sitting president sued his own agencies, had his personal ex-lawyer settle the case on the government's behalf, paid himself $1.776 billion in taxpayer money, and permanently shielded his family from IRS audits — all without a vote of Congress.
Why it matters: It sets a template for a president to use the federal courts and Treasury as personal slush funds, bypassing the appropriations process entirely.
- Trump controls both sides of the lawsuit: as president, he directs the IRS and DOJ, so he was literally suing himself. Judge Kathleen Williams questioned whether a real legal dispute even existed — a requirement under Article III of the Constitution.
- His Acting AG, Todd Blanche, was Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer before joining the administration. Blanche signed the settlement on the government's side and now appoints 4 of the fund's 5 commissioners.
- The settlement permanently bars the IRS from auditing Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization — a direct financial benefit to the sitting president funded by taxpayers.
- The fund's definition of 'victims of weaponization' is broad enough to cover January 6 defendants, which is why Capitol Police officers are suing and why even Republican senators like McConnell called it 'morally wrong' and 'utterly stupid.'
- 35 retired federal judges called the settlement 'unprecedentedly fraudulent' and 'a fraud on the court'; 93 members of Congress filed a brief calling it unconstitutionally 'collusive' before it was finalized.
Room for disagreement
- The DOJ argues the fund is legal under the federal Judgment Fund statute, which allows the government to settle claims without a new appropriation — and that courts, not judges, should decide legality, not block the program on policy grounds.
- Some legal commentators note the underlying grievance (a contractor leaking private tax returns) was real and prosecuted; supporters say the settlement compensates genuine victims of a privacy breach, not political persecution.
AI-generated with web search — may be wrong. Check the linked sources.
