Chump's slush fund. David Horsey (SEATTLE TIMES) points out, "The Justice Department was virtually certain to prevail over Trump’s weak case, but, instead of going for the win before a judge, Blanche helpfully decided to just give Trump close to $2 billion of taxpayer money." US House Rep Jamie Raskin announced in THE NEW YORK TIMES, "This week I introduced legislation to put a stop to this. It would bar the federal government from paying out monetary settlements to sitting presidents. It would also prohibit settlement payments for claims involving investigations or prosecutions related to Jan. 6 or foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election." But will it be enough to stop the corruption of Chump?
So much is wrong about the slush fund. For those new to it, Patrick Reis and Ian Prasad Philbrick (SLATE's THE SURGE) review:
Last week, the Surge explained the sordid tale of Trump suing the IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns, noting that the door was open to some sort of ridiculous settlement in which the president’s Department of Justice lackeys would shovel money to Trump and his allies. And wow did they waltz right through that open door.
This week, Trump (the administration) settled with Trump (the person), with the latter getting an apology and the former agreeing not to audit any of Trump’s past returns. Somehow more egregiously, the government is setting up a $1.776 billion fund (get it? Like the year 1776!) for “victims of lawfare and weaponization”—the administration’s term for people investigated or prosecuted for, you know, breaking a lot of laws during Trump’s first term and during Joe Biden’s. So who gets the cash? Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche gets to establish a five-member commission to decide who gets to feed from the trough. We don’t yet know to whom exactly the money will flow, but we do know when the flow will stop: The fund expires in December 2028, about a month before Trump’s term ends.
Across the political spectrum, people are aghast over the illegal move to create this slush fund. Patrick Martin (WSWS) offers this take:
The fund—approved by the Trump White House and the Trump Justice Department in negotiations conducted between Trump and his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General—is an act of presidential usurpation of congressional authority without precedent in American history.
Trump agreed to drop his bogus $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service for supposed negligence in the leak of his tax returns to the New York Times. In exchange, Blanche—who takes his orders from Trump and hopes to remove the “acting” from his title—agreed to set aside $1.776 billion in US government funds to pay compensation to individuals claiming to have been unfairly investigated or prosecuted by the administration of Democrat Joe Biden.
The establishment of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” through the actions of the executive branch alone is a direct and brazen violation of the US Constitution. Article I, establishing Congress as the primary branch of government, declares: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law,” thus vesting the spending power in Congress, not the president.
A second feature of the Trump-Blanche deal is a one-page addendum, released by the Justice Department Wednesday, which, in the all-caps style favored by Trump in his incessant social media posts, “RELEASES, WAIVES, ACQUITS, and FOREVER DISCHARGES” Trump, his sons and his business entities from claims that “have been or could have been asserted” by federal defendants or “other agencies or departments.” This would include suppressing all ongoing reviews of their tax returns, which have become a byword for deception and fraud.
This addendum comes just short of two years since the US Supreme Court, in its notorious decision in Trump v. United States, held that Trump—and by extension any president—was immune from prosecution for any action he took, no matter how criminal, in the course of exercising his powers as chief of the executive branch.
In effect, Trump has now been immunized both for his public actions and his private actions.
Todd Blanche has demonstrated that he's incapable of being acting attorney general because he doesn't understand the law. Sabrina Haake outlines the wrongfulness with regards to Chump's attorney Todd Blanche and how he has distorted and broken the law with this slush fund
Because Blanche served as Trump’s personal criminal lawyer prior to assuming the AG role, he explicitly swore during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would recuse himself from any case relating to Trump personally, if advised to do so by government ethics lawyers. Blanche was, in fact, advised to recuse by government ethics lawyers, who presented Blanche a PowerPoint presentation on DOJ ethics that explicitly detailed his recusal requirement.
Blanche did not recuse. Instead he fired the lawyer who so advised him, and continued representing the DOJ in Trump’s personal lawsuit seeking a preposterous $10 billion from the IRS. Trump filed the suit in his personal capacity, after a contracted IRS employee embarrassed him by revealing that Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, and paid zero in federal income taxes for ten years before that.
Blanche, who is legally required to represent the public interest on behalf of the federal government, engineered Trump’s $1.8 billion theft of the U.S. treasury before a judge could stop it.
Trump filed his IRS complaint in January 2026. By April, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams had expressed obvious doubts about the merits of the case because Trump was both plaintiff and defendant. If a party sits on both sides of lawsuit, there’s no real case in controversy as required under Article III of the Constitution, and the court lacks jurisdiction to even hear the case. Seeing the obvious flaw, Judge Williams ordered both parties to file legal briefs addressing “whether a case and controversy” even existed by May 20.
Instead of submitting legally vacuous arguments, Blanche sought formal dismissal of the complaint, which was granted. Blanche then announced the “anti-weaponization fund” to “settle” a case that had already been dismissed on his request. It is important to understand that after a case is formally dismissed, there’s nothing left to settle. The court did not approve the ‘settlement,’ having never acceded to jurisdiction over the claim in the first place.
The $1.776 billion “resolution” was not authorized by any statute either. Blanche claims that 31 U.S.C. § 1304authorizes it, but the Judgment Fund is statutorily limited to paying legal settlements and judgments against the United States, which this was not, because there was no case in controversy, no jurisdiction, the complaint was dismissed with prejudice, there was no judgment, and no “settlement” was approved by any court. The $1.8 billion fund is simply untethered from the law or case, Blanche’s own legal invention to hold open the treasury cookie jar while Trump dug deep.
The deal Blanche approved in Trump’s IRS lawsuit also granted Trump Audit Immunity through a highly controversial addendum that forever seals and ends any IRS investigation or audit into Trump, his family members, and his businesses. Blanche signed the addendum on behalf of the citizens whose interests he is supposed to represent.
Blanche is licensed to practice law in New York. All practicing lawyers, including those employed by the government, are bound by ethics rules, standards, and commitments. Under the American Bar Association’s model Rules, a lawyer cannot assist a client in breaking the law, nor can they advise a client how to commit a crime or fraud with impunity. They can explain legal consequences, including the scope and application of laws, but they cannot help their client get around them.
In pursuing money on behalf of a former client at the expense of a current client, Blanche is not only violating long-standing conflict of interest rules, he is also concocting another violation of the 14th Amendment. Blanche is obviously planning illegal payments to white supremacists and J6 insurrectionists who attacked the US capital. When asked to deny that plan, Blanche refused, repeatedly.
The 14th Amendment could not be any clearer that the US shall not “assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States…” but Blanche appears to be helping Trump get around it. The only reason to openly violate the 14th Amendment by paying J6 insurrectionists up to $1 million each is to reward them and publicly inspire others to do it again at Trump’s behest. Blanche not only helped Trump break the law with this IRS heist, but also seems to be paving the way for Trump’s future criminality.
A lawsuit was filed mid-week. Nia Prater (NEW YORK) notes:
It also gave rapid rise to legal challenges. On Wednesday, officers who fended off rioters on January 6 filed the first lawsuit to block the fund. And 93 House Democrats, represented by former New Jersey attorney general Matt Platkin and his firm, Platkin LLP, filed an amicus brief challenging the settlement as unconstitutional. But will this be enough to block payments from going out? I spoke with Platkin about the legal recourse to the Trump administration’s brazen new plan.
You are representing 93 House Democrats in a brief challenging the settlement, arguing that the lawsuit runs afoul of Article III of the U.S. Constitution and that Trump’s “blatant self-dealing makes this matter a collusive suit.” Could you walk me through your position?
For
people to get into court, there has to be an actual conflict between
them. They actually have to disagree. Like, you can’t call somebody up
and say, “Hey, I’m going to sue you. You’re going to settle this. Let’s
go in and do it together and it’ll sort of work out for everyone.” That’s
a collusive suit, which is illegal under our Constitution. So, in order
for a court to have jurisdiction, there has to be actual adversity and,
without that actual adversity, the Department of Justice can’t just
settle a suit.
That prevents you from doing exactly what the president did, essentially somebody in a position of power or with connections calling up the government and saying, “Hey, I want you to pay me. I want you to do something. I’ll just sue you, you’ll settle it out, and we’ll be done.” That’s what happened here, and that’s why we weighed in. But the 93 members weighed in to say that the judge, even if they settled the case, could have asked some tough questions of the parties.
Allison Detzel (MS NOW) quotes legal analyst Andrew Weissmann who states, "I understand why people are concerned about how the money would be spent, but I really think it’s important for people to focus on this: The money should never be used at all in the first place." Because Chump and Blanche can't create a slush fund. Yes, the money shouldn't go to January 6ers but there is no money there to begin with. Congress is in charge of the purse. Congress has not created any funding for this slush fund. There's so much wrong with this.
And Dan Mangan and Kevin Breuninger (CNBC) note that two more cases were filed on Friday:
Two new lawsuits challenging the creation of the controversial $1.8 billion ’lawfare” fund by the Department of Justice were filed Friday in federal courts in Washington, D.C. and Virginia.
The civil complaints come as several members of Congress have introduced legislation to block the fund, and as President Donald Trump and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche have defended it.
The two suits say the so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was set up as part of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service, violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. One also alleges that it violates the U.S. Constitution, while the other says it violates the Freedom of Information Act.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Alex Padilla's office:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, moved to block the Trump Administration’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that would compensate or financially reward convicted January 6 insurrectionists. Padilla asked unanimous consent to pass his No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act — introduced with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on January 6 of this year, the fifth anniversary of the attack — which would prohibit federal funds to compensate or refund January 6 insurrectionists, including by barring the establishment of a victim compensation fund and by prohibiting the Justice Department from entering into settlement agreements. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) objected.
Earlier this week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a settlement creating a special $1.8 billion slush fund for President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to financially award his allies and supporters. This slush fund would ultimately give January 6 rioters – already pardoned by Trump and claiming government overreach – a way to attain taxpayer payouts along with other Trump allies, including Members of Congress, with no transparency or oversight.
“Now, the American people have seen a lot of egregious things since the day Donald Trump came down his golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce he was running for President,” said Senator Padilla. “But never before have we witnessed something this brazenly corrupt: An American President effectively suing and negotiating with himself to create a taxpayer-funded slush fund to funnel taxpayer money to friends and allies. This cannot be allowed to stand.”
In his remarks, Padilla highlighted statements from the Trump Administration that this slush fund is intended to pay out January 6 insurrectionists who claim government overreach. He provided examples of January 6 convicts who have clearly indicated their expectation of receiving egregious amounts of taxpayer dollars.
“January 6-ers being able to receive money from this fund isn’t some loophole or unintended consequence,” said Senator Padilla. “Ed Martin, the DOJ pardon attorney whose nomination to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia was rejected by this Senate, made it clear that this is the fund’s explicit purpose, publicly declaring last year ‘you’re damn right I want to pay J6ers.’ The leader of the Proud Boys says he expects a $2 to 5 million personal payout. Another January 6th convict told CNN he plans to make a claim for $30 million from the public treasury.”
The No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act would:
- Prohibit the use of federal funds to compensate prosecuted January 6 rioters, including by barring the establishment of a victim compensation fund and by prohibiting the Justice Department from entering into settlement agreements;
- Prohibit further refunds of restitution payments; and
- Authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the remaining restitution funds to the Architect of the Capitol.
“Now, the American people have seen a lot of egregious things since the day Donald Trump came down his golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce he was running for President,” continued Padilla. “But never before have we witnessed something this brazenly corrupt: An American President effectively suing and negotiating with himself to create a taxpayer-funded slush fund to funnel taxpayer money to friends and allies. This cannot be allowed to stand.”
Padilla highlighted statements from the Trump Administration that this slush fund is intended to pay out January 6 insurrectionists who claim government overreach. He provided examples of January 6 convicts who have openly indicated their expectation of receiving egregious amounts of taxpayer dollars.
Earlier this week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a settlement creating a special $1.8 billion slush fund for President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to financially award his allies and supporters. This slush fund would ultimately give January 6 rioters – already pardoned by Trump and claiming government overreach – a way to attain taxpayer payouts along with other Trump allies, including Members of Congress, with no transparency or oversight.
During Padilla’s remarks, Blanche was meeting with a group of Senate Republicans to defend this slush fund in the face of numerous Republican Senators’ criticism. Senator Padilla’s remarks highlighted several Republican Senators and former Vice President Mike Pence’s statements in opposition to this fund.
The violent mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, attempting to prevent the certification of the 2020 election results, caused roughly $3 million in damages to the Capitol building, injured more than 100 law enforcement officers, and threatened members and their staff. Damage to the building included widespread vandalism, ruined furniture, shattered glass, broken doors, defaced artwork, and the desecration of the halls of Congress. Convicted January 6 insurrectionists paid about $400,000 in court-ordered restitution to cover the damages they caused. The No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act would stop the ongoing refunds of fines that were paid as part of their convictions and prohibit use of federal funds to financially award them.
Video of Senator Padilla’s remarks is available here and below.
Mr. President,
This past January, on the 5th anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, I introduced the “No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act” because, as we know, one of the first things Donald Trump did when he returned to office, was to pardon every person convicted of crimes connected to the January 6th insurrection in 2021.
That’s right. Not just those accused of crimes. Those convicted in a court of law by a jury of their peers. But for Donald Trump, that abuse of the Constitution’s pardon powers was just the beginning.
And since then, there has been a concerted effort to keep going further.
To not only rewrite, to try to rewrite the history of that awful day – but to raid taxpayer funds to actually reward those who ransacked this Capitol.
Those who assaulted law enforcement officers.
Who called for the hanging of Vice President Pence along with members of Congress, and those who tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power.
And so sadly, it was not entirely surprising when, earlier this week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a corrupt settlement creating a special $1.8 billion slush fund for Donald Trump to reward his supporters – including the perpetrators of the January 6th attacks.
And January 6-ers being able to receive money from this fund isn’t some loophole or unintended consequence.
Let me cite a few people. Ed Martin, the DOJ pardon attorney whose nomination to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia was rejected by this Senate, that Ed Martin, made it clear that this fund’s explicit purpose, publicly declaring last year that QUOTE “you’re damn right I want to pay J6ers.” That’s Ed Martin.
The leader of the Proud Boys says he expects a $2 to 5 million personal payout. Another January 6th convict told CNN he plans to make a claim for $30 million from the public treasury.
And one other stated, quote “all J6ers will apply for restitution” from the Justice Department’s fund. “All of us…[I]t’s all over Twitter [and] our group chats.” End quote.
To be clear, “All of us” includes the many attackers who have since been convicted of crimes related to January 6 after they’ve been pardoned by the President who had been convicted of additional serious crimes. Including one man who tried to bribe a child he sexually abused to stay quiet with the promise of this exact kind of payout.
Now, the American people have seen a lot of egregious things since the day Donald Trump came down his golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce he was running for President.
But never, never have we witnessed something this brazenly corrupt: An American President effectively suing and negotiating with himself to create a taxpayer-funded slush fund to funnel taxpayer dollars to his friends and allies.
This cannot be allowed to stand, colleagues.
Now I’m encouraged hearing some of my Republican colleagues agreeing with me.
Beginning with Majority Leader Thune said he’s quote “not a big fan” of this slush fund.
Another Republican colleague saying, quote “People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent. We’re a nation of laws. If there needs to be a settlement, let’s consider it and Congress should come together and decide on that.”
A third Republican Senator said, quote “I’ve never heard of someone negotiating with themselves and making a plea bargain with themselves, so I think there’s no precedent for it.”
Finally, former Vice President Mike Pence himself, has said quote “It would be my hope that anyone who engaged in violence against law enforcement or at the Capitol building would never be rewarded with taxpayer money.”
Colleagues, this situation is so outlandish some may say that it’s laughable. But it’s not. What it is it’s urgent and it’s dangerous.
Because if the Republican majorities in Congress both from the Senate and the House let this happen, then in less than 60 days, $1.8 billion will be transferred from the Judgment Fund to this new slush fund which Congress will have no control and no oversight over.
Senate Democrats saw this coming months ago. But the time to stop it is now. Before it’s too late.
Which is why, today, I am bringing up my “No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act.”
Let’s stand up for congressional oversight as a unified Senate. Let’s pass this bill, and prevent corrupt payouts for before they happen.
And so I ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3582. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
Following an objection from Tuberville, Padilla responded below:
Mr. President, a couple days ago, I had the pleasure — not just the pleasure but the honor of meeting the students from California here in the California. So many schools from across the — as so many schools from across the country do, it is sometimes an annual trip to come see, not just a symbol of democracy, the home of Congress — where democracy is in action.
And these students, they’re smart. They keep up with the news to know what’s going on in our communities and in our state and in our nation. And knowing that sometimes our Democratic institutions are being stressed today, people can be discouraged.
And part of our job, I think, is to have them not lose faith in our system. It’s not always running perfect, but it is resilient, and we’re close to celebrating the 250th anniversary of the declaration of Independence, and we learn both from the steps forward our country has taken to be a more perfect union and learn from some of the less proud moments of our nation’s history, where we tend to always come out a little bit stronger.
And it comes to mind, it comes to heart in this moment after hearing once again these conspiracies and these lies from members of the Senate who should know better either to believe them or to regurgitate them and exacerbate them in this very debate.
The 2020 election was held. Countless lawsuits, both before, during, and after the election. Ballots were counted, ballots were being counted, ballots were being audited. It is clear who won the election. It is not some mass conspiracy to keep Donald Trump from having won that election.
January 6 happened. Don’t take my word for it. There’s plenty of video coverage. All types of news outlets saw the violence that day. It is undeniable.
The rule of law was followed. People who were accused of involvement on January 6 had their day in court. Maybe some were found innocent. Maybe some were found guilty of lesser charges. Many were convicted, found guilty because of the proof, because of the evidence, by juries of their peers.
Mr. President, Trump sent the message that if he came back into office, there would be pardons. He won the election. I can say it. It was not my choice in 2020. But he won the election. I’ll admit it.
And he made a promise to pardon those who were involved with the violence on January 6 in this Capitol. But I refuse to stand here and just let the administration and any Republican member of Congress in either house who agrees with him to set up this slush fund.
It is an offense, disrespectful to the American taxpayer, to our democracy, and to our constitution.
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The following sites -- plus Ann's "Grifter Todd Blanche's Justice Department" -- updated:
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Idiot of the Week23 hours ago
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The worthless Chump23 hours ago
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Chump is a very old man1 day ago
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