{"id":666,"date":"2026-05-18T22:35:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=666"},"modified":"2026-05-18T22:35:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:35:53","slug":"justice-dept-announces-1-8-billion-fund-in-settling-irs-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=666","title":{"rendered":"Justice Dept. announces $1.8 billion fund in settling IRS suit"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration announced Monday the creation of a $1.8 billion fund to compensate those who claim they were targeted by the Biden Justice Department and Democrats, forging a pipeline to funnel taxpayer money to President Trump\u2019s allies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=664\">Water taxis and a Fenway tour: Mass. Democrats woo DNC officials in bid to host 2028 party convention<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The highly unusual \u201cantiweaponization\u201d fund, denounced by critics as a political slush fund, was unveiled just after Trump withdrew his lawsuit demanding at least $10 billion against the IRS. It was an apparent effort to skirt oversight by the judge in the case who had expressed concern that the suit represented self-dealing between the president and a department run by his former defense lawyer, Todd Blanche.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The tandem moves amounted to an end-run that stripped Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who had been overseeing the IRS case in the Southern District of Florida, of her appointed role in approving a formal settlement agreement. By dismissing the case in its entirety, Trump was able to reach an agreement with his own appointees without risking the rebuke of an impartial and independent arbiter.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The cash value of the fund was set at $1.776 billion, a nod to the nation\u2019s founding. The Justice Department added in its announcement that its creation was intended \u201cto provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare,\u201d though it offered few other details, including who might qualify.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In addition to withdrawing his suit against the IRS, Trump will also drop separate administrative claims. Those include his demand the government pay him $230 million for investigations into his 2016 campaign\u2019s potential ties to Russia and into his handling of classified documents after he left office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Trump, his two sons, and his family business, which sued the IRS together, would receive an apology but not be paid out of the new fund, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It remains unclear whether the announcement represents a serious effort to disburse cash or a provocative distraction intended to provide the president with political cover as he retreats from a dubious lawsuit he was about to lose, or some combination of both.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Trump and the department\u2019s leadership have repeatedly accused Democrats of weaponizing federal law enforcement against their enemies. They have yet to provide evidence of illegality, or political animus, in the two federal prosecutions of Trump or in investigations into his allies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this department\u2019s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,\u201d Blanche said in a statement announcing the proposal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He added, \u201cAs part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A memo signed by Blanche, just over one page in length, offered only the vaguest outline of how the fund will operate. It did not define \u201cweaponization,\u201d specify the process by which claims would be assessed, or even enumerate the actual amount of money that would be distributed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The amount specified in the department\u2019s news release, with its symbolic value, \u201cdoes not represent the value of any claim by plaintiffs, but rather is based on the projected valuation of future claimants\u2019 claims,\u201d Blanche wrote in his memo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=662\">FAA says better scheduling can address air traffic control staffing issues<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Money for the fund will come from a special, unlimited account available to the Justice Department for settling lawsuits. A group of five people, selected by Blanche, will oversee its operations, though Trump can fire its members at will. The fund will stop processing claims on Dec. 15, 2028, weeks before Trump leaves office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Creation of the fund, which could be used to compensate Trump supporters who ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is sure to please a president who has demanded not only retribution but recompense. But it could create major political problems for congressional Republicans already dealing with the political ballast of his unpopularity \u2014 and who will now be forced to say if they support or oppose allocating taxpayer cash to his allies at a time when many Americans are struggling economically.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Williams had been considering dismissing Trump\u2019s IRS suit on her own because he effectively controls both his personal lawyers bringing the complaint and the government lawyers who are supposed to respond to it. She had ordered the Justice Department, which has yet to make an appearance or filing in the case, and Trump\u2019s lawyers to brief her by Wednesday to explain whether they were actually in opposition \u2014 or were colluding to achieve a mutually agreeable outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In their filing Monday, Trump\u2019s lawyers said their dismissal meant that \u201cno judicial analysis is appropriate\u201d for the suit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The substance of Trump\u2019s suit stems from the leak of his tax returns to The New York Times in 2019. Trump, two of his sons, and his family business argue that the IRS should have done more to prevent a former contractor from leaking tax information to the Times and ProPublica.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While federal law allows for people to sue the IRS when their tax information is leaked, legal experts saw clear flaws in Trump\u2019s suit and said the Justice Department had defended other, similar cases brought by plaintiffs who were not the president.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Just minutes after Trump\u2019s lawyers informed Williams of their intention to dismiss the suit, 93 Democratic lawmakers filed court papers accusing the Justice Department of having \u201ccolluded\u201d with Trump and asking the judge to throw out the case herself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cNever in the history of the United States has a sitting president sought a monetary settlement from the government he leads \u2014 let alone sought many billions of dollars in taxpayer funds,\u201d lawyers for the lawmakers wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The filing by the lawmakers suggested how jarringly Trump\u2019s move had short-circuited normal court business. The president\u2019s lawyers essentially beat the lawmakers to the draw by dismissing the case on their own, hamstringing the lawmakers\u2019 ability to stop a settlement from going through.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But lawyers for the lawmakers argued that the judge still had the power not to accept the dismissal, given its unusual nature. It was also possible to bring a separate lawsuit directly challenging the validity of the compensation fund.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=660\">McKee unveils 6 picks for revamped CRMC. Critics are underwhelmed.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>This article originally appeared in The New York Times.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The highly unusual \u201cantiweaponization\u201d fund was unveiled just after Trump withdrew his lawsuit demanding at least $10 billion against the IRS. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Justice Dept. announces $1.8 billion fund in settling IRS suit - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=666\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Justice Dept. announces $1.8 billion fund in settling IRS suit - 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