“Tens of millions of Americans” who were allegedly targeted by the government for “improper and unlawful” reasons may qualify for payouts from President Donald Trump’s new $1.8 billion fund, the Department of Justice said.
The fund is part of a sweeping settlement between Trump, the Trump Organization and the federal government, resolving the president’s unprecedented $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns.
Under the agreement, the government is permanently barred from pursuing IRS-related claims against Trump, his family, or his businesses. It also creates a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, which lawmakers from both parties have criticized as a “slush fund” for Trump’s allies. Multiple legal experts have described the arrangement as blatantly corrupt.
While much remains unknown about the process, the applicant pool is expected to be massive, according to a DOJ memo sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday and obtained by multiple news outlets.
“This is about seeking accountability for all Americans who were victims of lawfare and weaponization: millions of Americans whose online speech was censored at the behest of the government, parents silenced at schoolboards, Senators whose records were secretly subpoenaed, churchgoers targeted by the FBI, and so on,” the document said.
The department said participation will be voluntary and not limited by party affiliation, noting: “Democrats can submit claims, too.”
To determine who will receive payments, the attorney general will appoint a five-member panel to develop application guidelines and review claims on a case-by-case basis. So far nobody has been appointed.
“The Commissioners must consider a claimant’s personal conduct and character when making a determination,” the DOJ said.
Specifically, a record of violent behavior will be taken into consideration, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN on Wednesday. However, he added: “Just to be clear, people that hurt police get money all the time.”
Blanche has also said that Trump and his family are not eligible, but he has not ruled out payments to the president’s allies and donors, prompting questions about the process and its potential beneficiaries.
The money — $1,776,000,000 — will be taken from the judgment fund, which is an indefinite appropriation used to pay out court judgments and settlements.
The department said the arrangement is not without precedent, citing the Obama administration’s creation of a $680 million fund to compensate Native American farmers who alleged discrimination by the Department of Agriculture.
This precedent has done little to quiet critics, including some within the president’s own party, who have raised concerns about January 6 rioters and other Trump allies receiving taxpayer-funded payouts.
“So the nation’s top law-enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong — take your pick,” Senator Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and former majority leader, said in a statement.
“People are concerned about paying their mortgage or rent, affording groceries and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund for the President and his allies to pay whomever they wish with no legal precedent or accountability,” Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, wrote on X. “This is adding to our national debt. If there needs to be a settlement, the administration should bring it to Congress to decide.”
Democrats have pledged to fight tooth and nail against the fund.
“We’ll do everything we can to stop this slush fund, whether it’s in the courts, whether it’s legislative,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, told The Wall Street Journal.
Others have voiced support for the “anti-weaponization” measure, saying it is necessary to correct past wrongs.
“We lost everything over J6,” one woman wrote on X, describing how her husband’s role in the riot derailed his career and led to their isolation from society. “It’s time for restitution. Every ruined life, every traumatized child, and every stolen year demands full accountability and fair compensation.”
On his first day back in office, Trump granted blanket clemency to people — about 1,600 — convicted or awaiting trial for offenses related to the Capitol riot.
Alongside broad criticism from lawmakers, legal experts told The Independent this week that the president’s new fund likely runs afoul of the law.
“I think there’s a powerful argument that the slush fund has no legal authorization [and] doesn’t fall within the existing open appropriation for payments of settlements,” UC Berkeley Law professor Brian Galle, a former federal prosecutor with the Justice Department’s Tax Division, said.
“I think you are creating legal risk for yourself, and because that particular prohibition carries criminal penalties,” he added. “I think anybody who’s going to cut that check or sign that check should probably talk to a lawyer.”
