WASHINGTON—The Justice Department, under President Donald Trump, has recently announced that it is establishing a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement with Trump related to the dismissal of his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns.
If that sentence sounds confusing to you, or rather, like the president sued himself to then settle with himself to give himself and allies billions of taxpayer dollars, then you are not alone. Critics, including government officials and legal professionals, are railing against the DOJ’s move, calling the nearly $1.8 billion a “slush fund” aimed at lining the pockets of Trump’s allies, including those who attacked the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
An invalid lawsuit?
In a case filed in Miami federal court in early January, Trump, his two eldest sons, and his family business sued the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged leaks by former government employee Charles “Chaz” Littlejohn in 2019 and 2020 of their confidential tax information. The Trumps sought $10 billion in damages.
After filing the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the Trump family claimed that it was an effort by the president to continue “to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable.” Littlejohn is already serving a five-year sentence after having pleaded guilty in 2023 to the act.
A recent New York Times article reveals that several IRS officials wrote a 25-page memo outlining how to fight Trump’s suit, but these defense strategies were not implemented. Instead, it has been reported that Trump will voluntarily withdraw his $10 billion suit “in exchange” for a settlement that includes the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund.
But the term “settlement” is facing pushback from critics, who argue that a settlement can only be concluded if a case actually reaches a court. That did not occur, as this agreement between Trump and his own DOJ was finalized before the administration needed to meet the court deadline for proving the case against the IRS should actually be heard.
Many of these same legal experts and critics assert that had the Trump administration brought its IRS case to court, it would have been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who was set to hear it.
In April, Williams questioned the validity of the initial suit, saying that the case can stand only if there is “adverseness” between the parties. As in, if Trump is in control of both the DOJ and the IRS, can they really be seen as two opposing parties? Williams wrote that Trump “is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction.” It was with this questioning that Williams set a May 20 deadline for both parties to explain why the case should be heard. Instead of meeting that deadline and possibly proceeding to a May 27 hearing, Trump and his DOJ reached a “settlement.”
A possible blank check for Trump allies
The DOJ, under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche—Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer—announced that the fund was a “systemic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare” from the government. The settlement agreement says that the Anti-Weaponization Fund shall “have the power to issue formal apologies” and “monetary relief” to claimants.
Blanche would later say that those applying for compensation could be anyone and not just those seeking retribution from the Biden administration. The commission to decide who will receive these payouts would be composed of five members: four chosen by Blanche and one chosen by Blanche in consultation with Congress.
Also included in this agreement is an amendment added by Blanche that the Defendants (the IRS and the U.S. Treasury), along with the United States, are “FOREVER BARRED” and “PRECLUDED” (his capitalization) from prosecuting and pursuing any charges against Trump, his family, and his businesses related to all tax filings or audits that precede the agreement.
With creation of the fund, focus has fallen on Jan. 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol in 2021 and the money they may be compensated for breaking the law. During the Biden administration, many of the rioters were tried and convicted for their crimes. Yet, when Trump took office, he pardoned a majority of them, maintaining the narrative that they were peaceful protestors.
The question has now emerged whether these same rioters will be paid for committing those acts with taxpayer dollars at the same moment that millions of Americans face an affordability crisis.
During his recent testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, when asked about Jan. 6 rioters receiving taxpayer dollars, Blanche claimed that while anyone can apply, “Does it mean they’re going to get money? No.” But Jan. 6 rioters and their lawyers are telling a different story. NBC News reports that two lawyers representing more than 400 Jan. 6 participants said they expected their clients to apply for the fund rather than continue with litigation.
Vice President JD Vance, during a press conference defending the fund, claimed that Jan. 6 rioters aren’t shown enough compassion. “You know who never, ever gets an ounce of sympathy when it comes to that disproportionate sentencing is people who voted for Donald Trump and participated in the January 6 protests,” Vance said.
Aside from the rioters, other Trump allies are coming out of the woodwork to claim millions of dollars for what they allege was persecution by the government.
Longtime Trump ally Michael Caputo has filed the first known claim for the fund. Caputo, who worked at the Department of Health and Human Services during Trump’s first term, is seeking $2.7 million. He claims he was the target of an FBI investigation known as “Crossfire Hurricane” that looked into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. Caputo claims that “the machinery of government was clearly politically weaponized against my family from July 2016 to December 2025.”
Other Trump allies, like MyPillow CEO—and election denier—Mike Lindell, are also considering making claims.
“Real fraud coming from the White House”
The settlement and, by extension, the Anti-Weaponization Fund have sparked resistance both in and out of court.
Saying that it “raises the specter of corruption unparalleled in American history,” a group of 93 House Democrats filed an amicus brief in federal court in the Southern District of Florida to block the fund’s creation.
Joe Sims, political analyst and Co-Chair of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), asserted that “Trump and MAGA have been given carte blanche by the ruling class to do whatever they want. Total immunity. And it’s not just the Supreme Court. It’s the IRS as well. Not only will there be no further investigation but they created a $1.8 billion slush fund of taxpayer money to enable fascists to wage legal and political warfare against Trump’s enemies. And this includes, the January 6 coup plotters. You can’t make this stuff up!”
Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges, who were present during the Jan. 6 attack and suffered injuries at the hands of rioters, filed a lawsuit on May 20 aiming to halt the fund. Their lawsuit argues that the fund violates the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on use of federal money to “pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.” The suit also asserts that the DOJ has no legal authority to create the fund in the first place.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, moved to subpoena individuals involved in the creation of Trump’s $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded “slush fund” this week. He also introduced the “No Taxpayer-Funded 5 Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2026.”
In his opening remarks, Raskin gave a scathing rebuke of the fund and the Trump DOJ settlement, calling it a “fraud” that “will be used to reward Trump’s friends, lieutenants, and foot soldiers.” Pointing to the official role of Congress, the representative noted that “Trump doesn’t establish federal programs and then authorize and appropriate money for them. We do. That is the power of the purse, which belongs exclusively to Congress.
“The Acting Attorney General and everybody who thinks they are getting a big jackpot payoff this week should understand any such payment to people who participated in Trump’s insurrection on January 6, for which he was impeached for inciting by the House of Representatives, is illegal and void, meaning that this money belongs to the taxpayers of America, the people of the United States, and we will get that money back,” he declared, also noting that “the real fraud is coming from the White House.”
Who pays?
This agreement between Trump and his DOJ turns a personal “settlement” for Trump into a government program that is not obligated to disclose to the public information about who will get money or where the funds will go. This is despite it being funded by the very public it is not required to report to. The decisions of Blanche’s five-member commission reportedly cannot be appealed or challenged in court, either.
And while Trump has publicly claimed he had no part in creating the fund, many may find that hard to believe, given that the department that created it is under his leadership. Some have argued that Trump was allowed to assume the roles of plaintiff, defendant, and arbitrator in his own case, calling into question the very system of checks and balances that is supposed to be at the heart of democracy.
The news of this fund also comes at a time when the cost of living for working people is on the rise—including the high cost at the gas pump related to the war on Iran, for which Trump has given no clear end date. So, while many Trump allies may be on their way to receiving large payouts, working-class people will seemingly be the ones footing the bill, despite struggling to pay their own.
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